Old/New Testament
Salvation for All Who Obey
56 Thus says Yahweh:
“Observe justice
and do righteousness,
for my salvation is close to coming,
and my justice to being revealed.
2 Happy is the man who does this,
and the son of humankind who keeps hold of it,
who keeps the Sabbath so as not to profane[a] it,
and who keeps his hand from doing any[b] evil.”
3 And do not let the foreigner[c] who joins himself to Yahweh say, “Surely Yahweh will separate me from his people.”
And do not let the eunuch say, “Look! I am a dry tree!”
4 For thus says Yahweh, “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
and choose that in which I delight,
and who keep hold of my covenant.
5 And I will give them a monument and a name in my house and within my walls,
better than sons and daughters;
I will give him an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.
6 And the foreigners[d] who join themselves to Yahweh to serve him
and to love the name of Yahweh, to become his servants,
every one who keeps the Sabbath, so as not to profane[e] it,
and those who keep hold of my covenant,
7 I will bring them to my holy mountain;[f]
I will make them merry in my house of prayer.
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted[g] on my altar,
for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples,”
8 declares[h] the Lord Yahweh, who gathers[i] the scattered ones of Israel (still I will gather to[j] him, to his gathered ones).
Wicked Leaders
9 All wild animals in the field, come,
to devour,[k] all wild animals in the forest!
10 His watchmen are blind,
none of them know.
They are all dumb dogs;
they are unable to bark,
panting, lying down,
loving to slumber.
11 And the dogs have a greedy appetite;[l]
they are never satisfied.[m]
And they are the shepherds!
They do not have[n] understanding.
They all turn to their own way,
each one for his own gain, every one of them.[o]
12 “Come, let me take wine,
and let us carouse with intoxicating drink,
and tomorrow will be like today,
very great indeed.”[p]
Idolatry is Adultery
57 The righteous one perishes, and there is no one who takes[q] it to heart.
And men of faithfulness are gathered, while there is no one who understands,
for the righteous is gathered from the presence of wickedness.
2 he enters into peace;
they will rest on their beds,
walking straight ahead of him.
3 “But[r] you, come near here, you children of a soothsayer,
offspring of an adulterer and she who commits fornication.
4 At whom do you make fun?
At whom do you open[s] your mouth and stick out[t] your tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
offspring of deception,
5 who burn with lust among the oaks,
under every leafy tree,
who slaughter children in the valleys,
under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Your portion is among the smooth stones of the valley;
they, they are your lot;
indeed, to them you have poured out a drink offering,
you have brought a food offering.
Shall I relent concerning these things?
7 You have set your bed upon a high and lofty mountain;
indeed, you went up there to slaughter sacrifice.
8 And you have set your symbol behind the door and the doorpost;
for you depart[u] from me, and you go up;
you make your bed wide, and you make a deal with[v] them,
you have loved their bed; you have seen their genitals.[w]
9 And you climbed down to the king with oil,
and you made your perfumes numerous,
and you sent your envoys far away,[x]
and you sent down deep[y] to Sheol.
10 You grow weary by the greatness of your way,
but you did not say, ‘Despairing!’
You found the renewal[z] of your strength,[aa]
therefore you do not grow weak.
11 And of whom were you afraid and feared, that you deceived
and did not remember me?
Did you not place it on your heart?
Have I not been silent, even from long ago,
and so you do not fear me?
12 I myself will declare your righteousness and your works,
but[ab] they will not benefit you.
13 When you cry,[ac] let your collection deliver you,
and the wind will carry all of them away;
a breath will take them away.
But[ad] he who takes refuge in me shall take possession of the land,
and he shall inherit my holy mountain.”[ae]
Peace for the Contrite
14 And one shall say, “Build up, build up! Clear the way!
Remove the obstacles[af] from the way of my people!”
15 For thus says the high and lofty one who resides forever, and whose name is holy:
“I reside in a high and holy place,
and with the contrite[ag] and humble of spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.[ah]
16 For I will not attack forever,
and I will not be angry forever,
for the spirit will grow faint before me,
and the breaths that I myself I have made.
17 I was angry because of his sin of gain, and I struck him;
I hid and I was angry, but[ai] he walked apostate, in the ways[aj] of his heart.
18 I have seen his ways, but[ak] I will heal him;
and I will lead him and give him and his mourners comfort as a recompense,
19 creating fruit of lips.
Peace, peace to the far and near,” says Yahweh, “and I will heal him.
20 But[al] the wicked are like the churning sea,
that is not able to keep quiet,
and its waters toss up mire and mud.
21 There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
True Fasts and Sabbaths
58 “Call with the throat; you must not keep back!
lift up your voice like a trumpet,
and declare[am] to my people their rebellion,
and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet[an] they seek me day by day,
and they desire the knowledge of my ways
like a nation that practiced[ao] righteousness,
and had not forsaken the judgment of its God;
they ask me for righteous judgments,[ap]
they desire the closeness of God.
3 ‘Why do we fast, and you do not see it?
We humiliate our soul, and you do not notice it?’
Look! You find delight on the day of your fast,
and you oppress all your workers!
4 Look! You fast to quarrel and strife,
and to strike with a wicked fist.[aq]
You shall not fast as you do today,[ar]
to make your voice heard[as] on the height.
5 Is the fast I choose like this,
a day for humankind to humiliate himself[at]?
To bow his head like a reed,
and make[au] his bed on sackcloth and ashes;
you call this a fast
and a day of pleasure to Yahweh?
6 Is this not the fast I choose: to release the bonds of injustice,
to untie the ropes of the yoke,
and to let the oppressed go free,
and tear[av] every yoke to pieces?
7 Is it not to break your bread for the hungry?
You must bring home[aw] the poor, the homeless.
When you see the naked, you must cover him,
and you must not hide yourself from your relatives.[ax]
8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall grow quickly.
And your salvation shall go before you;
the glory of Yahweh will be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and Yahweh himself will answer.
You shall cry for help, and he will say, ‘Here I am!’
If you remove from among you the yoke,
the finger-pointing[ay] and evil speech,[az]
10 if[ba] you offer your soul to the hungry,
and you satisfy the appetite of the afflicted,
then[bb] your light shall rise in the darkness,
and your darkness will be like noon.
11 And Yahweh will lead you continually, and satisfy your soul in a barren land,
and he will strengthen your bones,
and you shall be like a well-watered garden,
and like a spring of water whose water does not fail.
12 And they shall rebuild ancient ruins from you;
you shall erect the foundations of many generations,[bc]
and you shall be called[bd] the bricklayer of the breach,
the restorer of paths to live in.
13 If you hold your foot back from the Sabbath,
from doing your affairs on my holy day,[be]
if[bf] you call the Sabbath a pleasure,
the holy day of Yahweh honorable,
if[bg] you honor him more than[bh] doing your ways,
than finding your affairs[bi] and speaking a word,
14 then you shall take your pleasure in[bj] Yahweh,
and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth,
and I will feed you the heritage of Jacob your ancestor,[bk]
for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”
The Man of Lawlessness Will Be Revealed
2 Now we ask you, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling to him, 2 that you not be easily shaken from your composure, nor be troubled either by a spirit or by a message or by a letter alleged to be from us[a], to the effect that the day of the Lord has arrived. 3 Do not let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and who exalts himself over every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits down in the temple of God, proclaiming that he himself is God.
5 Do you not remember that while[b] we were still with you, we were saying these things to you? 6 And you know that which restrains him now, so that he will be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is at work already; only the one who now restrains[c] will do so until he is out of the way,[d] 8 and then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of his mouth, and wipe out by the appearance of his coming, 9 whose coming is in accordance with the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 and with every unrighteous deception against those who are perishing, in place of which they did not accept the love of the truth, so that they would be saved. 11 And because of this, God sends them a powerful delusion[e] so that they will believe the lie, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth, but delighted in unrighteousness.
Stand Firm and Hold Fast
13 But we ought to give thanks to God always concerning you, brothers dearly loved by the Lord, because God has chosen you as first fruits for salvation by the sanctification of the Spirit and faith in the truth, 14 for which purpose he called[f] you through our gospel for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions which you were taught, whether by spoken word or by letter from us. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal encouragement and good hope by grace, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good work and word.
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