Old/New Testament
Sins that Separate from God
59 “See, the Lord’s hand is not too short to save,
nor are his ears[a] too dull to hear.
2 Instead, your iniquities have been barriers
between you and your God,
and your sins have concealed his face from you
so that he won’t listen.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood,
and your fingers with iniquity;
your tongue[b] mutters wickedness.
4 No one brings a lawsuit fairly,
and no one goes to law honestly;
they have relied[c] on empty arguments
and they tell lies;
they conceive[d] trouble
and give birth[e] to iniquity.
5 They hatch[f] adders’ eggs[g]
and weave[h] a spider’s web;
whoever eats their eggs dies,
and any crushed egg hatches out futility.[i]
6 Their cobwebs cannot become clothing,
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are deeds of iniquity,
and acts of violence fill their hands.
7 Their feet rush to evil,
and they are quick to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
ruin, destruction, and violence[j] are in their paths.
8 The pathway of peace they do not know,
and there is no justice in their courses.
They have made their roads crooked;
no one who walks in them will know peace.”
A Commitment to Wait on God
9 “So justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We wait for light, but look—there is darkness;
we wait for brightness, but we walk in deep darkness.[k]
10 Let’s grope[l] along the wall like the blind;
let us grope like those who have no eyes.
We stumble at midday as if it were twilight,
in desolate places[m] like dead people.
11 We all growl like bears;
we[n] sigh mournfully like doves.
We look for justice, but there is none,
and[o] for deliverance, but it’s far from us.
12 “For our transgressions before you are many,
and our sins testify[p] against us;
for our transgressions are with us,
and as for our iniquities,
we acknowledge them:
13 they’ve rebelled[q] in[r] treachery against the Lord,
and are turning away from following our God;
and they’ve spoken[s] oppression and revolt,
and are conceiving[t] lying words from the heart.
14 I’ll drive back justice,[u]
and righteousness stands at a distance;
for truth has fallen in the public square,
and honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth is missing,
and whoever turns away from evil becomes a prey.”
God Brings His Own Salvation
“Then the Lord looked, and it displeased him
that there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no one,
and was appalled that there was no one to intervene;
so his own arm[v] brought him victory,
and his righteous acts upheld him.
17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and wrapped himself in fury like a cloak.
18 So he will repay according to their action:
Anger to his enemies, retribution to his foes;
to the coastlands he will render their due.
19 So people will fear the name of the Lord from the west,
and his glories[w] from the rising of the sun;
for he will come as a pent-up stream
that the breath of the Lord drives along.
20 “And a Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” says the Lord.
21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,”[x] says the Lord. “And[y] my Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, won’t depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of your children’s children,[z] from now on and forever.”
The Light of God’s Deliverance
60 “Arise, shine!
For your light has come;
the[aa] glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
2 For look! Darkness will cover the earth
and thick darkness is over the people,[ab]
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
3 Nations will come to your light,
and kings before[ac] your dawn.
4 “Lift up your eyes and look around:
They all gather together, they come to you;
your sons will come from far away,
and your daughters will be carried on the hip.”[ad]
5 Then you will look and be radiant;
your heart will swell with joy,[ae]
because the abundance of the seas will be diverted to you,
and the riches of the nations will come to you.
6 Throngs of camels will blanket you:
the young camels of Midian and Ephu;[af]
all those from Shebu[ag] will come.
They’ll carry gold and frankincense,
and proclaim the praise of the Lord.
7 All Kedar’s flocks will be gathered to you,
the rams of Nebaioth will serve you.
and[ah] they’ll come up with acceptance upon[ai] my altar,
and I’ll glorify my glorious house.”
The Future Restoration of Zion
8 “Who are these that fly like clouds,
and like doves to their windows?[aj]
9 For the coastlands will look to me,
with the ships of Tarshish in the lead,
to bring my[ak] children from far away,
their silver and gold with them,
to the name of the Lord your God,
and to the Holy One of Israel,
because he has glorified you.
10 “Foreigners will rebuild your walls,
and their kings will serve you.
Though in my anger I struck you down,
in my favor I have shown you mercy.
11 Your gates will always stand open
by day or night, and[al] they will not be shut,
so that nations will bring you their wealth,
with their kings led in procession.
12 For the nation or kingdom
that will not serve you will perish;
those nations will be utterly ruined.
13 “He has given you[am] the glory of Lebanon,
and it will come[an] to you,
the cypress, and[ao] the plane tree,[ap] and the pine,
to adorn the place of my sanctuary;
and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
14 “All[aq] the descendants of those who oppressed you
will come bending low before you,
and all those who despised you
will bow down at your feet.
They’ll call you ‘The City of the Lord,’
‘Zion of the Holy One of Israel.’”
Israel: the Joy of Generations
15 “Although you have been forsaken and despised,
with no one traveling through,
I will make you the everlasting pride,
the joy of all generations.
16 You’ll suck the milk of nations,
You’ll suck the breasts of kings.
Then you will realize that I, the Lord, am your Savior
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
17 “Instead of bronze, I’ll bring gold,
and instead of iron, I’ll bring silver;
instead of wood, bronze,
and instead of stones, iron.
I’ll appoint peace as your supervisor
and righteousness as your taskmaster.
18 Then[ar] violence will no longer be heard in your land,
nor devastation or destruction within your borders;
but you’ll call your walls ‘Salvation’,
and your gates ‘Praise’.
19 “The sun will no longer be your light by day,
nor for brightness will the moon shine on you by night[as]—
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,[at]
and your God will be your glory.
20 Your sun won’t[au] set,
nor will your moon withdraw itself—
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your days of mourning will end.
21 Then your people will all be righteous;
They’ll possess the land forever.
They are the shoot[av] that the Lord planted,[aw]
the works[ax] of his hands,
so that I might be glorified.
22 The least of them will become a thousand,
and the smallest one a mighty nation.
“I am the Lord;
When the time is right,[ay] I will do this swiftly.”
Good News of Deliverance
61 “The Spirit of the Lord[az] is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed
and[ba] to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives,
and release from darkness[bb] for the prisoners;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
the[bc] day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
3 to provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
a mantle of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”
“Then people will call them[bd] “Oaks of Righteousness”,
“The Planting of the Lord”,
in order to display his splendor.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins;
they will restore the places long devastated;
they will build again the ruined cities,
they will build again[be] the places devastated for many generations.
5 Strangers will stand and feed your flocks,
and foreigners will work your land
and dress your vines.
6 But as for you, you will be called priests of the Lord,
and[bf] you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of the nations,
and you will boast about their riches.
7 Instead of your shame you will receive double,
and instead of disgrace people will shout with joy over your[bg] inheritance;
therefore you[bh] will inherit a double portion in their land;
everlasting joy will be yours.”[bi]
8 “For I, the Lord, love justice,
and[bj] I hate robbery and iniquity;
I will faithfully present your reward[bk]
and make an everlasting covenant with you.[bl]
9 Your[bm] offspring will be known among the nations,
and your[bn] descendants among the people.[bo]
All who see them will acknowledge them,
that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.”
Rejoicing in God’s Deliverance
10 “I will heartily rejoice in the Lord,
my soul will delight in my God;
for he has wrapped me in garments of salvation;
he has arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
just like a bridegroom,
like a priest[bp] with a garland,
and like a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For just as the soil brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden makes what is sown within it spring up,
so the Lord God[bq] will make righteousness and praise
spring up before all the nations for Zion’s sake.”[br]
An Example to Follow
3 Finally, brothers, pray for us—that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly, and that it may be honored the way it is among you. 2 Also pray[a] that we may be rescued from worthless and evil people, since not everyone holds to the faith.[b] 3 But the Lord is faithful and will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. 4 We have confidence in the Lord[c] that you are doing and will continue to do what we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of the Messiah.[d]
6 In the name of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[e] we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is living in idleness[f] and not living[g] according to the tradition that they received[h] from us. 7 For you yourselves know what you must do to imitate us. We never lived in idleness[i] among you. 8 We did not eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, with toil and labor we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to any of you. 9 It is not as though we did not have that right, but we wanted[j] to give you an example to follow. 10 While we were with you, we gave this order: “If anyone doesn’t want to work, he shouldn’t eat.”
11 We hear that some of you are living in idleness.[k] You are not busy working[l]—you are busy interfering[m] in other people’s lives! 12 We order and encourage such people by the Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[n] to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. 13 Brothers, do not get tired of doing what is right.
14 If anyone does not obey what we say[o] in this letter, take note of him. Have nothing to do with him so that he will feel ashamed. 15 Yet, don’t treat him like an enemy, but warn[p] him like a brother. 16 Now may the Lord of peace give you his peace at all times and in every way. May the Lord be with all of you.
Final Greeting
17 I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand. This is the mark in every letter of mine. It is the way I write. 18 May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[q] be with all of you. Amen.[r]
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