Isaiah 56

Blessings for All Nations
 ¹  This is what the LORD says: "Be just and fair to all. Do what is right and good, for I am coming soon to rescue you and to display my righteousness among you."  ²  Blessed are all those
  who are careful to do this.
Blessed are those who honor my Sabbath days of rest
  and keep themselves from doing wrong.

 ³  "Don't let foreigners who commit themselves to the LORD say,
  `The LORD will never let me be part of his people.'
And don't let the eunuchs say,
  `I'm a dried-up tree with no children and no future.'
 ⁴  For this is what the LORD says:
I will bless those eunuchs
  who keep my Sabbath days holy
and who choose to do what pleases me
  and commit their lives to me.
 ⁵  I will give them—within the walls of my house—
  a memorial and a name
  far greater than sons and daughters could give.
For the name I give them is an everlasting one.
  It will never disappear!

 ⁶  "I will also bless the foreigners who commit themselves to the LORD,
  who serve him and love his name,
who worship him and do not desecrate the Sabbath day of rest,
  and who hold fast to my covenant.
 ⁷  I will bring them to my holy mountain of Jerusalem
  and will fill them with joy in my house of prayer.
I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices,
  because my Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations.
 ⁸  For the Sovereign LORD,
  who brings back the outcasts of Israel, says:
I will bring others, too,
  besides my people Israel."

Sinful Leaders Condemned
 ⁹  Come, wild animals of the field!
  Come, wild animals of the forest!
  Come and devour my people!
 ¹⁰  For the leaders of my people—
  the LORD's watchmen, his shepherds—
  are blind and ignorant.
They are like silent watchdogs
  that give no warning when danger comes.
They love to lie around, sleeping and dreaming.
 ¹¹    Like greedy dogs, they are never satisfied.
They are ignorant shepherds,
  all following their own path
  and intent on personal gain.
 ¹²  "Come," they say, "let's get some wine and have a party.
  Let's all get drunk.
Then tomorrow we'll do it again
  and have an even bigger party!"

Isaiah 57

 ¹  Good people pass away;
  the godly often die before their time.
  But no one seems to care or wonder why.
No one seems to understand
  that God is protecting them from the evil to come.
 ²  For those who follow godly paths will rest in peace when they die. Idolatrous Worship Condemned
 ³  "But you—come here, you witches' children,
  you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!
 ⁴  Whom do you mock,
  making faces and sticking out your tongues?
  You children of sinners and liars!
 ⁵  You worship your idols with great passion
  beneath the oaks and under every green tree.
You sacrifice your children down in the valleys,
  among the jagged rocks in the cliffs.
 ⁶  Your gods are the smooth stones in the valleys.
  You worship them with liquid offerings and grain offerings.
They, not I, are your inheritance.
  Do you think all this makes me happy?
 ⁷  You have committed adultery on every high mountain.
  There you have worshiped idols
  and have been unfaithful to me.
 ⁸  You have put pagan symbols
  on your doorposts and behind your doors.
You have left me
  and climbed into bed with these detestable gods.
You have committed yourselves to them.
  You love to look at their naked bodies.
 ⁹  You have given olive oil to Molech [9] 
  with many gifts of perfume.
You have traveled far,
  even into the world of the dead, [9] 
  to find new gods to love.
 ¹⁰  You grew weary in your search,
  but you never gave up.
Desire gave you renewed strength,
  and you did not grow weary.

 ¹¹  "Are you afraid of these idols?
  Do they terrify you?
Is that why you have lied to me
  and forgotten me and my words?
Is it because of my long silence
  that you no longer fear me?
 ¹²  Now I will expose your so-called good deeds.
  None of them will help you.
 ¹³  Let's see if your idols can save you
  when you cry to them for help.
Why, a puff of wind can knock them down!
  If you just breathe on them, they fall over!
But whoever trusts in me will inherit the land
  and possess my holy mountain."

God Forgives the Repentant
 ¹⁴  God says, "Rebuild the road!
  Clear away the rocks and stones
  so my people can return from captivity."
 ¹⁵  The high and lofty one who lives in eternity,
  the Holy One, says this:
"I live in the high and holy place
  with those whose spirits are contrite and humble.
I restore the crushed spirit of the humble
  and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.
 ¹⁶  For I will not fight against you forever;
  I will not always be angry.
If I were, all people would pass away—
  all the souls I have made.
 ¹⁷  I was angry,
  so I punished these greedy people.
I withdrew from them,
  but they kept going on their own stubborn way.
 ¹⁸  I have seen what they do,
  but I will heal them anyway!
  I will lead them.
I will comfort those who mourn,
 ¹⁹    bringing words of praise to their lips.
May they have abundant peace, both near and far,"
  says the LORD, who heals them.
 ²⁰  "But those who still reject me are like the restless sea,
  which is never still
  but continually churns up mud and dirt.
 ²¹  There is no peace for the wicked,"
  says my God.

Isaiah 58

True and False Worship
 ¹  "Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast.
  Shout aloud! Don't be timid.
Tell my people Israel [1]  of their sins!
 ²    Yet they act so pious!
They come to the Temple every day
  and seem delighted to learn all about me.
They act like a righteous nation
  that would never abandon the laws of its God.
They ask me to take action on their behalf,
  pretending they want to be near me.
 ³  `We have fasted before you!' they say.
  `Why aren't you impressed?
We have been very hard on ourselves,
  and you don't even notice it!'

"I will tell you why!" I respond.
  "It's because you are fasting to please yourselves.
Even while you fast,
  you keep oppressing your workers.
 ⁴  What good is fasting
  when you keep on fighting and quarreling?
This kind of fasting
  will never get you anywhere with me.
 ⁵  You humble yourselves
  by going through the motions of penance,
bowing your heads
  like reeds bending in the wind.
You dress in burlap
  and cover yourselves with ashes.
Is this what you call fasting?
  Do you really think this will please the LORD?

 ⁶  "No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
  lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free,
  and remove the chains that bind people.
 ⁷  Share your food with the hungry,
  and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them,
  and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

 ⁸  Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind.  ⁹  Then when you call, the LORD will answer.
  `Yes, I am here,' he will quickly reply.

"Remove the heavy yoke of oppression.
  Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!
 ¹⁰  Feed the hungry,
  and help those in trouble.
Then your light will shine out from the darkness,
  and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
 ¹¹  The LORD will guide you continually,
  giving you water when you are dry
  and restoring your strength.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
  like an ever-flowing spring.
 ¹²  Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities.
  Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls
  and a restorer of homes.

 ¹³  "Keep the Sabbath day holy.
  Don't pursue your own interests on that day,
but enjoy the Sabbath
  and speak of it with delight as the LORD's holy day.
Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day,
  and don't follow your own desires or talk idly.
 ¹⁴  Then the LORD will be your delight.
  I will give you great honor
and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob.
  I, the LORD, have spoken!"

<<  57:9a Or to the king. 57:9b Hebrew into Sheol.
<<  58:1 Hebrew Jacob. See note on 14:1.

2 Thessalonians 2

Events prior to the Lord's Second Coming
 ¹  Now, dear brothers and sisters, [1]  let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him.  ²  "Don't be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don't believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us."  ³  Don't be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed; the one who brings destruction.  ⁴  He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.
   ⁵  Don't you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you?  ⁶  And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes.  ⁷  For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way.  ⁸  Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming.
   ⁹  This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles.  ¹⁰  He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them.  ¹¹  So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies.  ¹²  Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.

Believers Should Stand Firm
 ¹³  As for us, we can't help but thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are always thankful that God chose you to be among the first [13]  to experience salvation—a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth.  ¹⁴  He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
   ¹⁵  With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.
   ¹⁶  Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope,  ¹⁷  comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say.

<<  2:1 Greek brothers; also in 2:13, 15.
<<  2:3a Some manuscripts read the man of sin. 2:3b Greek the son of destruction.
<<  2:13 Some manuscripts read chose you from the very beginning.