Old/New Testament
The Evil That People Do
59 Surely the Lord’s ·power [L hand] is ·enough [L not too short] to save you.
·He can hear you when you ask him for help [L …nor his ear too heavy to hear].
2 It is your ·evil [iniquity] that has separated
you from your God.
Your sins cause him to ·turn away [L hide his face] from you,
so he does not hear you.
3 ·With your hands you have killed others [L For your hands are defiled with blood],
and ·with your fingers you have done wrong [L your fingers with sin/iniquity].
With your lips you have lied,
and with your tongue you ·say [utter; mutter] evil things.
4 ·People take each other to court unfairly [L No one sues with cause; or No one calls for justice],
and no one tells the truth in ·arguing [setting forth; pleading] his case.
They ·accuse each other falsely [or rely on empty arguments] and tell lies.
They ·cause [L conceive] trouble and ·create more [L give birth to] evil.
5 They hatch ·evil like eggs [L eggs] from ·poisonous snakes [vipers].
If you eat one of those eggs, you will die,
and if you break one open, a poisonous snake comes out.
People ·tell lies as they would spin [L spin] a spider’s web.
6 The webs they make cannot be used for clothes;
you can’t cover yourself with ·those webs [L what they make].
The things they do are evil,
and ·they use their hands to hurt others [L a deed of violence is in their hands].
7 ·They eagerly [L Their feet] run to do evil [Prov. 1:16; Rom. 3:15–17],
and they are always ready to ·kill innocent people [L shed innocent blood].
They ·think evil thoughts [or devise evil schemes].
·They cause ruin and destruction everywhere they go [Ruin and destruction are in their paths/roads].
8 They don’t know ·how to live in [L the path/way of] peace,
and there is no ·fairness [justice] in their ·lives [paths].
They ·are dishonest [act deceitfully; L have made their paths/ways crooked].
Anyone who ·lives as they live [walks on them] will never ·have [know] peace.
Israel’s Sin Brings Trouble
9 ·Fairness [Justice] has gone far away;
·goodness [righteousness] ·is nowhere to be found [L does not reach/overtake us].
We ·wait [hope] for the light, but ·there is only darkness now [L look/T behold, darkness].
We ·hope [wait] for a bright light, but ·all we have is darkness [L we walk in gloom/shadows/darkness].
10 We are like the blind ·feeling our way [groping] along a wall.
We ·feel our way [grope] as if we had no eyes.
·In the brightness of day [At midday/noon] we ·trip [stumble] as if it were ·night [evening; twilight].
We are like dead men ·among the strong [or in desolate places].
11 All of us growl like the bears.
We ·call out sadly [moan/coo mournfully] like the doves.
We ·look [hope; wait] for justice, but there isn’t any.
We ·want to be saved [hope/wait for salvation], but salvation is far away.
12 ·We have done many wrong things [L For our sins/transgressions are many] ·against our God [L before you];
our sins ·show we are wrong [L testify against us].
·We know we have turned against God [L Our transgressions are with us];
we know the ·evil things [iniquities] we have done:
13 ·sinning [transgressing; rebelling] and ·rejecting [L lying against] the Lord,
turning ·away from [our backs to] our God,
·planning to hurt others and to disobey God [L speaking oppression and revolt],
·planning [conceiving] and speaking lies.
14 So we have driven away justice,
and ·we have kept away from what is right [L righteousness stands far off].
Truth ·is not spoken [stumbles] in the ·streets [public squares];
what is honest ·is not allowed to enter the city [L cannot enter].
15 Truth ·cannot be found anywhere [is lost/gone; or fails],
and people who refuse to do evil ·are attacked [become prey].
The Lord looked and could not find any justice,
and he was displeased.
16 He ·could not find anyone to help the people [L saw there was no one],
and he was ·surprised [shocked; appalled] that there was no one to ·help [intervene].
So ·he used his own power to save the people [L his own arm brought him salvation];
his own ·goodness [righteousness] gave him strength.
17 He ·covered himself with goodness [put on righteousness] like ·armor [a breastplate].
He put the helmet of salvation on his head [1 Thess. 5:8; Eph. 6:13–17].
He put on ·his clothes for punishing [garments of vengeance]
and wrapped himself in ·the coat of his strong love [zeal/jealousy as a cloak].
18 The Lord will ·pay back his enemies [L repay] ·for what they have done [according to their deeds].
He will show his ·anger [wrath] to ·those who were against him [his adversaries]
and will ·punish [repay] his ·enemies [foes];
he will ·punish [repay] the ·people in faraway places [or islands; or coastlands] as they deserve.
19 Then people from the west will fear the [L name of the] Lord,
and people from the ·east [rising of the sun] will fear his glory.
·The Lord [L For he] will come quickly like a ·fast-flowing [or pent up] river,
driven by the ·breath [or wind; or Spirit] of the Lord.
20 “Then a Savior will come to ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple]
and to the people of Jacob who have turned from ·sin [transgressions],”
says the Lord [Rom. 11:26–27].
21 The Lord says, “This is my ·agreement [promise; covenant] with these people: My Spirit and my words that I ·give you [have put in your mouth] will ·never leave you [not depart from your mouth] or [L the mouth of] your ·children [descendants; seed] or [L the mouth of] your ·grandchildren [descendants’ descendants; L seed’s seed], now and forever [Jer. 31:31; Heb. 8:10; 10:16].”
Jerusalem Will Be Great
60 “Jerusalem, ·get up [arise] and shine, because your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord shines on you.
2 [L Look; T Behold] Darkness ·now covers [or will cover] the earth;
deep darkness covers ·her people [the nations].
But the Lord shines on you,
and people see his glory [C his manifest presence] ·around [upon] you.
3 Nations will come to your light;
kings will come to ·the brightness of your sunrise [or your radiance].
4 “[L Lift up your eyes and] Look around you.
People are gathering and coming to you.
Your sons are coming from far away,
and your daughters are ·coming with them [or carried on the hip; or nursed at their side; or escorted by guardians].
5 When you see them, you will ·shine with happiness [L shine; be radiant];
you will be excited and ·full of joy [L your heart will swell/enlarge],
because the wealth of the nations across the seas will be given to you;
the riches of the nations will come to you.
6 ·Herds [or Caravans; L An abundance of] of camels will cover your land,
young camels from Midian and Ephah.
·People [L All] will come from Sheba [C unknown location, perhaps present-day Yemen, Eritrea, or Ethiopia; see 1 Kin. 10:1–13]
bringing gold and ·incense [or frankincense],
and they will sing praises to the Lord.
7 All the sheep from Kedar will be ·given [gathered] to you;
the ·sheep [rams] from Nebaioth [Gen. 25:13] will ·be brought to [serve; minister to; C perhaps for sacrifices] you.
They will be ·pleasing [acceptable] sacrifices on my altar,
and I will ·make my beautiful Temple more beautiful [glorify/adorn my glorious Temple].
8 “·The people are returning to you [L Who are these who fly…?] like clouds,
like doves flying to their ·nests [shelters; L windows].
9 ·People in faraway lands [L For the coastlands/or islands] ·are waiting [or look] for me.
The ·great trading ships [L ships of Tarshish; 2:16] will come first,
bringing your children from ·faraway lands [afar],
and with them silver and gold.
·This will honor [L …for the name of] the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel [1:4],
·who does wonderful things for you [L because he has glorified/beautified you].
10 “Jerusalem, foreigners will rebuild your walls,
and their kings will serve you.
·When I was angry [L In my wrath], I ·hurt [struck] you,
but now ·I want to be kind to you and comfort you [L in grace/favor I will have compassion/mercy on you].
11 Your gates will always be open;
they will not be closed day or night
so the nations can bring their wealth to you,
and their kings ·will be led to you [or leading the way; C either as captives or leading the procession of gifts].
12 The nation or kingdom that doesn’t serve you will ·be destroyed [perish];
it will be completely ruined.
13 “The ·great trees [L glory] of Lebanon will ·be given [come] to you [35:2]:
its ·pine [juniper], fir, and cypress trees together.
You will use them to make ·my Temple [L the place of my sanctuary] beautiful,
and I will ·give much honor to [glorify] ·this place where I rest [L the place of] my feet [Ezek. 43:7].
14 The ·people who have hurt you [L children/sons of your oppressors] will bow down to you;
those who ·hated [despised] you will bow down at your feet.
They will call you The City of the Lord,
·Jerusalem, city [L Zion; 59:20] of the Holy One of Israel [1:4].
15 “You have been ·hated [despised] and ·left empty [abandoned; forsaken]
with no one passing through.
But I will make you great from now on;
you will be a place of ·happiness [pride; majesty] ·forever and ever [for generations to come].
16 You will ·be given what you need from [L drink the milk of] the nations,
like a child ·drinking milk from its mother [nursing at royal breasts].
Then you will know that it is I, the Lord, ·who saves you [your savior].
You will know that the Powerful One of Jacob ·protects [redeems] you.
17 I will bring you gold in place of bronze,
silver in place of iron,
bronze in place of wood,
iron in place of rocks.
I will ·change your punishment into peace [or make peace your governor/leader],
and ·you will be ruled by what is right [righteousness will be your ruler].
18 There will be no more violence [L heard] in your country,
no more ·ruin [devastation; havoc] or destruction within your borders.
You will name your walls Salvation
and your gates Praise.
19 The sun will no longer be your light during the day
nor will the brightness from the moon be your light,
because the Lord will be your ·light forever [everlasting light],
and your God will be your glory [Zech. 14:6–7; Rev. 21:23; 22:5].
20 Your sun will never set again,
and your moon will ·never be dark [not wane/disappear],
because the Lord will be your ·light forever [everlasting light],
and your ·time of sadness [days of mourning] will end.
21 All of your people will ·do what is right [be righteous].
They will ·receive [possess; inherit] the earth forever.
They are the ·plant [branch; shoot] I have planted,
the work of my own hands
to show my ·greatness [glory; C manifest presence].
22 The ·smallest family will grow to [L least of you will become] a thousand.
The ·least important [smallest] of you will become a powerful nation.
I am the Lord,
and ·when it is [L in its] time, I will ·make these things happen quickly [hasten it].”
The Lord’s Message of Freedom
61 The Lord God has put his Spirit in me,
because the Lord has ·appointed [anointed] me to ·tell [bring] the good news to the poor.
He has sent me to ·comfort [bind up] those whose hearts are broken,
to tell the captives they are free,
and to tell the prisoners they are released.
2 He has sent me to announce the ·time when the Lord will show his kindness [year of the Lord’s favor; C an allusion to the Year of Jubilee; Lev. 25:10; Luke 4:18–19]
and the ·time when our God will punish evil people [L day of vengeance of our God].
He has sent me to comfort all those who ·are sad [mourn]
3 and to help the ·sorrowing [mourning] people of ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C location of the Temple; 59:20].
I will give them a ·crown [garland; headdress] to replace their ashes,
and the oil of ·gladness [joy] to replace their ·sorrow [mourning],
and ·clothes [a garment] of praise to replace their ·spirit of sadness [discouragement; heavy heart].
Then they will be called ·Trees of Goodness [or Oaks of Righteousness],
trees planted by the Lord to show his ·greatness [glory; C manifest presence].
4 They will rebuild the ·old [ancient] ruins
and restore the places destroyed long ago [58:12].
They will repair the ruined cities
that were destroyed for ·so long [generations].
5 ·Foreigners [Strangers] will come to tend your sheep.
·People from other countries [Foreigners] will ·tend [plow] your fields and vineyards.
6 You will be called priests of the Lord;
you will be named the ·servants [ministers] of our God.
You will ·have riches from all the nations on earth [L eat the wealth of nations],
and ·you will take pride in them [L in their glory you will boast].
7 Instead of ·being ashamed [your shame], you will receive ·twice as much wealth [a double portion].
Instead of being ·disgraced [dishonored; humiliated], they will ·be happy because of what they receive [L rejoice over their portion].
They will receive a double share of the land,
so ·their happiness will continue forever [L everlasting joy will be theirs].
8 “I, the Lord, love justice.
I hate ·stealing [robbery] and ·everything that is wrong [wrongdoing].
·I will be fair and give my people what they should have [L I will reward/give wages in truth/faithfulness],
and I will make an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with them that will continue forever.
9 ·Everyone in all nations will know the children of my people [L Their descendants/seed will be known among the nations/Gentiles],
and their ·children [offspring] will be known among the ·nations [peoples].
Anyone who sees them will know
that they are ·people [descendants; seed] the Lord has blessed.”
10 I will ·rejoice [delight] greatly in the Lord;
·all that I am [my soul] ·rejoices [exults] in my God.
He has covered me with ·clothes [garments] of salvation
and wrapped me with a ·coat [robe] of ·goodness [righteousness],
like a bridegroom ·dressed for his wedding [or who adorns himself with a headdress like a priest],
like a bride ·dressed in [adorns herself with] jewels.
11 [L For as] The earth causes plants to grow,
and a garden causes the seeds planted in it to grow.
In the same way the Lord God will make ·goodness [righteousness] and praise
·come [sprout; spring up] ·from [or before; in front of] all the nations.
Pray for Us
3 ·And now [or Finally], brothers and sisters, pray for us that the Lord’s ·teaching [message; word] ·will continue to spread quickly [L might run (forward)] and ·that people will give honor to that teaching [L be honored/glorified], just as happened with you. 2 And pray that we will be ·protected [or rescued; delivered] from ·stubborn [or perverse; worthless; wicked] and evil people, because not all people ·believe [have faith].
3 But the Lord is faithful and will give you strength and will protect you from the Evil One [C Satan]. 4 ·The Lord makes us feel sure [L We have confidence about you in the Lord] that you are doing and will continue to do the things we ·told [instructed; commanded] you. 5 May the Lord ·lead [guide; direct] your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s ·patience [endurance; perseverance].
The Duty to Work
6 Brothers and sisters, ·by the authority [L in the name] of our Lord Jesus Christ we command you to stay away from any ·believer [L brother (or sister)] who ·refuses to work [or behaves irresponsibly; L lives/walks in idleness/disorder] and does not follow the ·teaching we gave you [L tradition you received from us]. 7 [L For] You yourselves know that you should ·live as we live [follow our example; imitate us]. [L Because] We were not ·lazy [idle; undisciplined] when we were with you. 8 And when we ate another person’s ·food [bread], we always paid for it. We worked ·very hard [L with labor and toil] night and day so we would not be an ·expense [financial burden] to any of you. 9 ·We had [L It was not because we do not have] the right to ask you to help us, but we worked ·to take care of ourselves so we would [L in order to] be an example for you to ·follow [imitate]. 10 [L For even] When we were with you, we gave you this ·rule [instruction; command]: “Anyone who ·refuses [is not willing] to work should not eat.”
11 [L For; or Yet] We hear that some people in your group ·refuse to work [or are behaving irresponsibly; L are living/walking in idleness/disorder]. They do nothing but ·busy themselves [meddle; interfere] in other people’s lives. 12 We command ·those [such] people and ·beg [urge; encourage; exhort] them in the Lord Jesus Christ to ·work quietly [or settle down] and ·earn [L eat] their own ·food [bread]. 13 But you, brothers and sisters, never become tired of doing good.
14 If some people do not obey what we tell you in this letter, then take note of them. ·Have nothing to do [Do not associate] with them so they will ·feel ashamed [or be shamed]. 15 But do not ·treat [regard] them as enemies. ·Warn [Admonish] them as ·fellow believers [L a brother (or sister)].
Final Words
16 Now may the Lord of peace [L himself] give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
17 I, Paul, ·end this letter now [write this greeting] in my own ·handwriting [L hand]. All my letters have this ·to show they are from me [sign]. This is the way I write.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.