1 “Shout for joy, infertile one, you who have not given birth to any child;
Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor;
For the sons of the desolate one will be more numerous
Than the sons of the married woman,” says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent;
Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not spare them;
Lengthen your ropes
And strengthen your pegs.
3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left.
And your descendants will possess nations
And will resettle the desolate cities.
4 “Fear not, for you will not be put to shame;
And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced;
But you will forget the shame of your youth,
And no longer remember the disgrace of your widowhood.
5 For your husband is your Maker,
Whose name is the Lord of armies;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
Who is called the God of all the earth.
6 For the Lord has called you,
Like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,”
Says your God.
7 “For a brief moment I abandoned you,
But with great compassion I will gather you.
8 In an outburst of anger
I hid My face from you for a moment,
But with everlasting favor I will have compassion on you,”
Says the Lord your Redeemer.
9 “For this is like the days of Noah to Me,
When I swore that the waters of Noah
Would not flood the earth again;
So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
Nor rebuke you.
10 For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
But My favor will not be removed from you,
Nor will My covenant of peace be shaken,”
Says the Lord who has compassion on you.
11 “Afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted,
Behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
And I will lay your foundations with sapphires.
12 Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies,
And your gates of crystal,
And your entire wall of precious stones.
13 All your sons will be taught by the Lord;
And the well-being of your sons will be great.
14 In righteousness you will be established;
You will be far from oppression, for you will not fear;
And from terror, for it will not come near you.
15 If anyone fiercely attacks you, it will not be from Me.
Whoever attacks you will fall because of you.
16 Behold, I Myself have created the smith who blows on the fire of coals
And produces a weapon for its work;
And I have created the destroyer to inflict ruin.
17 No weapon that is formed against you will succeed;
And you will condemn every tongue that accuses you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their vindication is from Me,” declares the Lord.
1 “You there! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have no money come, buy and eat.
Come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without cost.
2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And delight yourself in abundance.
3 Incline your ear and come to Me.
Listen, that you may live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
According to the faithful mercies shown to David.
4 Behold, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
A leader and commander for the peoples.
5 Behold, you will call a nation you do not know,
And a nation which does not know you will run to you,
Because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel;
For He has glorified you.”
6 Seek the Lord while He may be found;
Call upon Him while He is near.
7 Let the wicked abandon his way,
And the unrighteous person his thoughts;
And let him return to the Lord,
And He will have compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth
And making it produce and sprout,
And providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
11 So will My word be which goes out of My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it.
12 For you will go out with joy
And be led in peace;
The mountains and the hills will break into shouts of joy before you,
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn bush, the juniper will come up,
And instead of the stinging nettle, the myrtle will come up;
And it will be a memorial to the Lord,
An everlasting sign which will not be eliminated.”
1 This is what the Lord says:
“Guard justice and do righteousness,
For My salvation is about to come
And My righteousness to be revealed.
2 Blessed is a man who does this,
And a son of man who takes hold of it;
Who keeps from profaning the Sabbath,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3 Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,
“The Lord will certainly separate me from His people.”
Nor let the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”
4 For this is what the Lord says:
“To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And hold firmly to My covenant,
5 To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial,
And a name better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name which will not be eliminated.
6 “Also the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
To attend to His service and to love the name of the Lord,
To be His servants, every one who keeps the Sabbath so as not to profane it,
And holds firmly to My covenant;
7 Even those I will bring to My holy mountain,
And make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar;
For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”
8 The Lord God, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares,
“I will yet gather others to them, to those already gathered.”
9 All you wild animals,
All you animals in the forest,
Come to eat.
10 His watchmen are blind,
All of them know nothing.
All of them are mute dogs unable to bark,
Dreamers lying down, who love to slumber;
11 And the dogs are greedy, they are never satisfied.
And they are shepherds who have no understanding;
They have all turned to their own way,
Each one to his unjust gain, without exception.
12 “Come,” they say, “let’s get wine, and let’s drink heavily of intoxicating drink;
And tomorrow will be like today, only more so.”
1 The righteous person perishes, and no one takes it to heart;
And devout people are taken away, while no one understands.
For the righteous person is taken away from evil,
2 He enters into peace;
They rest in their beds,
Each one who walked in his upright way.
3 “But come here, you sons of a sorceress,
Offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute!
4 Of whom do you make fun?
Against whom do you open wide your mouth
And stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of rebellion,
Offspring of deceit,
5 Who inflame yourselves among the oaks,
Under every luxuriant tree,
Who slaughter the children in the ravines,
Under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth stones of the ravine
Is your portion, they are your lot;
Even to them you have poured out a drink offering,
You have made a grain offering.
Should I relent of these things?
7 On a high and lofty mountain
You have made your bed.
You also went up there to offer sacrifice.
8 Behind the door and the doorpost
You have set up your sign;
Indeed, far removed from Me, you have uncovered yourself,
And have gone up and made your bed wide.
And you have made an agreement for yourself with them,
You have loved their bed,
You have looked at their manhood.
9 You have journeyed to the king with oil
And increased your perfumes;
You have sent your messengers a great distance
And made them go down to Sheol.
10 You were tired out by the length of your road,
Yet you did not say, ‘It is hopeless!’
You found renewed strength,
Therefore you did not faint.
11 “Of whom were you worried and fearful
When you lied, and did not remember Me
Nor give Me a thought?
Was I not silent, even for a long time,
So you do not fear Me?
12 I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,
And they will not benefit you.
13 When you cry out, let your collection of idols save you.
But the wind will carry them all up,
And a breath will take them away.
But the one who takes refuge in Me will inherit the land
And possess My holy mountain.”
14 And it will be said,
“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
Remove every obstacle from the way of My people.”
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), 3 so that it may turn out well for you, and that you may live long on the earth.
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
5 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; 6 not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 7 With goodwill render service, as to the Lord, and not to people, 8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, he will receive this back from the Lord, whether slave or free.
9 And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, having belted your waist with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having strapped on your feet the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be alert with all perseverance and every request for all the saints, 19 and pray in my behalf, that speech may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
21 Now, so that you also may know about my circumstances as to what I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make everything known to you. 22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us, and that he may comfort your hearts.
23 Peace be to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.
1 God, hurry to save me;
Lord, hurry to help me!
2 May those who seek my life
Be put to shame and humiliated;
May those who delight in my harm
Be turned back and dishonored.
3 May those who say, “Aha, aha!” be turned back
Because of their shame.
4 May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
And may those who love Your salvation say continually,
“May God be exalted!”
5 But I am afflicted and needy;
Hurry to me, God!
You are my help and my savior;
Lord, do not delay.
8 One who plans to do evil,
People will call a schemer.
