Old/New Testament
The Evil That People Do
59 Surely the Lord’s power is enough to save you.
He can hear you when you ask him for help.
2 It is your evil that has separated
you from your God.
Your sins cause him to turn away from you.
And then he does not hear you.
3 With your hands you have killed others.
Your fingers are covered with blood from killing people.
With your lips you have lied.
With your tongue you say evil things.
4 People take each other to court unfairly.
No one tells the truth in arguing his case.
They accuse each other falsely and tell lies.
They cause trouble and create more evil.
5 They hatch evil like eggs from poisonous snakes.
If you eat one of those eggs, you will die.
And if you break one open, a poisonous snake comes out.
People tell lies as they would spin a spider’s web.
6 The webs they make cannot be used for clothes.
You can’t cover yourself with those webs.
The things they do are evil.
They use their hands to hurt others.
7 They eagerly run to do evil.
They are always ready to kill innocent people.
They think evil thoughts.
Everywhere they go they cause ruin and destruction.
8 They don’t know how to live in peace.
There is no fairness in their lives.
They are dishonest.
Anyone who lives as they live will never have peace.
Israel’s Sin Brings Trouble
9 Fairness has gone far away.
Goodness is nowhere to be found.
We wait for the light, but there is only darkness now.
We hope for a bright light, but all we have is darkness.
10 We are like blind people feeling our way along a wall.
We have to feel our way as if we had no eyes.
In the brightness of day we trip as if it were night.
We are like dead men among the strong.
11 All of us growl like the bears.
We call out sadly like the doves.
We look for justice, but there isn’t any.
We want to be saved, but salvation is far away.
12 We have done many wrong things against our God.
Our sins show we are wrong.
We know we have turned against God.
We know the evil things we have done.
13 We have sinned and turned against the Lord.
We have turned away from our God.
We have planned to hurt others and to disobey God.
We have planned and spoken lies.
14 We have driven away justice.
We have kept away from what is right.
Truth is not spoken in the streets.
What is honest is not allowed to enter the city.
15 Truth cannot be found anywhere.
And people who refuse to do evil are attacked.
The Lord looked and could not find any justice.
And he was displeased.
16 He could not find anyone to help the people.
He was surprised that there was no one to help.
So the Lord used his own power to save the people.
His own goodness gave him strength.
17 The Lord covered himself with goodness like armor.
He put on the helmet of salvation.
He put on the clothes of punishment.
And he put on the coat of his strong love.
18 The Lord will pay back his enemies for what they have done.
He will show his anger to those who were against him.
He will punish the people in faraway places.
He will give them the punishment they should have.
19 Then people from the west will fear the Lord.
People in the east will fear his glory.
The Lord will come quickly like a fast-flowing river,
driven by the breath of the Lord.
20 “Then a close relative who will save you will come to Jerusalem.
He will come to the people of Jacob who sinned but turned back to God,”
says the Lord.
21 The Lord says, “I will make an agreement with these people. I promise that my Spirit and my words that I give you will never leave you. They will be with your children and your grandchildren. They will be with you now and forever.”
Jerusalem Will Be Great
60 “Jerusalem, get up and shine. Your light has come.
The glory of the Lord shines on you.
2 Darkness now covers the earth.
Deep darkness covers her people.
But the Lord shines on you,
and people see his glory around you.
3 Nations will come to your light.
Kings will come to the brightness of your sunrise.
4 “Look around you.
People are gathering and coming to you.
They are your sons coming from far away.
And your daughters are coming with them.
5 When you see them, you will shine with happiness.
You will be excited and full of joy.
The wealth of the nations across the seas will be given to you.
The riches of the nations will come to you.
6 Herds of camels will cover your land.
Young camels will come from Midian and Ephah.
People will come from Sheba
bringing gold and incense.
And they will sing praises to the Lord.
7 All the sheep from Kedar will be given to you.
The male sheep from Nebaioth will be brought to you.
They will be pleasing sacrifices on my altar.
And I will make my beautiful Temple more beautiful.
8 “The people are returning to you like clouds.
They are like doves flying to their nests.
9 People in faraway lands are waiting for me.
The great trading ships will come first.
They are bringing your children from faraway lands.
And with them they bring silver and gold.
This will happen to honor the Lord your God.
He is the Holy One of Israel.
And he does wonderful things for you.
10 “Jerusalem, foreigners will rebuild your walls.
Their kings will serve you.
When I was angry, I hurt you.
But now I want to be kind to you and comfort you.
11 Your gates will always be open.
They will not be closed day or night
so the nations can bring their wealth to you.
And their kings will be led to you.
12 If a nation or kingdom doesn’t serve you,
it will be destroyed.
It will be completely ruined.
13 “The great trees of Lebanon will be given to you.
Its pine, fir and cypress trees will come to you.
You will use these trees to make my Temple beautiful.
And I will give much honor to this place where I rest my feet.
14 The people who have hurt you will bow down to you.
Those who hated you will bow down at your feet.
They will call you The City of the Lord.
They will call you Jerusalem, city of the Holy One of Israel.
15 “You have been hated and left empty.
No one has even passed through.
But I will make you great from now on.
You will be a place of happiness forever and ever.
16 Nations will give you what you need.
It will be like a child drinking milk from its mother.
Then you will know that it is I, the Lord, who saves you.
You will know that the Powerful One of Jacob protects you.
17 I will bring you gold in place of bronze.
I will bring you silver in place of iron.
I will bring you bronze in place of wood.
I will bring you iron in place of rocks.
I will change your punishment into peace.
And you will be ruled by what is right.
18 There will be no more violence in your country.
It will not be ruined or destroyed.
You will name your walls Salvation.
And you will name your gates Praise.
19 The sun will no longer be your light during the day.
The light from the moon will no longer be your light.
This is because the Lord will be your light forever.
Your God will be your glory.
20 Your sun will never set again.
Your moon will never be dark again.
This is because the Lord will be your light forever.
And your time of sadness will end.
21 All of your people will do what is right.
They will receive the earth forever.
They are the plant I have planted.
I made them with my own hands to show my greatness.
22 The smallest family will grow to a thousand.
The least important of you will become a powerful nation.
I am the Lord,
and when it is time, I will make these things happen quickly.”
The Lord’s Message of Freedom
61 The Lord God has put his Spirit in me.
This is because he has appointed me to tell the good news to the poor.
He has sent me to comfort those whose hearts are broken.
He has sent me to tell the captives they are free.
He has sent me to tell the prisoners that they are released.
2 He has sent me to announce the time when the Lord will show his kindness
and the time when our God will punish evil people.
He has sent me to comfort all those who are sad.
3 He has sent me to the sorrowing people of Jerusalem.
I will give them a crown to replace their ashes.
I will give them the oil of gladness to replace their sorrow.
I will give them clothes of praise to replace their spirit of sadness.
Then they will be called Trees of Goodness.
They will be like trees planted by the Lord and will show his greatness.
4 They will rebuild the old ruins.
They will build up the places destroyed long ago.
They will repair the ruined cities
that were destroyed for so long.
5 My people, foreigners will come to tend your sheep.
People from other countries will tend your vineyards.
6 You will be called priests of the Lord.
You will be named the servants of our God.
You will have riches from all the nations on earth.
And you will take pride in them.
7 Instead of being ashamed, you will receive twice as much wealth.
Instead of being disgraced, you will be happy because of what you receive.
You will receive a double share of the land.
So your happiness will continue forever.
8 The Lord says, “I love justice.
I hate stealing and everything that is wrong.
I will be fair and give my people what they should have.
I will make an agreement with them that will continue forever.
9 Everyone in all nations will know the children of my people.
And their children will be known among the nations.
Anyone who sees them will know
that the Lord blesses them.”
10 The Lord makes me very happy.
All that I am rejoices in my God.
The Lord has covered me with clothes of salvation.
He has covered me with a coat of goodness.
I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding.
I am like a bride dressed in jewels.
11 The earth causes plants to grow.
And a garden causes the seeds planted there to grow.
In the same way the Lord God will make grow what is right.
He will make praise come from all the nations.
Pray for Us
3 And now, brothers, pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s teaching will continue to spread quickly. And pray that people will give honor to that teaching, just as happened with you. 2 And pray that we will be protected from bad and evil people. (Not all people believe in the Lord.)
3 But the Lord is faithful. He will give you strength and protect you from the Evil One. 4 The Lord makes us feel sure that you are doing the things we told you. And we know that you will continue to do those things. 5 We pray that the Lord will lead your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s patience.
The Duty to Work
6 Brothers, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ we command you to stay away from any believer who refuses to work. People who refuse to work are not following the teaching that we gave them. 7 You yourselves know that you should live as we live. We were not lazy when we were with you. 8 And when we ate another person’s food, we always paid for it. We worked and worked so that we would not be a trouble to any of you. We worked night and day. 9 We had the right to ask you to help us. But we worked to take care of ourselves so that we would be an example for you to follow. 10 When we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If anyone will not work, he will not eat.”
11 We hear that some people in your group refuse to work. They do nothing. And they busy themselves in other people’s lives. 12 We command those people to work quietly and earn their own food. In the Lord Jesus Christ we beg them to do this. 13 Brothers, never become tired of doing good.
14 If anyone does not obey what we tell you in this letter, then remember who he is. Do not associate with him. Then maybe he will feel ashamed. 15 But do not treat him as an enemy. Warn him as a brother.
Final Words
16 We pray that the Lord of peace will give you peace at all times and in every way. May the Lord be with all of you.
17 I am Paul, and I end this letter now in my own handwriting. All my letters have this to show they are from me. This is the way I write.
18 May our Lord Jesus Christ show all of you his grace.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.