Old/New Testament
Lament for Babylon
47 “(A)Come down and sit in the dust,
O (B)virgin (C)daughter of Babylon;
Sit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of the Chaldeans!
For you shall no longer be called (D)tender and delicate.
2 Take the (E)millstones and (F)grind flour.
Uncover your (G)veil, (H)strip off the skirt,
Uncover the leg, cross the rivers.
3 Your (I)nakedness will be uncovered;
Your reproach also will be seen;
I will (J)take vengeance and will not [a]spare a man.”
4 Our (K)Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts is His name,
The Holy One of Israel.
5 “(L)Sit silently, and go into (M)darkness,
O daughter of the Chaldeans,
For you will no longer be called
The (N)queen of (O)kingdoms.
6 I was furious with My people;
I profaned My inheritance
And gave them into your hand.
You did not show compassion to them,
On the (P)aged you made your yoke very heavy.
7 Yet you said, ‘I will be a (Q)queen forever.’
These things you did not (R)put on your heart
Nor remember the (S)outcome of [b]them.
8 “So now, hear this, you (T)sensual one,
Who (U)sits securely,
Who says in [c]your heart,
‘(V)I am, and there is no one besides me.
I will (W)not sit as a widow,
Nor know loss of children.’
9 But these (X)two things will come on you (Y)suddenly in one day:
Loss of children and widowhood.
They will come on you in full measure
In spite of your many (Z)sorceries,
In spite of the great might of your spells.
10 You felt (AA)secure in your evil and said,
‘(AB)No one sees me,’
Your (AC)wisdom and your knowledge [d]have turned you astray;
So you have said in your heart,
‘(AD)I am, and there is no one besides me.’
11 But (AE)evil will come on you
Which you will not know how to charm away;
And disaster will fall on you
For which you cannot atone;
And (AF)destruction about which you do not know
Will come on you (AG)suddenly.
12 “Stand fast now in your (AH)spells
And in your many sorceries
With which you have labored from your youth;
Perhaps you will be able to profit;
Perhaps you may cause trembling.
13 You are (AI)wearied with your many counsels;
Let now the (AJ)astrologers,
Those who behold visions by the stars,
Those who predict by the new moons,
Stand up and (AK)save you from what will come upon you.
14 Behold, they have become (AL)like stubble,
(AM)Fire burns them;
They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame;
There will be (AN)no coal to warm by
Nor a fire to sit before!
15 Thus they have become for you, those among whom you have labored,
Who have (AO)traded with you from your youth;
Each has wandered in his own [e]way;
There is (AP)none to save you.
My Glory I Will Not Give to Another
48 “(AQ)Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name Israel
And who came forth from the [f](AR)loins of Judah,
Who (AS)swear by the name of Yahweh
And bring to remembrance the God of Israel,
But not in truth or in (AT)righteousness.
2 For they call themselves after the (AU)holy city
And (AV)are supported by the God of Israel;
Yahweh of hosts is His name.
3 I (AW)declared the former things long ago,
And they went forth from My mouth, and I caused them to be heard.
(AX)Suddenly I acted, and they (AY)came to pass.
4 Because I know that you are [g](AZ)stiff,
And your (BA)neck is an iron sinew
And your (BB)forehead bronze,
5 Therefore I declared them to you long ago,
Before [h]they happened I caused them to be heard by you,
Lest you say, ‘My (BC)idol has done them,
And my graven image and my molten image have commanded them.’
6 You have heard; look at all this.
And you, will you not declare it?
I caused you to hear (BD)new things from this time,
Even hidden things which you have not known.
7 They are created now and not long ago;
And before today you have not heard them,
Lest you say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’
8 Indeed, you have not (BE)heard; indeed, you have not known.
Indeed, even from long ago your ear has not been open
Because I knew that you would deal very treacherously;
And you have been called a [i](BF)transgressor from the [j]womb.
9 (BG)For the sake of My name I (BH)delay My anger,
And for My praise I restrain it for you,
In order not to cut you off.
10 Behold, I have refined you, but (BI)not as silver;
I have tested you in the (BJ)furnace of affliction.
11 (BK)For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act;
For how can My name be profaned?
And My (BL)glory I will not give to another.
Yahweh Redeems Jacob
12 “Hear Me, O Jacob, even Israel [k]whom I called;
(BM)I am He, (BN)I am the first, I am also the last.
13 Also, My hand (BO)founded the earth,
And My right hand spread out the heavens;
When I (BP)call to them, they stand together.
14 (BQ)Assemble, all of you, and hear!
(BR)Who among them has declared these things?
Yahweh loves him; he will (BS)carry out His good pleasure on (BT)Babylon,
And His arm will be against the Chaldeans.
15 I, even I, have spoken; indeed I have (BU)called him,
I have brought him, and He will make his ways successful.
16 (BV)Draw near to Me, hear this:
From the first I have (BW)not spoken in secret,
(BX)From the time it took place, I was there.
So now (BY)Lord Yahweh has sent Me, and His Spirit.”
17 Thus says Yahweh, your (BZ)Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
“I am Yahweh your God, who teaches you to profit,
Who (CA)leads you in the way you should go.
18 If only you had (CB)paid attention to My commandments!
Then your (CC)peace would have been like a river,
And your (CD)righteousness like the waves of the sea.
19 Your (CE)seed would have been like the sand,
And the offspring from your loins like its grains;
(CF)Their name would never be cut off or destroyed from My presence.”
20 (CG)Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans!
Declare with the sound of (CH)joyful shouting, cause this to be heard,
(CI)Bring it forth to the end of the earth;
Say, “(CJ)Yahweh has redeemed His servant Jacob.”
21 And they did not (CK)thirst when He led them through the waste places.
He (CL)made the water flow out of the rock for them;
He split the rock, and (CM)the water gushed forth.
22 “(CN)There is no peace for the wicked,” says Yahweh.
I Will Give You as a Light of the Nations
49 Listen to Me, O (CO)coastlands,
And pay attention, you peoples from afar.
(CP)Yahweh called Me from the womb;
From the [l]body of My mother He made My name to be remembered.
2 He has set My (CQ)mouth like a sharp sword;
In the (CR)shadow of His hand He has concealed Me;
And He has also set Me as a [m]select (CS)arrow;
He has hidden Me in His quiver.
3 He said to Me, “(CT)You are My Servant, Israel,
(CU)In Whom I will [n]show forth My beautiful glory.”
4 But I said, “I have (CV)toiled in vain;
I have spent My might for [o]nothing and vanity;
Yet surely the justice due to Me is with Yahweh,
And My (CW)reward with My God.”
5 So now says (CX)Yahweh, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To return Jacob back to Him, so that (CY)Israel might be gathered to Him
(For I am (CZ)glorified in the sight of Yahweh,
And My God is My (DA)strength),
6 He says, “It is too [p]small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to cause the (DB)preserved ones of Israel to return;
I will also give You as a (DC)light [q]of the nations
So that My salvation may [r]reach to the (DD)end of the earth.”
7 Thus says Yahweh, the (DE)Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One,
To the (DF)despised One,
To the One abhorred by the nation,
To the Servant of rulers,
“(DG)Kings will see and arise,
Princes will also (DH)bow down,
Because of Yahweh who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”
8 Thus says Yahweh,
“In an (DI)acceptable time I have answered You,
And in a day of salvation I have helped You;
And I will (DJ)guard You and (DK)give You for a covenant of the people,
To (DL)establish the land, to make them inherit the desolate [s]inheritance;
9 Saying to those who are (DM)bound, ‘Go forth,’
To those who are in darkness, ‘[t]Show yourselves.’
Along the roads they will [u]feed,
And their pasture will be on all (DN)bare heights.
10 They will (DO)not hunger or thirst,
Nor will the scorching (DP)heat or sun strike them down;
For (DQ)He who has compassion on them will (DR)guide them
And will lead them to (DS)springs of water.
11 I will set all (DT)My mountains as a road,
And My (DU)highways will be raised up.
12 Behold, these will come (DV)from afar;
And behold, these will come from the (DW)north and from the west,
And these from the land of Sinim.”
13 (DX)Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth!
Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains!
For (DY)Yahweh has comforted His people
And will (DZ)have compassion on His afflicted.
Promise to Zion
14 But Zion said, “Yahweh has forsaken me,
And the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a woman forget her infant
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but (EA)I will not forget you.
16 Behold, I have (EB)inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your (EC)walls are continually before Me.
17 Your [v]builders hurry;
Your (ED)destroyers and devastators
Will depart from you.
18 (EE)Lift up your eyes and look around;
(EF)All of them gather together; (EG)they come to you.
(EH)As I live,” declares Yahweh,
“You will surely (EI)put on all of them as [w]jewels and bind them on as a bride.
19 For (EJ)your [x]devastated and desolate places and your destroyed land—
Surely now you will be (EK)too cramped for the inhabitants,
And those who (EL)swallowed you will be far away.
20 The (EM)children of [y]whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears,
‘The place is too cramped for me;
Make room for me that I may live here.’
21 Then you will (EN)say in your heart,
‘Who has borne these for me?
Indeed, I have been bereaved of my children
And am (EO)barren, an (EP)exile and a wanderer.
And who has reared these?
Behold, I (EQ)remained alone;
[z](ER)From where did these come?’”
22 Thus says Lord Yahweh,
“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations
And make high My (ES)standard to the peoples;
And they will (ET)bring your sons in their bosom,
And your daughters will be lifted up on their shoulders.
23 (EU)Kings will be your guardians,
And their princesses your nurses.
They will (EV)bow down to you with their [aa]faces to the earth
And (EW)lick the dust of your feet;
And you will (EX)know that I am Yahweh;
Those who (EY)hope in Me will (EZ)not be put to shame.
24 “(FA)Can the prey be taken from the mighty man,
Or the captives of the [ab]righteous be granted escape?”
25 Surely, thus says Yahweh,
“Even the (FB)captives of the mighty man will be taken away,
And the prey of the tyrant will be granted escape;
For I will contend with the one who contends with you,
And I will (FC)save your sons.
26 I will feed (FD)those who mistreat you with their (FE)own flesh,
And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine;
And (FF)all flesh will know that I, Yahweh, am your (FG)Savior
And your (FH)Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
Sanctification and Love
4 (A)Finally then, (B)brothers, we ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us as to how you ought to [a](C)walk and (D)please God (just as you actually do [b]walk), that you (E)excel still more. 2 For you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you (F)abstain from [c]sexual immorality; 4 that (G)each of you know how to [d]possess his own [e](H)vessel in sanctification and (I)honor, 5 not in [f](J)lustful passion, like the Gentiles who (K)do not know God; 6 and that no man transgress and (L)defraud his brother (M)in the matter because (N)the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also (O)told you before and solemnly warned you. 7 For (P)God did not call us to (Q)impurity, but [g]in sanctification. 8 Consequently, he who sets this aside is not setting aside man but the God who (R)gives His Holy Spirit to you.
9 Now concerning (S)love of the brothers, you (T)have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are (U)taught by God to love one another, 10 for indeed (V)you do practice it toward all the brothers who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to (W)excel still more, 11 and to make it your ambition (X)to lead a quiet life and (Y)attend to your own business and (Z)work with your hands, just as we commanded you, 12 so that you will (AA)walk properly toward (AB)outsiders and [h](AC)not be in any need.
The Dead in Christ Will Rise
13 But (AD)we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who (AE)are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do (AF)the rest who have (AG)no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, (AH)even so God will bring with Him (AI)those who have fallen asleep [i]in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you (AJ)by the word of the Lord, that (AK)we who are alive [j]and remain until (AL)the coming of the Lord, will not precede (AM)those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord (AN)Himself (AO)will descend from heaven with a [k](AP)shout, with the voice of (AQ)the archangel and with the (AR)trumpet of God, and (AS)the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then (AT)we who are alive [l]and remain will be (AU)caught up together with them (AV)in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always (AW)be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
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