Isaiah 54:6
New Living Translation
6 For the Lord has called you back from your grief—
as though you were a young wife abandoned by her husband,”
says your God.
Isaiah 62:4
New Living Translation
4 Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City”[a]
or “The Desolate Land.”[b]
Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight”[c]
and “The Bride of God,”[d]
for the Lord delights in you
and will claim you as his bride.
Ecclesiastes 9:9
New Living Translation
9 Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil.
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Hosea 2:14-15
New Living Translation
The Lord’s Love for Unfaithful Israel
14 “But then I will win her back once again.
I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly to her there.
15 I will return her vineyards to her
and transform the Valley of Trouble[a] into a gateway of hope.
She will give herself to me there,
as she did long ago when she was young,
when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt.
Footnotes
- 2:15 Hebrew valley of Achor.
Hosea 2:1-2
New Living Translation
2 [a]“In that day you will call your brothers Ammi—‘My people.’ And you will call your sisters Ruhamah—‘The ones I love.’
Charges against an Unfaithful Wife
2 “But now bring charges against Israel—your mother—
for she is no longer my wife,
and I am no longer her husband.
Tell her to remove the prostitute’s makeup from her face
and the clothing that exposes her breasts.
Footnotes
- 2:1 Verses 2:1-23 are numbered 2:3-25 in Hebrew text.
Proverbs 5:18
New Living Translation
18 Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you.
Rejoice in the wife of your youth.
Isaiah 49:14-21
New Living Translation
14 Yet Jerusalem[a] says, “The Lord has deserted us;
the Lord has forgotten us.”
15 “Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child?
Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?
But even if that were possible,
I would not forget you!
16 See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.
Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.
17 Soon your descendants will come back,
and all who are trying to destroy you will go away.
18 Look around you and see,
for all your children will come back to you.
As surely as I live,” says the Lord,
“they will be like jewels or bridal ornaments for you to display.
19 “Even the most desolate parts of your abandoned land
will soon be crowded with your people.
Your enemies who enslaved you
will be far away.
20 The generations born in exile will return and say,
‘We need more room! It’s crowded here!’
21 Then you will think to yourself,
‘Who has given me all these descendants?
For most of my children were killed,
and the rest were carried away into exile.
I was left here all alone.
Where did all these people come from?
Who bore these children?
Who raised them for me?’”
Footnotes
- 49:14 Hebrew Zion.
2 Corinthians 7:9-10
New Living Translation
9 Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. 10 For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.
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Malachi 2:14
New Living Translation
14 You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.
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Isaiah 50:1-2
New Living Translation
50 This is what the Lord says:
“Was your mother sent away because I divorced her?
Did I sell you as slaves to my creditors?
No, you were sold because of your sins.
And your mother, too, was taken because of your sins.
2 Why was no one there when I came?
Why didn’t anyone answer when I called?
Is it because I have no power to rescue?
No, that is not the reason!
For I can speak to the sea and make it dry up!
I can turn rivers into deserts covered with dying fish.
Matthew 11:28
New Living Translation
28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
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2 Corinthians 7:6
New Living Translation
6 But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.
Read full chapterHoly Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.