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There is Hope for the Future
51 “Listen to me, you who pursue godliness,[a]
who seek the Lord.
Look at the rock from which you were chiseled,
at the quarry[b] from which you were dug.[c]
2 Look at Abraham, your father,
and Sarah, who gave you birth.[d]
When I summoned him, he was a lone individual,[e]
but I blessed him[f] and gave him numerous descendants.[g]
3 Certainly the Lord will console Zion;
he will console all her ruins.
He will make her wilderness like Eden,
her arid rift valley like the garden of the Lord.[h]
Happiness and joy will be restored to[i] her,
thanksgiving and the sound of music.
4 Pay attention to me, my people.
Listen to me, my people!
For[j] I will issue a decree,[k]
I will make my justice a light to the nations.[l]
5 I am ready to vindicate,[m]
I am ready to deliver,[n]
I will establish justice among the nations.[o]
The coastlands[p] wait patiently for me;
they wait in anticipation for the revelation of my power.[q]
6 Look up at the sky.
Look at the earth below.
For the sky will dissipate[r] like smoke,
and the earth will wear out like clothes;
its residents will die like gnats.
But the deliverance I give[s] is permanent;
the vindication I provide[t] will not disappear.[u]
7 Listen to me, you who know what is right,
you people who are aware of my law.[v]
Don’t be afraid of the insults of men;
don’t be discouraged because of their abuse.
8 For a moth will eat away at them like clothes;
a clothes moth will devour them like wool.
But the vindication I provide[w] will be permanent;
the deliverance I give will last.”
9 Wake up! Wake up!
Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord![x]
Wake up as in former times, as in antiquity.
Did you not smash[y] the Proud One?[z]
Did you not[aa] wound the sea monster?[ab]
10 Did you not dry up the sea,
the waters of the great deep?
Did you not make[ac] a path through the depths of the sea,
so those delivered from bondage[ad] could cross over?
11 Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return;
they will enter Zion with a happy shout.
Unending joy will crown them,[ae]
happiness and joy will overwhelm[af] them;
grief and suffering will disappear.[ag]
12 “I, I am the one who consoles you.[ah]
Why are you afraid of mortal men,
of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass?[ai]
13 Why do you forget[aj] the Lord, who made you,
who stretched out the sky[ak]
and founded the earth?
Why do you constantly tremble all day long[al]
at the anger of the oppressor,
when he makes plans to destroy?
Where is the anger of the oppressor?[am]
14 The one who suffers[an] will soon be released;
he will not die in prison,[ao]
he will not go hungry.[ap]
15 I am the Lord your God,
who churns up the sea so that its waves surge.
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name!
Zion’s Time to Celebrate
16 “I commission you[aq] as my spokesman;[ar]
I cover you with the palm of my hand,[as]
to establish[at] the sky and to found the earth,
to say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”[au]
17 Wake up! Wake up!
Get up, O Jerusalem!
You drank from the cup the Lord passed to you,
which was full of his anger.[av]
You drained dry
the goblet full of intoxicating wine.[aw]
18 There was no one to lead her
among all the children she bore;
there was no one to take her by the hand
among all the children she raised.
19 These double disasters confronted you.
But who feels sorry for you?
Destruction and devastation,
famine and sword.
But who consoles you?[ax]
20 Your children faint;
they lie at the head of every street
like an antelope in a snare.
They are left in a stupor by the Lord’s anger,
by the battle cry of your God.[ay]
21 So listen to this, oppressed one,
who is drunk, but not from wine.
22 This is what your Sovereign[az] Lord, even your God who judges[ba] his people says:
“Look, I have removed from your hand
the cup of intoxicating wine,[bb]
the goblet full of my anger.[bc]
You will no longer have to drink it.
23 I will put it into the hand of your tormentors[bd]
who said to you, ‘Lie down, so we can walk over you.’
You made your back like the ground,
and like the street for those who walked over you.”
52 Wake up! Wake up!
Clothe yourself with strength, O Zion!
Put on your beautiful clothes,
O Jerusalem, holy city.
For uncircumcised and unclean pagans
will no longer invade you.
2 Shake off the dirt![be]
Get up, captive[bf] Jerusalem.
Take off the iron chains around your neck,
O captive daughter Zion.
3 For this is what the Lord says:
“You were sold for nothing,
and you will not be redeemed for money.”
4 For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“In the beginning my people went to live temporarily in Egypt;
Assyria oppressed them for no good reason.
5 And now, what do we have here?”[bg] says the Lord.
“Indeed my people have been carried away for nothing,
those who rule over them taunt,”[bh] says the Lord,
“and my name is constantly slandered[bi] all day long.
6 For this reason my people will know my name;
for this reason they will know[bj] at that time[bk] that I am the one who says,
‘Here I am.’”
7 How delightful it is to see approaching over the mountains[bl]
the feet of a messenger who announces peace,
a messenger who brings good news, who announces deliverance,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”[bm]
8 Listen,[bn] your watchmen shout;
in unison they shout for joy,
for they see with their very own eyes[bo]
the Lord’s return to Zion.
9 In unison give a joyful shout,
O ruins of Jerusalem!
For the Lord consoles his people;
he protects[bp] Jerusalem.
10 The Lord reveals[bq] his royal power[br]
in the sight of all the nations;
the entire[bs] earth sees
our God deliver.[bt]
11 Leave! Leave! Get out of there!
Don’t touch anything unclean!
Get out of it!
Stay pure, you who carry the Lord’s holy items.[bu]
12 Yet do not depart quickly
or leave in a panic.[bv]
For the Lord goes before you;
the God of Israel is your rear guard.
The Lord Will Vindicate His Servant
13 Look, my servant will succeed![bw]
He will be elevated, lifted high, and greatly exalted[bx]—
14 (just as many were horrified by the sight of you)[by]
he was so disfigured[bz] he no longer looked like a man;[ca]
his form was so marred he no longer looked human[cb]—
15 so now[cc] he will startle[cd] many nations.
Kings will be shocked by his exaltation,[ce]
for they will witness something unannounced to them,
and they will understand something they had not heard about.
53 Who would have believed[cf] what we[cg] just heard?[ch]
When[ci] was the Lord’s power[cj] revealed through him?
2 He sprouted up like a twig before God,[ck]
like a root out of parched soil;[cl]
he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention,[cm]
no special appearance that we should want to follow him.[cn]
3 He was despised and rejected by people,[co]
one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness;
people hid their faces from him;[cp]
he was despised, and we considered him insignificant.[cq]
4 But he lifted up our illnesses,
he carried our pain;[cr]
even though we thought he was being punished,
attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done.[cs]
5 He was wounded because of[ct] our rebellious deeds,
crushed because of our sins;
he endured punishment that made us well;[cu]
because of his wounds we have been healed.[cv]
6 All of us had wandered off like sheep;
each of us had strayed off on his own path,
but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him.[cw]
7 He was treated harshly and afflicted,[cx]
but he did not even open his mouth.
Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block,
like a sheep silent before her shearers,
he did not even open his mouth.[cy]
8 He was led away after an unjust trial[cz]—
but who even cared?[da]
Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living;[db]
because of the rebellion of his own[dc] people he was wounded.
9 They intended to bury him with criminals,[dd]
but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb,[de]
because[df] he had committed no violent deeds,
nor had he spoken deceitfully.
10 Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill,
once restitution is made,[dg]
he will see descendants and enjoy long life,[dh]
and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.
11 Having suffered, he will reflect on his work,
he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done.[di]
“My servant[dj] will acquit many,[dk]
for he carried their sins.[dl]
12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes,[dm]
he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful,[dn]
because he willingly submitted[do] to death
and was numbered with the rebels,
when he lifted up the sin of many
and intervened[dp] on behalf of the rebels.”
Live in Love
5 Therefore, be[a] imitators of God as dearly loved children 2 and live[b] in love, just as Christ also loved us[c] and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering[d] to God. 3 But[e] among you there must not be either sexual immorality, impurity of any kind,[f] or greed, as these are not fitting for the saints.[g] 4 Neither should there be vulgar speech, foolish talk, or coarse jesting—all of which are out of character—but rather thanksgiving. 5 For you can be confident of this one thing:[h] that no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy (such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
Live in the Light
6 Let nobody deceive you with empty words, for because of these things God’s wrath comes on the sons of disobedience.[i] 7 Therefore do not be sharers with them,[j] 8 for you were at one time darkness, but now you are[k] light in the Lord. Live[l] like children of light— 9 for the fruit of the light[m] consists in[n] all goodness, righteousness, and truth— 10 trying to learn[o] what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather[p] expose them.[q] 12 For the things they do[r] in secret are shameful even to mention. 13 But all things being exposed by the light are made visible. 14 For everything made visible is light, and for this reason it says:[s]
Live Wisely
15 Therefore consider carefully how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 taking advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 For this reason do not be foolish, but be wise[w] by understanding[x] what the Lord’s will is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, which[y] is debauchery,[z] but be filled by the Spirit,[aa] 19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music[ab] in[ac] your hearts to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for all things[ad] in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.[ae]
Exhortations to Households
22 [af] Wives, submit[ag] to your husbands as to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the head of the wife as also Christ is the head of the church (he himself being the savior of the body). 24 But as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your[ah] wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her 26 to sanctify her by cleansing her[ai] with the washing of the water by the word, 27 so that he[aj] may present the church to himself as glorious—not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.[ak] 28 In the same way[al] husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one has ever hated his own body,[am] but he feeds it and takes care of it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are members of his body.[an] 31 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become[ao] one flesh.[ap] 32 This mystery is great—but I am actually[aq] speaking with reference to Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless,[ar] each one of you must also love his own wife as he loves himself,[as] and the wife must[at] respect[au] her husband.
19 You know how I am insulted, humiliated, and disgraced;
you can see all my enemies.[a]
20 Their insults are painful[b] and make me lose heart;[c]
I look[d] for sympathy, but receive none,[e]
for comforters, but find none.
21 They put bitter poison[f] into my food,
and to quench my thirst they give me vinegar to drink.[g]
22 May their dining table become a trap before them.
May it be a snare for that group of friends.[h]
23 May their eyes be blinded.[i]
Make them shake violently.[j]
24 Pour out your judgment[k] on them.
May your raging anger[l] overtake them.
25 May their camp become desolate,
their tents uninhabited.[m]
26 For they harass[n] the one whom you discipline;[o]
they spread the news about the suffering of those whom you punish.[p]
27 Hold them accountable for all their sins.[q]
Do not vindicate them.[r]
28 May their names be deleted from the scroll of the living.[s]
Do not let their names be listed with the godly.[t]
29 I am oppressed and suffering.
O God, deliver and protect me.[u]
30 I will sing praises to God’s name.[v]
I will magnify him as I give him thanks.[w]
31 That will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull
with horns and hooves.
32 The oppressed look on—let them rejoice.
You who seek God,[x] may you be encouraged.[y]
33 For the Lord listens to the needy;
he does not despise his captive people.[z]
34 Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
along with the seas and everything that swims in them.
35 For God will deliver Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah,
and his people[aa] will again live in them and possess Zion.[ab]
36 The descendants of his servants will inherit it,
and those who are loyal to him[ac] will live in it.[ad]
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