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Zion Will Be Secure
54 “Shout for joy, O barren one who has not given birth!
Give a joyful shout and cry out, you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate one are more numerous
than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.
2 Make your tent larger,
stretch your tent curtains farther out![a]
Spare no effort,
lengthen your ropes,
and pound your stakes deep.[b]
3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your children will conquer[c] nations
and will resettle desolate cities.
4 Don’t be afraid, for you will not be put to shame.
Don’t be intimidated,[d] for you will not be humiliated.
You will forget about the shame you experienced in your youth;
you will no longer remember the disgrace of your abandonment.[e]
5 For your husband is the one who made you—
the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name.
He is your Protector,[f] the Holy One of Israel.[g]
He is called “God of the entire earth.”
6 “Indeed, the Lord will call you back
like a wife who has been abandoned and suffers from depression,[h]
like a young wife when she has been rejected,” says your God.
7 “For a short time I abandoned[i] you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.
8 In a burst[j] of anger I rejected you[k] momentarily,
but with lasting devotion I will have compassion on you,”
says your Protector,[l] the Lord.
9 “As far as I am concerned, this is like in Noah’s time,[m]
when I vowed that the waters of Noah’s flood[n] would never again cover the earth.
In the same way I have vowed that I will not be angry at you or shout at you.
10 Even if the mountains are removed
and the hills displaced,
my devotion will not be removed from you,
nor will my covenant of friendship[o] be displaced,”
says the Lord, the one who has compassion on you.
11 “O afflicted one, driven away,[p] and unconsoled!
Look, I am about to set your stones in antimony,
and lay your foundation with lapis lazuli.
12 I will make your pinnacles out of gems,[q]
your gates out of beryl,[r]
and your outer wall[s] out of beautiful[t] stones.
13 All your children will be followers of the Lord,
and your children will enjoy great prosperity.[u]
14 You will be reestablished when I vindicate you.[v]
You will not experience oppression;[w]
indeed, you will not be afraid.
You will not be terrified,[x]
for nothing frightening[y] will come near you.
15 If anyone dares to[z] challenge you, it will not be my doing!
Whoever tries to challenge you will be defeated.[aa]
16 Look, I create the craftsman,
who fans the coals into a fire
and forges a weapon.[ab]
I create the destroyer so he might devastate.
17 No weapon forged to be used against you will succeed;
you will refute everyone who tries to accuse you.[ac]
This is what the Lord will do for his servants—
I will vindicate them,”[ad]
says the Lord.
The Lord Gives an Invitation
55 “Hey,[ae] all who are thirsty, come to the water!
You who have no money, come!
Buy and eat!
Come! Buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.[af]
2 Why pay money for something that will not nourish you?[ag]
Why spend[ah] your hard-earned money[ai] on something that will not satisfy?
Listen carefully[aj] to me and eat what is nourishing![ak]
Enjoy fine food.[al]
3 Pay attention and come to me.
Listen, so you can live.[am]
Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to[an] you,
just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David.[ao]
4 Look, I made him a witness to nations,[ap]
a ruler and commander of nations.”
5 Look, you will summon nations[aq] you did not previously know;
nations[ar] that did not previously know you will run to you,
because of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,[as]
for he bestows honor on you.
6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available;[at]
call to him while he is nearby!
7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle[au]
and sinful people their plans.[av]
They should return[aw] to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them,[ax]
and to their God, for he will freely forgive them.[ay]
8 “Indeed,[az] my plans[ba] are not like[bb] your plans,
and my deeds[bc] are not like[bd] your deeds,” says the Lord,
9 “for just as the sky[be] is higher than the earth,
so my deeds[bf] are superior to[bg] your deeds
and my plans[bh] superior to your plans.
10 [bi] The rain and snow fall from the sky
and do not return,
but instead water the earth
and make it produce and yield crops,
and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.
11 In the same way, the promise that I make
does not return to me, having accomplished nothing.[bj]
No, it is realized as I desire
and is fulfilled as I intend.”[bk]
12 Indeed you will go out with joy;
you will be led along in peace;
the mountains and hills will give a joyful shout before you,
and all the trees in the field will clap their hands.
13 Evergreens will grow in place of thorn bushes,
firs will grow in place of nettles;
they will be a monument to the Lord,[bl]
a permanent reminder that will remain.[bm]
The Lord Invites Outsiders to Enter
56 This is what the Lord says,
“Promote[bn] justice! Do what is right!
For I am ready to deliver you;
I am ready to vindicate you openly.[bo]
2 The people who do this will be blessed,[bp]
the people who commit themselves to obedience,[bq]
who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,
who refrain from doing anything that is wrong.[br]
3 No foreigner who becomes a follower of[bs] the Lord should say,
‘The Lord will certainly[bt] exclude me from his people.’
The eunuch should not say,
‘Look, I am like a dried-up tree.’”
4 For this is what the Lord says:
“For the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths
and choose what pleases me
and are faithful to[bu] my covenant,
5 I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument[bv]
that will be better than sons and daughters.
I will set up a permanent monument[bw] for them that will remain.
6 As for foreigners who become followers of[bx] the Lord and serve him,
who love the name of the Lord and want to be his servants—
all who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,
and who are faithful to[by] my covenant—
7 I will bring them to my holy mountain;
I will make them happy in the temple where people pray to me.[bz]
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar,
for my temple will be known as a temple where all nations may pray.”[ca]
8 The Sovereign Lord says this,
the one who gathers the dispersed of Israel:
“I will still gather them up.”[cb]
The Lord Denounces Israel’s Paganism
9 All you wild animals in the fields, come and devour,
all you wild animals in the forest!
10 All their watchmen[cc] are blind,
they are unaware.[cd]
All of them are like mute dogs,
unable to bark.
They pant,[ce] lie down,
and love to snooze.
11 The dogs have big appetites;
they are never full.[cf]
They are shepherds who have no understanding;
they all go their own way,
each one looking for monetary gain.[cg]
12 Each one says,[ch]
‘Come on, I’ll get some wine!
Let’s guzzle some beer!
Tomorrow will be just like today!
We’ll have everything we want!’[ci]
57 The godly[cj] perish,
but no one cares.[ck]
Honest people disappear,[cl]
when no one[cm] minds[cn]
that the godly[co] disappear[cp] because of[cq] evil.[cr]
2 Those who live uprightly enter a place of peace;
they rest on their beds.[cs]
3 “But approach, you sons of omen readers,
you offspring of adulteresses and prostitutes![ct]
4 At whom are you laughing?
At whom are you opening your mouth
and sticking out your tongue?
You are the children of rebels,
the offspring of liars,[cu]
5 you who inflame your lusts[cv] among the oaks[cw] and under every green tree,
who slaughter children near the streams under the rocky overhangs.[cx]
6 Among the smooth stones of the stream are the idols you love;
they, they are the object of your devotion.[cy]
You pour out liquid offerings to them,
you make an offering.
Because of these things how can I relent from judgment?[cz]
7 On every high, elevated hill you prepare your bed;
you go up there to offer sacrifices.
8 Behind the door and doorpost you put your symbols.[da]
Indeed,[db] you depart from me[dc] and go up
and invite them into bed with you.[dd]
You purchase favors from them;[de]
you love their bed,
and gaze longingly[df] on their naked bodies.[dg]
9 You take olive oil as tribute[dh] to your king,[di]
along with many perfumes.[dj]
You send your messengers to a distant place;
you go all the way to Sheol.[dk]
10 Because of the long distance you must travel, you get tired,[dl]
but you do not say, ‘I give up.’[dm]
You get renewed energy,[dn]
so you don’t collapse.[do]
11 Whom are you worried about?
Whom do you fear, that you would act so deceitfully
and not remember me
or think about me?[dp]
Because I have been silent for so long,[dq]
you are not afraid of me.[dr]
12 I will denounce your so-called righteousness and your deeds,[ds]
but they will not help you.
13 When you cry out for help, let your idols[dt] help you!
The wind blows them all away,[du]
a breeze carries them away.[dv]
But the one who looks to me for help[dw] will inherit the land
and will have access to[dx] my holy mountain.”
14 He says,[dy]
“Build it! Build it! Clear a way!
Remove all the obstacles out of the way of my people!”
6 Children,[a] obey your parents in the Lord,[b] for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother,”[c] which is the first commandment accompanied by a promise, namely, 3 “that it will go[d] well with you and that you will live[e] a long time on the earth.”[f]
4 Fathers,[g] do not provoke your children to anger,[h] but raise them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
5 Slaves,[i] obey your human masters[j] with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ, 6 not like those who do their work only when someone is watching[k]—as people-pleasers—but as slaves of Christ doing the will of God from the heart.[l] 7 Obey[m] with enthusiasm, as though serving the Lord[n] and not people, 8 because you know that each person, whether slave or free, if he does something good, this[o] will be rewarded by the Lord.
9 Masters,[p] treat your slaves[q] the same way,[r] giving up the use of threats,[s] because you know that both you and they have the same master in heaven,[t] and there is no favoritism with him.
Exhortations for Spiritual Warfare
10 Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11 Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand against the schemes[u] of the devil. 12 For our struggle[v] is not against flesh and blood,[w] but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness,[x] against the spiritual forces[y] of evil in the heavens.[z] 13 For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground[aa] on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm therefore, by fastening[ab] the belt of truth around your waist,[ac] by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 by fitting your[ad] feet with the preparation that comes from the good news[ae] of peace,[af] 16 and in all of this,[ag] by taking up the shield[ah] of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation[ai] and the sword[aj] of the Spirit (which is the word of God). 18 With every prayer and petition, pray[ak] at all times in the Spirit, and to this end[al] be alert, with all perseverance and petitions for all the saints. 19 Pray[am] for me also, that I may be given the right words when I begin to speak[an]—that I may confidently make known[ao] the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak.
Farewell Comments
21 Tychicus, my[ap] dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make everything known to you, so that you too may know about my circumstances,[aq] how I am doing. 22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know our circumstances[ar] and that he may encourage your hearts.
23 Peace to the brothers and sisters,[as] and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be[at] with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.[au]
Psalm 70[a]
For the music director, by David; written to get God’s attention.[b]
70 O God, please be willing to rescue me.[c]
O Lord, hurry and help me.[d]
2 May those who are trying to take my life
be embarrassed and ashamed.[e]
May those who want to harm me
be turned back and ashamed.[f]
3 May those who say, “Aha! Aha!”
be driven back[g] and disgraced.[h]
4 May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you.
May those who love to experience[i] your deliverance say continually,[j]
“May God[k] be praised!”[l]
5 I am oppressed and needy.[m]
O God, hurry to me.[n]
You are my helper and my deliverer.
O Lord,[o] do not delay.
8 The one who plans to do evil
will be called a scheming person.[a]
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