Old/New Testament
Chapter 62
A New Name for Zion
1 [a]For Zion’s sake I will not be silent,
for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep still,
Until her vindication shines forth like the dawn
and her salvation like a burning torch.(A)
2 Nations shall behold your vindication,
and all kings your glory;
You shall be called by a new name
bestowed by the mouth of the Lord.(B)
3 You shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the Lord,
a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
4 No more shall you be called “Forsaken,”
nor your land called “Desolate,”
But you shall be called “My Delight is in her,”
and your land “Espoused.”
For the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be espoused.(C)
5 For as a young man marries a virgin,
your Builder shall marry you;
And as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride
so shall your God rejoice in you.
6 Upon your walls, Jerusalem,
I have stationed sentinels;
By day and by night,
they shall never be silent.
You who are to remind the Lord,
take no rest,
7 And give him no rest,
until he re-establishes Jerusalem
And makes it the praise of the earth.
The Blessings of Salvation for God’s People
8 [b]The Lord has sworn by his right hand
and by his mighty arm:
No more will I give your grain
as food to your enemies;
Nor shall foreigners drink the wine,
for which you toiled.(D)
9 But those who harvest shall eat,
and praise the Lord;
Those who gather shall drink
in my holy courts.(E)
10 [c]Pass through, pass through the gates,
prepare a way for the people;(F)
Build up, build up the highway, clear it of stones,
raise up a standard over the nations.
11 The Lord has proclaimed
to the ends of the earth:
Say to daughter Zion,
“See, your savior comes!
See, his reward is with him,
his recompense before him.”(G)
12 They shall be called “The Holy People,”
“The Redeemed of the Lord.”
And you shall be called “Cared For,”
“A City Not Forsaken.”(H)
Chapter 63
The Divine Warrior[d]
1 Who is this that comes from Edom,
in crimsoned garments, from Bozrah?
Who is this, glorious in his apparel,
striding in the greatness of his strength?
“It is I, I who announce vindication,
mighty to save.”(I)
2 Why is your apparel red,
and your garments like one who treads the wine press?(J)
3 “The wine press I have trodden alone,
and from the peoples no one was with me.
I trod them in my anger,
and trampled them down in my wrath;
Their blood spurted on my garments,
all my apparel I stained.
4 For a day of vindication was in my heart,
my year for redeeming had come.(K)
5 I looked about, but there was no one to help,
I was appalled that there was no one to lend support;
So my own arm brought me victory
and my own wrath lent me support.(L)
6 I trampled down the peoples in my anger,
I made them drunk in my wrath,
and I poured out their blood upon the ground.”
Prayer for the Return of God’s Favor
7 [e]The loving deeds of the Lord I will recall,
the glorious acts of the Lord,
Because of all the Lord has done for us,
the immense goodness to the house of Israel,
Which he has granted according to his mercy
and his many loving deeds.(M)
8 He said: “They are indeed my people,
children who are not disloyal.”
So he became their savior
9 in their every affliction.
It was not an envoy or a messenger,
but his presence that saved them.
Because of his love and pity
the Lord redeemed them,
Lifting them up and carrying them
all the days of old.(N)
10 But they rebelled
and grieved his holy spirit;
So he turned to become their enemy,
and warred against them.(O)
11 Then they remembered the days of old, of Moses, his servant:
Where is the one who brought up out of the sea
the shepherd of his flock?
Where is the one who placed in their midst
his holy spirit,(P)
12 Who guided Moses by the hand,
with his glorious arm?
Where is the one who divided the waters before them—
winning for himself an everlasting renown—
13 Who guided them through the depths,
like horses in open country?
14 As cattle going down into the valley,
they did not stumble.
The spirit of the Lord guided them.
Thus you led your people,
to make for yourself a glorious name.
15 Look down from heaven and regard us
from your holy and glorious palace!
Where is your zealous care and your might,
your surge of pity?(Q)
Your mercy hold not back!
16 For you are our father.
Were Abraham not to know us,
nor Israel to acknowledge us,
You, Lord, are our father,
our redeemer you are named from of old.
17 Why do you make us wander, Lord, from your ways,
and harden our hearts so that we do not fear you?[f]
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage.
18 Why have the wicked invaded your holy place,
why have our enemies trampled your sanctuary?
19 [g]Too long have we been like those you do not rule,
on whom your name is not invoked.
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
with the mountains quaking before you,(R)
Chapter 64
1 As when brushwood is set ablaze,
or fire makes the water boil!
Then your name would be made known to your enemies
and the nations would tremble before you,
2 While you worked awesome deeds we could not hope for,[h]
3 such as had not been heard of from of old.
No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen,
any God but you
working such deeds for those who wait for him.(S)
4 Would that you might meet us doing right,
that we might be mindful of you in our ways!
Indeed, you are angry; we have sinned,
we have acted wickedly.
5 We have all become like something unclean,
all our just deeds are like polluted rags;
We have all withered like leaves,
and our crimes carry us away like the wind.(T)
6 There are none who call upon your name,
none who rouse themselves to take hold of you;
For you have hidden your face from us
and have delivered us up to our crimes.
A Final Plea
7 [i]Yet, Lord, you are our father;
we are the clay and you our potter:
we are all the work of your hand.
8 Do not be so very angry, Lord,
do not remember our crimes forever;
look upon us, who are all your people!
9 Your holy cities have become a wilderness;
Zion has become wilderness, Jerusalem desolation!(U)
10 Our holy and glorious house
in which our ancestors praised you
Has been burned with fire;
all that was dear to us is laid waste.
11 Can you hold back, Lord, after all this?
Can you remain silent, and afflict us so severely?
I. Address
Chapter 1
Greeting.[a] 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,(A) 2 to Timothy, my true child in faith: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.(B)
II. Sound Teaching
Warning Against False Doctrine. 3 [b]I repeat the request I made of you when I was on my way to Macedonia,(C) that you stay in Ephesus to instruct certain people not to teach false doctrines 4 [c]or to concern themselves with myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the plan of God that is to be received by faith.(D) 5 The aim of this instruction is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.(E) 6 Some people have deviated from these and turned to meaningless talk,(F) 7 wanting to be teachers of the law, but without understanding either what they are saying or what they assert with such assurance.
8 [d]We know that the law is good, provided that one uses it as law,(G) 9 with the understanding that law is meant not for a righteous person but for the lawless and unruly, the godless and sinful, the unholy and profane, those who kill their fathers or mothers, murderers, 10 the unchaste, sodomites,[e] kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is opposed to sound teaching,(H) 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.(I)
Gratitude for God’s Mercy.[f] 12 I am grateful to him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me trustworthy in appointing me to the ministry.(J) 13 I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant man, but I have been mercifully treated because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.(K) 14 Indeed, the grace of our Lord has been abundant, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.(L) 15 This saying is trustworthy[g] and deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these I am the foremost.(M) 16 But for that reason I was mercifully treated, so that in me, as the foremost, Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life. 17 To the king of ages,[h] incorruptible, invisible, the only God, honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.(N)
Responsibility of Timothy.[i] 18 I entrust this charge to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophetic words once spoken about you.[j] Through them may you fight a good fight(O) 19 by having faith and a good conscience. Some, by rejecting conscience, have made a shipwreck of their faith,(P) 20 among them Hymenaeus[k] and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.(Q)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.