Old/New Testament
New Jerusalem: A City Full of Goodness
62 I love Zion,
so I will continue to speak for her.
I love Jerusalem,
so I will not stop speaking.
I will speak until goodness[a] shines like a bright light,
until salvation burns bright like a flame.
2 Then all nations will see your goodness.
All kings will see your honor.
Then you will have a new name
that the Lord himself will give you.
3 You will be like a beautiful crown that the Lord holds up,
like a king’s crown in the hand of your God.
4 You will never again be called ‘The People God Left.’
Your land will never again be called ‘The Land God Destroyed.’
You will be called ‘The People God Loves.’
Your land will be called ‘God’s Bride,’
because the Lord loves you,
and your land will be his.[b]
5 As a young man takes a bride and she belongs to him,
so your land will belong to your children.[c]
As a man is happy with his new wife,
so your God will be happy with you.
6 Jerusalem, I put guards on your walls.
They will not be silent.
They will keep praying day and night.
Guards, keep praying to the Lord.
Remind him of his promise.
Don’t ever stop praying.
7 Don’t give him any rest until he rebuilds Jerusalem
and makes it a place that everyone on earth will praise.
8 The Lord made a promise and guaranteed it by his own power.
And he will use that power to keep his promise.
The Lord said, “I promise that I will never again give your food to your enemies.
I promise that they will never again take the wine you make.
9 Whoever gathers the food will eat it and praise the Lord.
Whoever gathers the grape will drink the wine in the courtyards of my Temple.”
10 Come through the gates!
Clear the way for the people!
Prepare the road!
Move all the stones off the road!
Raise a flag as a sign for the nations!
11 Listen, the Lord is speaking
to all the faraway lands:
“Tell the people of Zion,
‘Look, your Savior is coming.
He is bringing your reward to you.
He is bringing it with him.’”
12 His people will be called “The Holy People,”
“The Saved People of the Lord.”
And you, Jerusalem, will be called “The City God Wants,”
“The City God Is With.”
The Lord Punishes the Nations
63 Who is this coming from Edom,
from the city of Bozrah?
His clothes are stained bright red.
He is glorious in his clothes.
He is walking tall with his great power.
He says, “I have the power to save you,
and I speak the truth.”
2 “Why are your clothes bright red?
They are like the clothes of someone who tramples grapes to make wine.”
3 He answers, “I walked in the winepress by myself.
No one helped me.
I was angry, and I trampled the grapes.
The juice[d] splashed on my clothes, so now they are stained.
4 I chose a time to punish people.
Now the time has come for me to save and protect my people.
5 I looked around, but I saw no one to help me.
I was surprised that no one supported me.
So I used my own power to save my people.
My own anger supported me.
6 In my anger I trampled down the nations.
I punished them in anger and spilled their blood[e] on the ground.”
The Lord Has Been Kind to His People
7 I will remember the kind things the Lord has done,
and I will remember to praise him.
The Lord has given many good things
to the family of Israel.
He has been very kind to us.
He has shown us mercy.
8 He said, “These are my people.
These are my real children.”
So he saved them.
9 The people had many troubles,
but he was not against them.
He loved them and felt sorry for them,
so he saved them.
He sent his special angel to save them.
He picked them up and carried them, just as he did long ago.
10 But they turned against him
and made his Holy Spirit very sad.
So the Lord became their enemy
and fought against them.
11 Then they remembered what happened long ago.
They remembered Moses and those with him.
So where is the one who brought them through the sea
along with the shepherds who led his flock?
Where is the one
who sent his Holy Spirit to live among them?
12 He was by Moses’ side and led him with his wonderful hand.
He divided the water,
so that the people could walk through the sea.
He made his name famous
by doing those great things.
13 He led the people through the deep sea.
Like a horse running through the desert,
they walked without falling.
14 Like cattle going down to the valley,
The Spirit of the Lord led them.
This is how you led your people
and made your name wonderful.
A Prayer for God to Help His People
15 Please, look down from the heavens.
See what is happening now.
Look down at us from your great and holy home in heaven.
Where is your strong love[f] for us?
Where is your compassion?
Why are you hiding your kind love from me?
16 Look, you are our father!
Abraham does not know us.
Israel does not recognize us.
Lord, you are our father!
You are the one who has always saved us!
17 Lord, why are you pushing us away from you?
Why are you making it hard for us to follow you?
Come back to us!
We are your servants.
Come to us and help us!
Our tribes belong to you.
18 Your holy people had their land only a short time.
Then our enemies trampled down your holy Temple.
19 Some people don’t follow you.
They don’t wear your name.
And we have been like them
for a very long time.
64 If you would tear open the skies
and come down to earth, then everything would change.
Mountains would melt before you.
2 The mountains would burst into flames like burning bushes.
The mountains would boil like water on the fire.
Then your enemies would learn about you.
And all nations would shake with fear when they see you.
3 But you have done awesome things that we did not expect.
You came down, and mountains shook in fear before you.
4 No one has ever heard of such a God.
No one has ever heard such a story.
No one has ever seen any God except you,
who does such great things for those who trust him.
5 You welcome people who enjoy doing good and who remember you
by living the way you want them to.
But we sinned against you,
and you became angry with us.[g]
But you always saved us!
6 We are all dirty with sin.
Even our good works are not pure.
They are like bloodstained rags.
We are all like dead leaves.
Our sins have carried us away like wind.
7 We don’t call to you for help.
We aren’t excited about following you,
so you have turned away from us.
We are helpless before you,
because we are full of sin.
8 But, Lord, you are our father.
We are like clay, and you are the potter.
Your hands made us all.
9 Lord, don’t continue to be angry with us!
Don’t remember our sins forever!
Please, look at us!
We are all your people.
10 Your holy cities are as empty as the desert.
Zion has become a desert.
Jerusalem is destroyed.
11 Our ancestors worshiped you in our holy Temple.
That wonderful Temple has now been burned.
All our precious possessions have been destroyed.
12 Lord, will these things always keep you from helping?
Will you continue to say nothing?
Will you punish us forever?
1 Greetings from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am an apostle by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope.
2 To Timothy, a true son to me in the faith we share.
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Warnings Against False Teachings
3 When I went to Macedonia, I asked you to stay in Ephesus. Some people there are teaching things that are not true, and I want you to tell them to stop. 4 Tell them not to give their time to meaningless stories and to long lists of names to prove their family histories. Such things only cause arguments. They don’t help God’s work, which is done only by faith. 5 My purpose in telling you to do this is to promote love—the kind of love shown by those whose thoughts are pure, who do what they know is right, and whose faith in God is real. 6 But some have missed this key point in their teaching and have gone off in another direction. Now they talk about things that help no one. 7 They want to be teachers of the law,[a] but they don’t know what they are talking about. They don’t even understand the things they say they are sure of.
8 We know that the law is good if someone uses it right. 9 We also know that the law is not made for those who do what is right. It is made for those who are against the law and refuse to follow it. The law is for sinners who are against God and all that is pleasing to him. It is for those who have no interest in spiritual things and for those who kill their fathers or mothers or anyone else. 10 It is for those who commit sexual sins, homosexuals, those who sell slaves, those who tell lies, those who don’t tell the truth under oath, and those who are against the true teaching of God. 11 That teaching is part of the Good News that our blessed God gave me to tell. In it we see his glory.
Thanks for God’s Mercy
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord because he trusted me and gave me this work of serving him. He gives me strength. 13 In the past I insulted Christ. As a proud and violent man, I persecuted his people. But God gave me mercy because I did not know what I was doing. I did that before I became a believer. 14 But our Lord gave me a full measure of his grace. And with that grace came the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15 Here is a true statement that should be accepted without question: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and I am the worst of them. 16 But I was given mercy so that in me Christ Jesus could show that he has patience without limit. Christ showed his patience with me, the worst of all sinners. He wanted me to be an example for those who would believe in him and have eternal life. 17 Honor and glory to the King who rules forever. He cannot be destroyed and cannot be seen. Honor and glory forever and ever to the only God. Amen.
18 Timothy, you are like a son to me. What I am telling you to do agrees with the prophecies[b] that were told about you in the past. I want you to remember those prophecies and fight the good fight of faith. 19 Continue to trust in God and do what you know is right. Some people have not done this, and their faith is now in ruins. 20 Hymenaeus and Alexander are men like that. I have given them to Satan so that they will learn not to speak against God.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International