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Future Glory for Israel
54 “Rejoice, childless one, who did not give birth;
burst into song and shout,
you who have not been in labor!(A)
For the children of the forsaken one will be more
than the children of the married woman,”(B)
says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge the site of your tent,
and let your tent curtains be stretched out;(C)
do not hold back;
lengthen your ropes,
and drive your pegs deep.
3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left,(D)
and your descendants will dispossess nations
and inhabit the desolate cities.
4 “Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame;(E)
don’t be humiliated, for you will not be disgraced.
For you will forget the shame of your youth,
and you will no longer remember
the disgrace of your widowhood.(F)
5 Indeed, your husband is your Maker(G)—
His name is Yahweh of Hosts—
and the Holy One of Israel(H) is your Redeemer;(I)
He is called the God of all the earth.
6 For the Lord has called you,
like a wife deserted and wounded in spirit,(J)
a wife of one’s youth(K) when she is rejected,”
says your God.
7 “I deserted you for a brief moment,(L)
but I will take you back with great compassion.
8 In a surge of anger
I hid My face(M) from you for a moment,
but I will have compassion on you
with everlasting love,”(N)
says the Lord your Redeemer.
9 “For this is like the days[a] of Noah to Me:
when I swore that the waters of Noah
would never flood the earth again,(O)
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
or rebuke you.(P)
10 Though the mountains move
and the hills shake,
My love will not be removed from you
and My covenant of peace(Q) will not be shaken,”
says your compassionate Lord.
11 “Poor Jerusalem, storm-tossed, and not comforted,
I will set your stones in black mortar,[b]
and lay your foundations in sapphires.[c](R)
12 I will make your fortifications[d] out of rubies,
your gates out of sparkling stones,
and all your walls out of precious stones.
13 Then all your children will be taught by the Lord,(S)
their prosperity will be great,
14 and you will be established
on a foundation of righteousness.
You will be far from oppression,
you will certainly not be afraid;
you will be far from terror,
it will certainly not come near you.
15 If anyone attacks you,
it is not from Me;
whoever attacks you
will fall before you.
16 Look, I have created the craftsman
who blows on the charcoal fire
and produces a weapon suitable for its task;
and I have created the destroyer to cause havoc.
17 No weapon formed against you will succeed,
and you will refute any accusation[e]
raised against you in court.
This is the heritage of the Lord’s servants,(T)
and their righteousness is from Me.”(U)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Come to the Lord
55 “Come, everyone who is thirsty,(V)
come to the waters;
and you without money,
come, buy, and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost!
2 Why do you spend money on what is not food,
and your wages on what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
and you will enjoy the choicest of foods.[f]
3 Pay attention and come to Me;
listen, so that you will live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,(W)
the promises assured to David.(X)
4 Since I have made him a witness to the peoples,(Y)
a leader and commander for the peoples,(Z)
5 so you will summon a nation you do not know,(AA)
and nations who do not know you will run to you.(AB)
For the Lord your God,
even the Holy One of Israel,(AC)
has glorified you.”(AD)
6 Seek the Lord while He may be found;
call to Him while He is near.(AE)
7 Let the wicked one abandon his way
and the sinful one his thoughts;(AF)
let him return to the Lord,
so He may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for He will freely forgive.(AG)
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
and your ways are not My ways.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
9 “For as heaven is higher than earth,(AH)
so My ways are higher than your ways,
and My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For just as rain and snow fall from heaven
and do not return there
without saturating the earth
and making it germinate and sprout,
and providing seed to sow
and food to eat,(AI)
11 so My word that comes from My mouth
will not return to Me empty,
but it will accomplish what I please
and will prosper in what I send it to do.”(AJ)
12 You will indeed go out with joy
and be peacefully guided;
the mountains and the hills will break into singing before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.(AK)
13 Instead of the thornbush, a cypress will come up,
and instead of the brier, a myrtle will come up;(AL)
it will make a name for Yahweh(AM)
as an everlasting sign that will not be destroyed.
A House of Prayer for All
56 This is what the Lord says:
Preserve justice and do what is right,(AN)
for My salvation is coming soon,
and My righteousness will be revealed.(AO)
2 Happy is the man who does this,
anyone who maintains this,
who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it,
and keeps his hand from doing any evil.(AP)
3 No foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord
should say,
“The Lord will exclude me from His people”;(AQ)
and the eunuch should not say,
“Look, I am a dried-up tree.”(AR)
4 For the Lord says this:
“For the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,
and choose what pleases Me,
and hold firmly to My covenant,
5 I will give them, in My house and within My walls,
a memorial and a name
better than sons and daughters.
I will give each of them an everlasting name
that will never be cut off.(AS)
6 And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord
minister to Him, love the name of Yahweh
and become His servants,
all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it
and who hold firmly to My covenant—
7 I will bring them to My holy mountain(AT)
and let them rejoice in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be acceptable on My altar,(AU)
for My house will be called a house of prayer
for all nations.”(AV)
8 This is the declaration of the Lord God,
who gathers the dispersed of Israel:
“I will gather to them still others
besides those already gathered.”(AW)
Unrighteous Leaders Condemned
9 All you animals of the field and forest,
come and eat!
10 Israel’s[g] watchmen are blind, all of them,
they know nothing;
all of them are mute dogs,
they cannot bark;
they dream, lie down,
and love to sleep.
11 These dogs have fierce appetites;
they never have enough.
And they are shepherds
who have no discernment;
all of them turn to their own way,
every last one for his own gain.(AX)
12 “Come, let me get some wine,
let’s guzzle some beer;
and tomorrow will be like today,
only far better!”(AY)
57 The righteous one perishes,
and no one takes it to heart;
faithful men are swept away,
with no one realizing
that the righteous one is swept away
from the presence[h] of evil.
2 He will enter into peace—
they will rest on their beds[i]—
everyone who lives uprightly.
Pagan Religion Denounced
3 But come here,
you sons of a sorceress,
offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute![j]
4 Who is it you are mocking?
Who is it you are opening your mouth
and sticking out your tongue at?
Isn’t it you, you rebellious children,(AZ)
you race of liars,
5 who burn with lust among the oaks,
under every green tree,(BA)
who slaughter children in the wadis
below the clefts of the rocks?(BB)
6 Your portion is among the smooth stones of the wadi;
indeed, they are your lot.
You have even poured out a drink offering to them;
you have offered a grain offering;
should I be satisfied with these?
7 You have placed your bed
on a high and lofty mountain;(BC)
you also went up there to offer sacrifice.
8 You have set up your memorial
behind the door and doorpost.
For away from Me, you stripped,
went up, and made your bed wide,(BD)
and you have made a bargain[k] for yourself with them.
You have loved their bed;
you have gazed on their genitals.[l][m]
9 You went to the king with oil
and multiplied your perfumes;
you sent your couriers far away(BE)
and sent them down even to Sheol.
10 You became weary on your many journeys,
but you did not say, “I give up!”(BF)
You found a renewal of your strength;[n]
therefore you did not grow weak.
11 Who was it you dreaded and feared,
so that you lied and didn’t remember Me
or take it to heart?
Have I not kept silent for such a long time[o](BG)
and you do not fear Me?
12 I will expose your righteousness,
and your works—they will not profit you.
13 When you cry out,
let your collection of idols deliver you!
The wind will carry all of them off,
a breath will take them away.
But whoever takes refuge in Me
will inherit the land(BH)
and possess My holy mountain.(BI)
Healing and Peace
14 He said,
“Build it up, build it up, prepare the way,
remove every obstacle from My people’s way.”(BJ)
Children and Parents
6 Children, obey(A) your parents as you would the Lord,[a] because this is right. 2 Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment[b] with a promise, 3 so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life in the land.[c](B)[d] 4 Fathers, don’t stir up anger(C) in your children, but bring them up in the training(D) and instruction of the Lord.
Slaves and Masters
5 Slaves, obey your human[e] masters(E) with fear and trembling,(F) in the sincerity(G) of your heart, as to Christ. 6 Don’t work only while being watched, in order to please men, but as slaves of Christ, do God’s will(H) from your heart.[f] 7 Serve with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to men,(I) 8 knowing that whatever good each one does, slave or free, he will receive this back from the Lord. 9 And masters, treat your slaves the same way, without threatening(J) them, because you know that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism(K) with Him.(L)
Christian Warfare
10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength.(M) 11 Put on(N) the full armor(O) of God so that you can stand against the tactics[g] of the Devil. 12 For our battle is not against flesh(P) and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,(Q) against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil(R) in the heavens.(S) 13 This is why you must take up the full armor(T) of God, so that you may be able to resist(U) in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. 14 Stand,(V) therefore,
with truth(W) like a belt around your waist,
righteousness(X) like armor on your chest,(Y)
15 and your feet sandaled with readiness
for the gospel of peace.[h]
16 In every situation take the shield(Z) of faith,(AA)
and with it you will be able to extinguish
all the flaming arrows of the evil one.(AB)
17 Take the helmet(AC) of salvation,
and the sword(AD) of the Spirit,(AE)
which is God’s word.
18 Pray(AF) at all times in the Spirit(AG) with every prayer and request, and stay alert(AH) in this with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. 19 Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness(AI) the mystery of the gospel. 20 For this I am an ambassador(AJ) in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough in Him to speak as I should.
Paul’s Farewell
21 Tychicus,(AK) our dearly loved brother and faithful servant[i] in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me so that you may be informed. 22 I am sending him to you for this very reason, to let you know how we are and to encourage(AL) your hearts.(AM)
23 Peace to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father(AN) and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all who have undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.[j][k]
Psalm 70
A Call for Deliverance
For the choir director. Davidic. To bring remembrance.(A)
1 God, deliver me.
Hurry to help me, Lord!(B)
2 Let those who seek my life
be disgraced and confounded;
let those who wish me harm
be driven back and humiliated.
3 Let those who say, “Aha, aha!”
retreat because of their shame.(C)
8 The one who plots evil(A)
will be called a schemer.
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