Old/New Testament
A Call to Return to God
50 This is what the Lord says:
“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce
with which I sent her away?
Or to which of my creditors did I sell you?
Look! It’s because of your sins that you were sold,
and because of your transgressions that your mother was sent away.
2 Why is it that when I came, no one was there?
Why was there no answer when I called?
Was my arm[a] too short to redeem you?
Do[b] I lack the strength to rescue you?
Look! By my mere rebuke I dry up the sea,
I turn rivers into a desert.
Their fish stink for lack of water
and die of thirst.
3 I clothe the skies with darkness
and make sackcloth their covering.”
The Servant’s Obedience
4 “The Lord God has given me
a learned tongue, so that I may know
how to sustain the weary with words.
And[c] morning after morning he wakens,
and[d] he wakens my ear to
listen like those who are being taught.
5 My Lord God[e] has opened my ears,
and I did not rebel;
I did not shrink back.
6 I gave my back to those who beat me
and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard.[f]
I did not turn away[g] my face
from insults and spitting.
7 For the Lord God helps me,
so I won’t be disgraced.
Therefore I’ve made my face like flint,
and I know that I won’t be put to shame.”
The Servant’s Vindication
8 The one who vindicates me is near.
Who, then, will bring a charge against me?
Let’s face each other!
Who has a case against me?
Let him confront me!
9 See! It is the Lord God who will help me.
Who is it that will declare me guilty?
See! They will all wear out like a garment;
moths will eat them up.
10 Who among you fears[h] the Lord,
obeying the voice of his servant,
who among you[i] walks[j] in darkness[k]
and has no light?
Let him trust in the name of the Lord,
and rely upon his God.
11 Look! All those[l] who light a fire,
who surround yourselves with flaming torches—
walk by the light of your fire,
and by the torches that you have set ablaze!
This is what you will receive from my hand:
you will lie down in torment.
Deliverance for Zion
51 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the Lord!
Look to the rock from which you were cut,
to the quarry from which you were hewn.
2 Look to Abraham your father,
and to Sarah who gave you birth.
For when he was only one person I called him,
but I made him fruitful[m] and made him many.
3 For the Lord will have compassion on Zion,
have compassion on all her ruins.
He will make her wilderness like Eden,
and her deserts like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving, and the sound of singing.[n]
Sorrow and sighing will flee away.[o]
4 “Pay attention to me, my people!
Listen to me, my nation!
For instruction[p] will go out from me,
and my justice will become a light for the nations.[q]
I will quickly bring 5 my deliverance near;
my salvation is on the way.
His arm[r] will bring justice to[s] the nations;[t]
the coastlands will hope for him,[u]
and they will wait for his arm.[v]
6 “Lift up your eyes, you[w] heavens
and look to the earth beneath;
and see who created these.[x]
Its inhabitants will die just like this;[y]
but my salvation will be forever,
and my deliverance will never fail.
7 Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
you people who have my instruction[z] in their hearts.
Don’t fear the insults of mortals,
and don’t be dismayed at their hateful words.[aa]
8 For moths will eat them up just like a garment,
and worms will devour them like wool;
but my deliverance will last[ab] forever,
and my salvation to all generations.
9 “Awake! Awake! Clothe yourself with strength,
you arm[ac] of the Lord!
Awake, as in days gone by,
as in generations of long ago.
Was it not you who split apart[ad] Rehob,[ae]
who pierced that sea monster through?[af]
10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,
who made a road in[ag] the depths of the sea
so that the redeemed could cross over?”
A Promise of Return to the Land
11 “The scattered ones[ah] of the Lord will return,
and they will enter Zion with singing.
Everlasting joy will be upon their heads;
they will attain joy and gladness,
and[ai] sorrow and sighing will flee away.[aj]
12 “I—yes, I—am the one who comforts you.
Who are you, that you are so afraid of humans who will die,
descendants of mere[ak] men, who have been made[al] like grass?
13 As a result, you have forgotten the Lord who made you,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the earth’s foundations,
and you live in constant fear every day
because of the oppressor’s fury,
since he’s ready to destroy.
Now where is the[am] oppressor’s fury?
14 Distress[an] will quickly be set free.
He won’t die in the Pit,[ao]
nor will he lack food.”
A Promise of Restoration
15 “For I am the Lord your God,
who churns up the sea, so that its waves roar,
‘The Lord of the Heavenly Armies is his name.’
16 I have put my words in your mouth
and have covered you with the shadow of my hand,
so that I could plant the heavens
and lay the earth’s foundations,
to say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’
17 “Awake, Awake!
Stand up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the Lord’s hand
from the cup that is[ap] his anger.
You have drunk to the dregs
the cup that makes you stagger,[aq]
and have drained it.
18 There is no one to guide you[ar]
out of all the children she bore,
no one to take her by the hand
out of all the children she brought up.
19 “These twin things have come upon you
(who can feel sorry for you?):
ruin and destruction,
famine and the sword—
who can console you?
20 Your children have fainted.
They lie at the head of every street,
like antelope caught in a trap,
filled with the anger of the Lord
and the rebuke of your God.
21 Now listen to this, you afflicted one,
made drunk, but not with wine:
22 This is what your Lord, the Lord,[as] says,
your[at] God, who defends his people’s cause:
“See, I have taken from your hand the cup that made you stagger.[au]
And you will never again drink to the dregs the cup that is my anger.
23 But I will put it into the hands of those who tormented and oppressed you,[av]
those who said to you,
‘Lie down,[aw] so we can step over you,’
so that you had to make your back like the ground,
and like a street for them to walk over.”
The Redemption of Zion
52 Awake, awake!
Clothe yourself with strength,[ax] O Zion!
Put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city,
for the uncircumcised and the unclean won’t enter you.[ay]
2 Shake yourself from the dust and[az] arise,
and[ba] sit on your throne, O Jerusalem!
Loosen the bonds from your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion.
3 For this is what the Lord says: “You were sold for nothing, and you’ll be redeemed without money.”
4 For this is what the Lord[bb] says: “My people went down long ago into Egypt to live[bc] there; the Assyrian, too, has oppressed them without cause.
5 “Now therefore, what[bd] am I doing here,” asks[be] the Lord, “seeing that my people are taken away without cause? Those who rule over them are deluded,”[bf] says the Lord, “and continuously, all the day long, my name is blasphemed. 6 Therefore my people will know my name; in that day[bg] they’ll know that it is I who speaks, ‘Here I am!’
7 “How beautiful[bh] on the mountains
are the feet of the one who brings news of peace,[bi]
who announces good things,
who announces salvation,[bj]
who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’
8 Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices,[bk]
together they sing for joy;
for they will see in plain sight
the return of the Lord to Zion with compassion.[bl]
9 “Break forth together into singing,[bm]
you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord has comforted his people,
and[bn] he has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord has bared his holy arm[bo]
in the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth will see
the salvation of our God.
11 “Depart! Depart! Go out from there;
touch no unclean thing;
go out from the midst of her;
purify yourselves,
you who carry the vessels of the Lord.
12 For you won’t go out in haste,
nor will you go in flight;
for the Lord will go before you;
and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
He is called the God of all the earth.”[bp]
The Suffering Servant
13 “Look! My servant will prosper,
and[bq] he will be exalted and lifted up,
and will be very high.
14 Just as many were astonished at you[br]—
so was he marred in[bs] his appearance, more than any human,
and his form beyond that of human semblance[bt]—
15 so will he startle[bu] many nations.
Kings will shut their mouths at him;
for what had not been told them they will see,
and what they had not heard they will understand.
Be Ready for the Day of the Lord
5 Now you do not need to have anything written to you about times and dates, brothers, 2 for you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 When people[a] say, “There is peace and security,” destruction will strike them as suddenly as labor pains come[b] to a pregnant woman, and they will not be able to escape.
4 However, brothers, you are not in the darkness, in order that the Day of the Lord[c] might surprise you like a thief. 5 For all of you are children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to darkness. 6 Therefore, let’s not fall asleep like others do, but let’s stay awake and be sober. 7 For people who go to sleep, go to sleep at night; and people who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let’s be sober. We must put on the breastplate of faith and love, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9 For God has not destined us to receive[d] wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[e] 10 who died for us in order that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 So then, encourage one another and build each other up, as you are doing.
Paul Gives Final Instructions to the Church
12 Brothers, we ask you to show your appreciation for those who work among you, set an example for you in the Lord, and instruct[f] you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard, loving them because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14 We urge you, brothers, to admonish[g] those who are idle,[h] cheer up those who are discouraged, and help those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. 15 Make sure that no one pays back evil for evil. Instead, always pursue what is good for each other and for everyone else. 16 Always be joyful. 17 Continually be prayerful. 18 In everything be thankful, because this is God’s will for you in the Messiah[i] Jesus. 19 Do not put out the Spirit’s fire.[j] 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Instead, test everything. Hold on to what is good. 22 Keep away from every kind of evil.
Final Greeting
23 May the God of peace himself make you holy in every way. And may your whole being—spirit, soul, and body—remain blameless when our Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[k] appears. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will continue to be faithful.[l] 25 Brothers, pray[m] for us. 26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. 27 I order you by the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers. 28 May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[n] be with you! Amen.[o]
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