Isaiah 62; Isaiah 63; Isaiah 64; 1 Timothy 1 (New Living Translation)

1 Because I love Zion, because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent. I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch. 2 The nations will see your righteousness. Kings will be blinded by your glory. And the LORD will give you a new name. 3 The LORD will hold you in his hands for all to see -- a splendid crown in the hands of God. 4 Never again will you be called the Godforsaken City or the Desolate Land. Your new name will be the City of God's Delight and the Bride of God, for the LORD delights in you and will claim you as his own. 5 Your children will care for you with joy, O Jerusalem, just as a young man cares for his bride. Then God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride. 6 O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray to the LORD day and night for the fulfillment of his promises. Take no rest, all you who pray. 7 Give the LORD no rest until he makes Jerusalem the object of praise throughout the earth. 8 The LORD has sworn to Jerusalem by his own strength: "I will never again hand you over to your enemies. Never again will foreign warriors come and take away your grain and wine. 9 You raised it, and you will keep it, praising the LORD. Within the courtyards of the Temple, you yourselves will drink the wine that you have pressed." 10 Go out! Prepare the highway for my people to return! Smooth out the road; pull out the boulders; raise a flag for all the nations to see. 11 The LORD has sent this message to every land: "Tell the people of Israel, 'Look, your Savior is coming. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.'" 12 They will be called the Holy People and the People Redeemed by the LORD. And Jerusalem will be known as the Desirable Place and the City No Longer Forsaken. 1 Who is this who comes from Edom, from the city of Bozrah, with his clothing stained red? Who is this in royal robes, marching in the greatness of his strength?"It is I, the LORD, announcing your salvation! It is I, the LORD, who is mighty to save!" 2 Why are your clothes so red, as if you have been treading out grapes? 3 "I have trodden the winepress alone; no one was there to help me. In my anger I have trampled my enemies as if they were grapes. In my fury I have trampled my foes. It is their blood that has stained my clothes. 4 For the time has come for me to avenge my people, to ransom them from their oppressors. 5 I looked, but no one came to help my people. I was amazed and appalled at what I saw. So I executed vengeance alone; unaided, I passed down judgment. 6 I crushed the nations in my anger and made them stagger and fall to the ground." 7 I will tell of the LORD's unfailing love. I will praise the LORD for all he has done. I will rejoice in his great goodness to Israel, which he has granted according to his mercy and love. 8 He said, "They are my very own people. Surely they will not be false again." And he became their Savior. 9 In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years. 10 But they rebelled against him and grieved his Holy Spirit. That is why he became their enemy and fought against them. 11 Then they remembered those days of old when Moses led his people out of Egypt. They cried out, "Where is the one who brought Israel through the sea, with Moses as their shepherd? Where is the one who sent his Holy Spirit to be among his people? 12 Where is the one whose power divided the sea before them, when Moses lifted up his hand, establishing his reputation forever? 13 Where is the one who led them through the bottom of the sea? They were like fine stallions racing through the desert, never stumbling. 14 As with cattle going down into a peaceful valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. You led your people, LORD, and gained a magnificent reputation." 15 LORD, look down from heaven and see us from your holy, glorious home. Where is the passion and the might you used to show on our behalf? Where are your mercy and compassion now? 16 Surely you are still our Father! Even if Abraham and Jacob would disown us, LORD, you would still be our Father. You are our Redeemer from ages past. 17 LORD, why have you allowed us to turn from your path? Why have you given us stubborn hearts so we no longer fear you? Return and help us, for we are your servants and your special possession. 18 How briefly your holy people possessed the holy place, and now our enemies have destroyed it. 19 LORD, why do you treat us as though we never belonged to you? Why do you act as though we had never been known as your people? 1 Oh, that you would burst from the heavens and come down! How the mountains would quake in your presence! 2 As fire causes wood to burn and water to boil, your coming would make the nations tremble. Then your enemies would learn the reason for your fame! 3 When you came down long ago, you did awesome things beyond our highest expectations. And oh, how the mountains quaked! 4 For since the world began, no ear has heard, and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him! 5 You welcome those who cheerfully do good, who follow godly ways.But we are not godly. We are constant sinners, so your anger is heavy on us. How can people like us be saved? 6 We are all infected and impure with sin. When we proudly display our righteous deeds, we find they are but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall. And our sins, like the wind, sweep us away. 7 Yet no one calls on your name or pleads with you for mercy. Therefore, you have turned away from us and turned us over to our sins. 8 And yet, LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We are all formed by your hand. 9 Oh, don't be so angry with us, LORD. Please don't remember our sins forever. Look at us, we pray, and see that we are all your people. 10 Your holy cities are destroyed; even Jerusalem is a desolate wilderness. 11 The holy, beautiful Temple where our ancestors praised you has been burned down, and all the things of beauty are destroyed. 12 After all this, LORD, must you still refuse to help us? Will you continue to be silent and punish us? 1 This letter is from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, appointed by the command of God our Savior and by Christ Jesus our hope. 2 It is written to Timothy, my true child in the faith.May God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace. 3 When I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those who are teaching wrong doctrine. 4 Don't let people waste time in endless speculation over myths and spiritual pedigrees. For these things only cause arguments; they don't help people live a life of faith in God. 5 The purpose of my instruction is that all the Christians there would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and sincere faith. 6 But some teachers have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time arguing and talking foolishness. 7 They want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses, but they don't know what they are talking about, even though they seem so confident. 8 We know these laws are good when they are used as God intended. 9 But they were not made for people who do what is right. They are for people who are disobedient and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who murder their father or mother or other people. 10 These laws are for people who are sexually immoral, for homosexuals and slave traders, for liars and oath breakers, and for those who do anything else that contradicts the right teaching 11 that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God. 12 How thankful I am to Christ Jesus our Lord for considering me trustworthy and appointing me to serve him, 13 even though I used to scoff at the name of Christ. I hunted down his people, harming them in every way I could. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. 14 Oh, how kind and gracious the Lord was! He filled me completely with faith and the love of Christ Jesus. 15 This is a true saying, and everyone should believe it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners -- and I was the worst of them all. 16 But that is why God had mercy on me, so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Glory and honor to God forever and ever. He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen. 18 Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you, based on the prophetic words spoken about you earlier. May they give you the confidence to fight well in the Lord's battles. 19 Cling tightly to your faith in Christ, and always keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. 20 Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples of this. I turned them over to Satan so they would learn not to blaspheme God.