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The Evil That People Do

59 Surely the Lord’s power is enough to save you.
    He can hear you when you ask him for help.
It is your evil that has separated
    you from your God.
Your sins cause him to turn away from you,
    so he does not hear you.
With your hands you have killed others,
    and with your fingers you have done wrong.
With your lips you have lied,
    and with your tongue you say evil things.
People take each other to court unfairly,
    and no one tells the truth in arguing his case.
They accuse each other falsely and tell lies.
    They cause trouble and create more evil.
They hatch evil like eggs from poisonous snakes.
    If you eat one of those eggs, you will die,
    and if you break one open, a poisonous snake comes out.
People tell lies as they would spin a spider’s web.
The webs they make cannot be used for clothes;
    you can’t cover yourself with those webs.
The things they do are evil,
    and they use their hands to hurt others.
They eagerly run to do evil,
    and they are always ready to kill innocent people.
They think evil thoughts.
    Everywhere they go they cause ruin and destruction.
They don’t know how to live in peace,
    and there is no fairness in their lives.
They are dishonest.
    Anyone who lives as they live will never have peace.

Israel’s Sin Brings Trouble

Fairness has gone far away;
    goodness is nowhere to be found.
We wait for the light, but there is only darkness now.
    We hope for a bright light, but all we have is darkness.
10 We are like the blind feeling our way along a wall.
    We feel our way as if we had no eyes.
In the brightness of day we trip as if it were night.
    We are like dead men among the strong.
11 All of us growl like the bears.
    We call out sadly like the doves.
We look for justice, but there isn’t any.
    We want to be saved, but salvation is far away.

12 We have done many wrong things against our God;
    our sins show we are wrong.
We know we have turned against God;
    we know the evil things we have done:
13 sinning and rejecting the Lord,
    turning away from our God,
planning to hurt others and to disobey God,
    planning and speaking lies.
14 So we have driven away justice,
    and we have kept away from what is right.
Truth is not spoken in the streets;
    what is honest is not allowed to enter the city.
15 Truth cannot be found anywhere,
    and people who refuse to do evil are attacked.

The Lord looked and could not find any justice,
    and he was displeased.
16 He could not find anyone to help the people,
    and he was surprised that there was no one to help.
So he used his own power to save the people;
    his own goodness gave him strength.
17 He covered himself with goodness like armor.
    He put the helmet of salvation on his head.
He put on his clothes for punishing
    and wrapped himself in the coat of his strong love.
18 The Lord will pay back his enemies for what they have done.
    He will show his anger to those who were against him;
    he will punish the people in faraway places as they deserve.
19 Then people from the west will fear the Lord,
    and people from the east will fear his glory.
The Lord will come quickly like a fast-flowing river,
    driven by the breath of the Lord.

20 “Then a Savior will come to Jerusalem
    and to the people of Jacob who have turned from sin,”
    says the Lord.

21 The Lord says, “This is my agreement with these people: My Spirit and my words that I give you will never leave you or your children or your grandchildren, now and forever.”

Jerusalem Will Be Great

60 “Jerusalem, get up and shine, because your light has come,
    and the glory of the Lord shines on you.
Darkness now covers the earth;
    deep darkness covers her people.
But the Lord shines on you,
    and people see his glory around you.
Nations will come to your light;
    kings will come to the brightness of your sunrise.

“Look around you.
    People are gathering and coming to you.
Your sons are coming from far away,
    and your daughters are coming with them.
When you see them, you will shine with happiness;
    you will be excited and full of joy,
because the wealth of the nations across the seas will be given to you;
    the riches of the nations will come to you.
Herds of camels will cover your land,
    young camels from Midian and Ephah.
People will come from Sheba
    bringing gold and incense,
    and they will sing praises to the Lord.
All the sheep from Kedar will be given to you;
    the sheep from Nebaioth will be brought to you.
They will be pleasing sacrifices on my altar,
    and I will make my beautiful Temple more beautiful.

“The people are returning to you like clouds,
    like doves flying to their nests.
People in faraway lands are waiting for me.
    The great trading ships will come first,
bringing your children from faraway lands,
    and with them silver and gold.
This will honor the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel,
    who does wonderful things for you.

10 “Jerusalem, foreigners will rebuild your walls,
    and their kings will serve you.
When I was angry, I hurt you,
    but now I want to be kind to you and comfort you.
11 Your gates will always be open;
    they will not be closed day or night
so the nations can bring their wealth to you,
    and their kings will be led to you.
12 The nation or kingdom that doesn’t serve you will be destroyed;
    it will be completely ruined.

13 “The great trees of Lebanon will be given to you:
    its pine, fir, and cypress trees together.
You will use them to make my Temple beautiful,
    and I will give much honor to this place where I rest my feet.
14 The people who have hurt you will bow down to you;
    those who hated you will bow down at your feet.
They will call you The City of the Lord,
    Jerusalem, city of the Holy One of Israel.

15 “You have been hated and left empty
    with no one passing through.
But I will make you great from now on;
    you will be a place of happiness forever and ever.
16 You will be given what you need from the nations,
    like a child drinking milk from its mother.
Then you will know that it is I, the Lord, who saves you.
    You will know that the Powerful One of Jacob protects you.
17 I will bring you gold in place of bronze,
    silver in place of iron,
bronze in place of wood,
    iron in place of rocks.
I will change your punishment into peace,
    and you will be ruled by what is right.
18 There will be no more violence in your country;
    it will not be ruined or destroyed.
You will name your walls Salvation
    and your gates Praise.
19 The sun will no longer be your light during the day
    nor will the brightness from the moon be your light,
because the Lord will be your light forever,
    and your God will be your glory.
20 Your sun will never set again,
    and your moon will never be dark,
because the Lord will be your light forever,
    and your time of sadness will end.
21 All of your people will do what is right.
    They will receive the earth forever.
They are the plant I have planted,
    the work of my own hands
    to show my greatness.
22 The smallest family will grow to a thousand.
    The least important of you will become a powerful nation.
I am the Lord,
    and when it is time, I will make these things happen quickly.”

The Lord’s Message of Freedom

61 The Lord God has put his Spirit in me,
    because the Lord has appointed me to tell the good news to the poor.
    He has sent me to comfort those whose hearts are broken,
to tell the captives they are free,
    and to tell the prisoners they are released.
He has sent me to announce the time when the Lord will show his kindness
    and the time when our God will punish evil people.
He has sent me to comfort all those who are sad
and to help the sorrowing people of Jerusalem.
I will give them a crown to replace their ashes,
    and the oil of gladness to replace their sorrow,
    and clothes of praise to replace their spirit of sadness.
Then they will be called Trees of Goodness,
    trees planted by the Lord to show his greatness.

They will rebuild the old ruins
    and restore the places destroyed long ago.
They will repair the ruined cities
    that were destroyed for so long.

My people, foreigners will come to tend your sheep.
    People from other countries will tend your fields and vineyards.
You will be called priests of the Lord;
    you will be named the servants of our God.
You will have riches from all the nations on earth,
    and you will take pride in them.
Instead of being ashamed, my people will receive twice as much wealth.
    Instead of being disgraced, they will be happy because of what they receive.
They will receive a double share of the land,
    so their happiness will continue forever.
“I, the Lord, love justice.
    I hate stealing and everything that is wrong.
I will be fair and give my people what they should have,
    and I will make an agreement with them that will continue forever.
Everyone in all nations will know the children of my people,
    and their children will be known among the nations.
Anyone who sees them will know
    that they are people the Lord has blessed.”

10 The Lord makes me very happy;
    all that I am rejoices in my God.
He has covered me with clothes of salvation
    and wrapped me with a coat of goodness,
like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding,
    like a bride dressed in jewels.
11 The earth causes plants to grow,
    and a garden causes the seeds planted in it to grow.
In the same way the Lord God will make goodness and praise
    come from all the nations.

New Jerusalem

62 Because I love Jerusalem, I will continue to speak for her;
    for Jerusalem’s sake I will not stop speaking
until her goodness shines like a bright light,
    until her salvation burns bright like a flame.
Jerusalem, the nations will see your goodness,
    and all kings will see your glory.
Then you will have a new name,
    which the Lord himself will give you.
You will be like a beautiful crown in the Lord’s hand,
    like a king’s crown in your God’s hand.
You will never again be called the People that God Left,
    nor your land the Land that God Destroyed.
You will be called the People God Loves,
    and your land will be called the Bride of God,
because the Lord loves you.
    And your land will belong to him as a bride belongs to her husband.
As a young man marries a woman,
    so your children will marry your land.
As a man rejoices over his new wife,
    so your God will rejoice over you.

Jerusalem, I have put guards on the walls to watch.
    They must not be silent day or night.
You people who remind the Lord of your needs in prayer
    should never be quiet.
You should not stop praying to him until he builds up Jerusalem
    and makes it a city all people will praise.

The Lord has made a promise,
    and by his power he will keep his promise.
He said, “I will never again give your grain
    as food to your enemies.
I will not let your enemies drink the new wine
    that you have worked to make.
Those who gather food will eat it,
    and they will praise the Lord.
Those who gather the grapes will drink the wine
    in the courts of my Temple.”

10 Go through, go through the gates!
    Make the way ready for the people.
Build up, build up the road!
    Move all the stones off the road.
Raise the banner as a sign for the people.

11 The Lord is speaking
    to all the faraway lands:
“Tell the people of Jerusalem,
    ‘Look, your Savior is coming.
He is bringing your reward to you;
    he is bringing his payment with him.’”
12 His people will be called the Holy People,
    the Saved People of the Lord,
and Jerusalem will be called the City God Wants,
    the City God Has Not Rejected.

The Lord Judges His People

63 Who is this coming from Edom,
    from the city of Bozrah, dressed in red?
Who is this dressed in fine clothes
    and marching forward with his great power?

He says, “I, the Lord, speak what is right.
    I have the power to save you.”

Someone asks, “Why are your clothes bright red
    as if you had walked on the grapes to make wine?”

The Lord answers, “I have walked in the winepress alone,
    and no one among the nations helped me.
I was angry and walked on the nations
    and crushed them because of my anger.
Blood splashed on my clothes,
    and I stained all my clothing.
I chose a time to punish people,
    and the time has come for me to save.
I looked around, but I saw no one to help me.
    I was surprised that no one supported me.
So I used my own power to save my people;
    my own anger supported me.
While I was angry, I walked on the nations.
    In my anger I punished them
    and poured their blood on the ground.”

The Lord’s Kindness to His People

I will tell about the Lord’s kindness
    and praise him for everything he has done.
I will praise the Lord for the many good things he has given us
    and for his goodness to the people of Israel.
He has shown great mercy to us
    and has been very kind to us.
He said, “These are my people;
    my children will not lie to me.”
    So he saved them.
When they suffered, he suffered also.
    He sent his own angel to save them.
Because of his love and kindness, he saved them.
    Since long ago he has picked them up and carried them.
10 But they turned against him
    and made his Holy Spirit very sad.
So he became their enemy,
    and he fought against them.

11 But then his people remembered what happened long ago,
    in the days of Moses and the Israelites with him.
Where is the Lord who brought the people through the sea,
    with the leaders of his people?
Where is the one
    who put his Holy Spirit among them,
12 who led Moses by the right hand
    with his wonderful power,
who divided the water before them
    to make his name famous forever,
13 who led the people through the deep waters?
Like a horse walking through a desert,
    the people did not stumble.
14 Like cattle that go down to the valley,
    the Spirit of the Lord gave the people a place to rest.
Lord, that is the way you led your people,
    and by this you won for yourself wonderful fame.

A Prayer for Help

15 Lord, look down from the heavens and see;
    look at us from your wonderful and holy home in heaven.
Where is your strong love and power?
    Why are you keeping your love and mercy from us?
16 You are our father.
    Abraham doesn’t know we are his children,
    and Israel doesn’t recognize us.
Lord, you are our father.
    You are called “the one who has always saved us.”
17 Lord, why are you making us wander from your ways?
    Why do you make us stubborn so that we don’t honor you?
For our sake come back to us,
    your servants, who belong to you.
18 Your people had your Temple for a while,
    but now our enemies have walked on your holy place and crushed it.
19 We have become like people you never ruled over,
    like those who have never worn your name.

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