16 (A)Send the lamb to the ruler of the land,
from (B)Sela, by way of the desert,
    to the mount of the daughter of Zion.
Like fleeing birds,
    like a scattered nest,
so are the daughters of Moab
    at (C)the fords of the Arnon.

“Give counsel;
    grant justice;
(D)make your shade like night
    at the height of noon;
shelter the outcasts;
    do not reveal the fugitive;
let (E)the outcasts of Moab
    sojourn among you;
be a shelter to them[a]
    from the destroyer.
When the oppressor is no more,
    and destruction has ceased,
and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,
(F)then a throne will be established in steadfast love,
    and on it will sit in faithfulness
    in the tent of David
one who judges and seeks justice
    and is swift to do righteousness.”

(G)We have heard of the pride of Moab—
    how proud he is!—
(H)of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence;
    in his idle boasting he is not right.
Therefore let Moab wail for Moab,
    (I)let everyone wail.
Mourn, utterly stricken,
    for the (J)raisin cakes of (K)Kir-hareseth.

For the fields of Heshbon languish,
    and (L)the vine of Sibmah;
the lords of the nations
    have struck down its branches,
which reached to Jazer
    and strayed to the desert;
its shoots spread abroad
    and passed over the sea.
Therefore (M)I weep with (N)the weeping of Jazer
    for the vine of Sibmah;
I drench you with my tears,
    O Heshbon and Elealeh;
for over (O)your summer fruit and your harvest
    the shout has ceased.
10 (P)And joy and gladness are taken away from (Q)the fruitful field,
and in the vineyards no (R)songs are sung,
    no cheers are raised;
no (S)treader treads out wine (T)in the presses;
    I have put an end to the shouting.
11 Therefore (U)my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab,
    and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth.

12 And when Moab presents himself, when (V)he wearies himself on (W)the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail.

13 This is the word that the Lord spoke concerning Moab (X)in the past. 14 But now the Lord has spoken, saying, “In three years, (Y)like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be (Z)very few and feeble.”

An Oracle Concerning Damascus

17 An (AA)oracle concerning (AB)Damascus.

Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city
    and will become a heap of ruins.
The cities of (AC)Aroer are deserted;
    they will be for flocks,
    which will lie down, and (AD)none will make them afraid.
The fortress will disappear from (AE)Ephraim,
    and the kingdom from (AF)Damascus;
and the remnant of Syria will be
    like (AG)the glory of the children of Israel,
declares the Lord of hosts.

And in that day (AH)the glory of Jacob will be brought low,
    and (AI)the fat of his flesh will grow lean.
And it shall be (AJ)as when the reaper gathers standing grain
    and his arm harvests the ears,
and as when one gleans the ears of grain
    in (AK)the Valley of Rephaim.
(AL)Gleanings will be left in it,
    as when an olive tree is beaten—
two or three berries
    in the top of the highest bough,
four or five
    on the branches of a fruit tree,
declares the Lord God of Israel.

(AM)In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. (AN)He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the (AO)Asherim or the altars of incense.

(AP)In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation.

10 For (AQ)you have forgotten the God of your salvation
    and have not remembered the (AR)Rock of your refuge;
therefore, though you plant pleasant plants
    and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,
11 though you make them grow[b] on the day that you plant them,
    and make them blossom in the morning that you sow,
yet the harvest will flee away[c]
    in a day of grief and incurable pain.

12 Ah, (AS)the thunder of many peoples;
    they thunder like the thundering of the sea!
Ah, the roar of nations;
    they roar like the roaring of mighty waters!
13 (AT)The nations roar like the roaring of many waters,
    (AU)but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away,
chased (AV)like chaff on the mountains before the wind
    and (AW)whirling dust before the storm.
14 (AX)At evening time, behold, terror!
    Before morning, they are no more!
This is the portion of those who loot us,
    and the lot of those who plunder us.

An Oracle Concerning Cush

18 Ah, land of (AY)whirring wings
    that is beyond the rivers of (AZ)Cush,[d]
which (BA)sends ambassadors by the sea,
    in vessels of papyrus on the waters!
Go, you swift messengers,
    to a nation (BB)tall and smooth,
to a people feared near and far,
    a nation (BC)mighty and conquering,
    whose land the rivers divide.

All you inhabitants of the world,
    you who dwell on the earth,
when (BD)a signal is raised on the mountains, look!
    When a trumpet is blown, hear!
For thus the Lord said to me:
“I will quietly look (BE)from my dwelling
    like clear heat in sunshine,
    like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
(BF)For before the harvest, when the blossom is over,
    and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he cuts off the shoots with pruning hooks,
    and the spreading branches he lops off and clears away.
(BG)They shall all of them be left
    to the birds of prey of the mountains
    and to the beasts of the earth.
And the birds of prey will summer on them,
    and all the beasts of the earth will winter on them.

(BH)At that time tribute will be brought to the Lord of hosts

from a people (BI)tall and smooth,
    from a people feared near and far,
a nation mighty and conquering,
    whose land the rivers divide,

to (BJ)Mount Zion, the place of the (BK)name of the Lord of hosts.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 16:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text let my outcasts sojourn among you; as for Moab, be a shelter to them
  2. Isaiah 17:11 Or though you carefully fence them
  3. Isaiah 17:11 Or will be a heap
  4. Isaiah 18:1 Probably Nubia

15 (A)A soft answer turns away wrath,
    but (B)a harsh word stirs up anger.
The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,
    but (C)the mouths of fools pour out folly.
(D)The eyes of the Lord are in every place,
    keeping watch on the evil and the good.
(E)A gentle[a] tongue is (F)a tree of life,
    but (G)perverseness in it breaks the spirit.
(H)A fool (I)despises his father's instruction,
    but (J)whoever heeds reproof is prudent.
In the house of the righteous there is much treasure,
    but trouble befalls the income of the wicked.
(K)The lips of the wise spread knowledge;
    (L)not so the hearts of fools.[b]
(M)The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,
    but (N)the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.
The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,
    but he loves him (O)who pursues righteousness.
10 There is (P)severe discipline for him who forsakes the way;
    (Q)whoever hates reproof will die.
11 Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord;
    how much more (R)the hearts of the children of man!
12 (S)A scoffer (T)does not like to be reproved;
    he will not go to the wise.
13 (U)A glad heart makes a cheerful face,
    but by (V)sorrow of heart the spirit is (W)crushed.
14 (X)The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,
    but the mouths of fools feed on folly.
15 All the days of the afflicted are evil,
    but (Y)the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.
16 (Z)Better is a little with the fear of the Lord
    than great treasure and trouble with it.
17 (AA)Better is a dinner of herbs where love is
    than (AB)a fattened ox and hatred with it.
18 (AC)A hot-tempered man (AD)stirs up strife,
    but he who is (AE)slow to anger quiets contention.
19 The way of (AF)a sluggard is like a hedge of (AG)thorns,
    but the path of the upright is (AH)a level highway.
20 (AI)A wise son makes a glad father,
    but a foolish man despises his mother.
21 (AJ)Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense,
    but a man of understanding (AK)walks straight ahead.
22 (AL)Without counsel plans fail,
    but with many advisers they succeed.
23 To make an apt answer is a joy to a man,
    and (AM)a word in season, how good it is!
24 The path of life leads upward (AN)for the prudent,
    that he may turn away from Sheol beneath.
25 The Lord tears down the house of (AO)the proud
    but (AP)maintains (AQ)the widow's boundaries.
26 (AR)The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord,
    but (AS)gracious words are pure.
27 Whoever is (AT)greedy for unjust gain (AU)troubles his own household,
    but he who hates (AV)bribes will live.
28 The heart of the righteous (AW)ponders how to answer,
    but (AX)the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.
29 The Lord is (AY)far from the wicked,
    but he (AZ)hears the prayer of the righteous.
30 (BA)The light of the eyes rejoices the heart,
    and (BB)good news refreshes[c] the bones.
31 (BC)The ear that listens to (BD)life-giving reproof
    will dwell among the wise.
32 Whoever (BE)ignores instruction (BF)despises himself,
    but he who listens to reproof (BG)gains intelligence.
33 (BH)The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom,
    and (BI)humility comes before honor.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 15:4 Or healing
  2. Proverbs 15:7 Or the hearts of fools are not steadfast
  3. Proverbs 15:30 Hebrew makes fat

Greeting

(A)Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

(B)We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers,[a] as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore (C)we ourselves boast about you (D)in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith (E)in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.

The Judgment at Christ's Coming

This is (F)evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be (G)considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— since indeed God considers it (H)just (I)to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant (J)relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when (K)the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven (L)with his mighty angels (M)in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those (N)who do not know God and on those who (O)do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of (P)eternal destruction, (Q)away from[b] the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 (R)when he comes on (S)that day (T)to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our (U)testimony to you (V)was believed. 11 To this end we (W)always pray for you, that our God may (X)make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every (Y)work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus (Z)may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Thessalonians 1:3 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters
  2. 2 Thessalonians 1:9 Or destruction that comes from

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