Old/New Testament
50 This is what the Lord says:
“Where is your mother’s divorce certificate
by which I divorced her?
Or to which of my creditors did I sell you?[a]
Look, you were sold because of your sins;[b]
because of your rebellious acts I divorced your mother.[c]
2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?
Why does no one respond when I call?[d]
Is my hand too weak[e] to deliver[f] you?
Do I lack the power to rescue you?
Look, with a mere shout[g] I can dry up the sea;
I can turn streams into a desert,
so the fish rot away and die
from lack of water.[h]
3 I can clothe the sky in darkness;
I can cover it with sackcloth.”
The Servant Perseveres
4 The Sovereign Lord has given me the capacity to be his spokesman,[i]
so that I know how to help the weary.[j]
He wakes me up every morning;
he makes me alert so I can listen attentively as disciples do.[k]
5 The Sovereign Lord has spoken to me clearly;[l]
I have not rebelled,
I have not turned back.
6 I offered my back to those who attacked,[m]
my jaws to those who tore out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from insults and spitting.
7 But the Sovereign Lord helps me,
so I am not humiliated.
For that reason I am steadfastly resolved;[n]
I know I will not be put to shame.
8 The one who vindicates me is close by.
Who dares to argue with me? Let us confront each other![o]
Who is my accuser?[p] Let him challenge me![q]
9 Look, the Sovereign Lord helps me.
Who dares to condemn me?
Look, all of them will wear out like clothes;
a moth will eat away at them.
10 Who among you fears the Lord?
Who obeys[r] his servant?
Whoever walks in deep darkness,[s]
without light,
should trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on his God.
11 Look, all of you who start a fire
and who equip yourselves with[t] flaming arrows,[u]
walk[v] in the light[w] of the fire you started
and among the flaming arrows you ignited![x]
This is what you will receive from me:[y]
you will lie down in a place of pain.[z]
There is Hope for the Future
51 “Listen to me, you who pursue godliness,[aa]
who seek the Lord.
Look at the rock from which you were chiseled,
at the quarry[ab] from which you were dug.[ac]
2 Look at Abraham, your father,
and Sarah, who gave you birth.[ad]
When I summoned him, he was a lone individual,[ae]
but I blessed him[af] and gave him numerous descendants.[ag]
3 Certainly the Lord will console Zion;
he will console all her ruins.
He will make her wilderness like Eden,
her arid rift valley like the garden of the Lord.[ah]
Happiness and joy will be restored to[ai] her,
thanksgiving and the sound of music.
4 Pay attention to me, my people.
Listen to me, my people!
For[aj] I will issue a decree,[ak]
I will make my justice a light to the nations.[al]
5 I am ready to vindicate,[am]
I am ready to deliver,[an]
I will establish justice among the nations.[ao]
The coastlands[ap] wait patiently for me;
they wait in anticipation for the revelation of my power.[aq]
6 Look up at the sky.
Look at the earth below.
For the sky will dissipate[ar] like smoke,
and the earth will wear out like clothes;
its residents will die like gnats.
But the deliverance I give[as] is permanent;
the vindication I provide[at] will not disappear.[au]
7 Listen to me, you who know what is right,
you people who are aware of my law.[av]
Don’t be afraid of the insults of men;
don’t be discouraged because of their abuse.
8 For a moth will eat away at them like clothes;
a clothes moth will devour them like wool.
But the vindication I provide[aw] will be permanent;
the deliverance I give will last.”
9 Wake up! Wake up!
Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord![ax]
Wake up as in former times, as in antiquity.
Did you not smash[ay] the Proud One?[az]
Did you not[ba] wound the sea monster?[bb]
10 Did you not dry up the sea,
the waters of the great deep?
Did you not make[bc] a path through the depths of the sea,
so those delivered from bondage[bd] could cross over?
11 Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return;
they will enter Zion with a happy shout.
Unending joy will crown them,[be]
happiness and joy will overwhelm[bf] them;
grief and suffering will disappear.[bg]
12 “I, I am the one who consoles you.[bh]
Why are you afraid of mortal men,
of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass?[bi]
13 Why do you forget[bj] the Lord, who made you,
who stretched out the sky[bk]
and founded the earth?
Why do you constantly tremble all day long[bl]
at the anger of the oppressor,
when he makes plans to destroy?
Where is the anger of the oppressor?[bm]
14 The one who suffers[bn] will soon be released;
he will not die in prison,[bo]
he will not go hungry.[bp]
15 I am the Lord your God,
who churns up the sea so that its waves surge.
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name!
Zion’s Time to Celebrate
16 “I commission you[bq] as my spokesman;[br]
I cover you with the palm of my hand,[bs]
to establish[bt] the sky and to found the earth,
to say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”[bu]
17 Wake up! Wake up!
Get up, O Jerusalem!
You drank from the cup the Lord passed to you,
which was full of his anger.[bv]
You drained dry
the goblet full of intoxicating wine.[bw]
18 There was no one to lead her
among all the children she bore;
there was no one to take her by the hand
among all the children she raised.
19 These double disasters confronted you.
But who feels sorry for you?
Destruction and devastation,
famine and sword.
But who consoles you?[bx]
20 Your children faint;
they lie at the head of every street
like an antelope in a snare.
They are left in a stupor by the Lord’s anger,
by the battle cry of your God.[by]
21 So listen to this, oppressed one,
who is drunk, but not from wine.
22 This is what your Sovereign[bz] Lord, even your God who judges[ca] his people says:
“Look, I have removed from your hand
the cup of intoxicating wine,[cb]
the goblet full of my anger.[cc]
You will no longer have to drink it.
23 I will put it into the hand of your tormentors[cd]
who said to you, ‘Lie down, so we can walk over you.’
You made your back like the ground,
and like the street for those who walked over you.”
52 Wake up! Wake up!
Clothe yourself with strength, O Zion!
Put on your beautiful clothes,
O Jerusalem, holy city.
For uncircumcised and unclean pagans
will no longer invade you.
2 Shake off the dirt![ce]
Get up, captive[cf] Jerusalem.
Take off the iron chains around your neck,
O captive daughter Zion.
3 For this is what the Lord says:
“You were sold for nothing,
and you will not be redeemed for money.”
4 For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“In the beginning my people went to live temporarily in Egypt;
Assyria oppressed them for no good reason.
5 And now, what do we have here?”[cg] says the Lord.
“Indeed my people have been carried away for nothing,
those who rule over them taunt,”[ch] says the Lord,
“and my name is constantly slandered[ci] all day long.
6 For this reason my people will know my name;
for this reason they will know[cj] at that time[ck] that I am the one who says,
‘Here I am.’”
7 How delightful it is to see approaching over the mountains[cl]
the feet of a messenger who announces peace,
a messenger who brings good news, who announces deliverance,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”[cm]
8 Listen,[cn] your watchmen shout;
in unison they shout for joy,
for they see with their very own eyes[co]
the Lord’s return to Zion.
9 In unison give a joyful shout,
O ruins of Jerusalem!
For the Lord consoles his people;
he protects[cp] Jerusalem.
10 The Lord reveals[cq] his royal power[cr]
in the sight of all the nations;
the entire[cs] earth sees
our God deliver.[ct]
11 Leave! Leave! Get out of there!
Don’t touch anything unclean!
Get out of it!
Stay pure, you who carry the Lord’s holy items.[cu]
12 Yet do not depart quickly
or leave in a panic.[cv]
For the Lord goes before you;
the God of Israel is your rear guard.
The Lord Will Vindicate His Servant
13 Look, my servant will succeed![cw]
He will be elevated, lifted high, and greatly exalted[cx]—
14 (just as many were horrified by the sight of you)[cy]
he was so disfigured[cz] he no longer looked like a man;[da]
his form was so marred he no longer looked human[db]—
15 so now[dc] he will startle[dd] many nations.
Kings will be shocked by his exaltation,[de]
for they will witness something unannounced to them,
and they will understand something they had not heard about.
The Day of the Lord
5 Now on the topic of times and seasons,[a] brothers and sisters,[b] you have no need for anything to be written to you. 2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord[c] will come in the same way as a thief in the night.[d] 3 Now when[e] they are saying, “There is peace and security,”[f] then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains[g] on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape. 4 But you, brothers and sisters,[h] are not in the darkness for the day to overtake you like a thief would. 5 For you all are sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness. 6 So then we must not sleep as the rest, but must stay alert and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, we must stay sober by putting on the breastplate[i] of faith and love and as a helmet our hope for salvation.[j] 9 For God did not destine us for wrath[k] but for gaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died[l] for us so that whether we are alert or asleep[m] we will come to life together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, just as you are in fact doing.
Final Instructions
12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters,[n] to acknowledge those who labor among you and preside over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them most highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters,[o] admonish the undisciplined, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient toward all. 15 See that no one pays back evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all. 16 Always rejoice, 17 constantly pray, 18 in everything give thanks. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not extinguish the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21 But examine all things; hold fast to what is good. 22 Stay away from every form of evil.
Conclusion
23 Now may the God of peace himself make you completely holy and may your spirit and soul and body be kept entirely blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is trustworthy, and he will in fact do this.[p] 25 Brothers and sisters,[q] pray for us too. 26 Greet all the brothers and sisters[r] with a holy kiss. 27 I call on you solemnly in the Lord[s] to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.[t] 28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.[u]
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