Isaiah 23; Isaiah 24; Isaiah 25; Philippians 1

1 An oracle about Tyre. Wail, ships of Tarshish, because your port is destroyed! When returning from Cyprus, they heard about it.

2 Be still, inhabitants of the coast, traders of Sidon, whose messengers crossed over the sea,

3 over the mighty waters. The grain of Shihor, the Nile's harvest, was her income; she was the marketplace of nations.

4 Be ashamed, Sidon, because the sea has spoken; the fortress of the sea has said, "I haven't been in labor; I didn't give birth; I never raised young men or brought up young women."

5 When the Egyptians hear, they will be in anguish at the news about Tyre.

6 Cross over to Tarshish; wail, inhabitants of the coast.

7 Is this your triumphant town, whose origin is from ancient times, whose feet carried her to settle far away?

8 Who planned this concerning Tyre, the one who gives crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth?

9 The LORD of heavenly forces planned it, to defile the pride of all beauty, to shame all the honored of the earth.

10 Go through your own land, Daughter Tarshish, for the harbor is gone.

11 God's hand is extended over the sea, shaking nations. The LORD gave the command to destroy Phoenicia's fortresses,

12 saying, You will no longer celebrate, violated virgin Daughter Sidon. Get up and head to Cyprus; even there you will find no rest.

13 Look at the land of the Chaldeans, the people who are no more. Assyria destined it for wild animals: they raised up their siege towers, stripped its palaces, and made it a ruin.

14 Wail, ships of Tarshish, for your fortress is destroyed!

15 On that day, Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, the lifetime of one king. At the end of seventy years, Tyre will become like the prostitute in the song:

16 Take a harp, go around the city, forgotten prostitute. Play well, sing many songs, so they'll remember you.

17 At the end of seventy years, the LORD will visit Tyre. She will return to her trade and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms on the earth.

18 Her profits and wages will be sacred to the LORD. They won't be stored or saved. Her profits will go to those living before the LORD, for plentiful food and elegant clothes.

1 Look! The LORD will devastate the earth and destroy it, will twist its face and scatter its inhabitants.

2 It will be the same for the people and for the priest; for the slave and for his master; for the female servant and for her mistress; for the buyer and for the seller; for the lender and for the borrower; for the creditor and for the debtor.

3 The earth will be devastated, totally devastated; it will be destroyed, completely destroyed because the LORD has said it would be so.

4 The earth dries up and wilts; the world withers and wilts; the heavens wither away with the earth.

5 The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants, for they have disobeyed instruction, swept aside law, and broken the ancient covenant.

6 Therefore, a curse devours the earth; its inhabitants suffer for their guilt. Therefore, the earth's inhabitants dwindle; very few are left.

7 The wine dries up; the vine withers; all the merry-hearted groan.

8 The joyous tambourines have ceased; the roar of partyers has stopped; the joyous harp has ceased.

9 No one drinks wine or sings; beer is bitter to its drinkers.

10 The town is in chaos, broken; every house is shut, without entrance.

11 There is a cry for wine in the streets. All joy has reached its dusk; happiness is exiled from the earth.

12 Ruin remains in the city, and the gate is battered to wreckage.

13 It will be like this in the central part of the land and among the peoples, like an olive tree that has been shaken, like remains from the grape harvest.

14 They raise their voice; they sing with joy; from the west they will shout about the LORD's majesty.

15 Therefore, in the east honor the LORD; in the islands of the sea, the name of the LORD God of Israel!

16 From the ends of the earth we have heard songs: "Glory to the righteous one!" But I say, "I waste away; I waste away; I'm doomed! Betrayers betray; treacherously betrayers betray."

17 Terror, trench, and trap are upon you, ruler of the earth!

18 Whoever flees from the sound of terror will fall into the trench; whoever climbs from the trench will be caught in the trap. Heaven's windows will open, and the earth's foundations will quake.

19 The earth is shattering, shattering; the earth is shaking, shaking; the earth is teetering, tottering.

20 The earth trembles like a drunk and shudders like a hut; its rebellion weighs heavy upon it; it will fall, no more to rise.

21 On that day, the LORD will punish the forces of heaven in heaven, and the kings of the earth on earth.

22 They will be gathered together like prisoners in a pit, shut into a prison, and punished after many days.

23 The moon will be diminished, and the sun will fade, since the LORD of heavenly forces will rule on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, glorious before his elders.

1 LORD, you are my God. I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, planned long ago, faithful and sure.

2 You have turned the city into rubble, the fortified town into a ruin, the fortress of foreigners into a city no more, never to be rebuilt.

3 Therefore, strong people will glorify you; the towns of tyrant nations will fear you.

4 You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in distress, a hiding place from the storm, a shade from the heat. When the breath of tyrants is like a winter storm

5 or like heat in the desert, you subdue the roar of foreigners. Like heat shaded by a cloud, the tyrants' song falls silent.

6 On this mountain, the LORD of heavenly forces will prepare for all peoples a rich feast, a feast of choice wines, of select foods rich in flavor, of choice wines well refined.

7 He will swallow up on this mountain the veil that is veiling all peoples, the shroud enshrouding all nations.

8 He will swallow up death forever. The LORD God will wipe tears from every face; he will remove his people's disgrace from off the whole earth, for the LORD has spoken.

9 They will say on that day, "Look! This is our God, for whom we have waited— and he has saved us! This is the LORD, for whom we have waited; let's be glad and rejoice in his salvation!"

10 The LORD's hand will indeed rest on this mountain. Moab will be trampled down as straw is trampled into manure.

11 When in it they spread out their hands as swimmers spread out their hands to swim, God will lay low their pride, even by the efforts of their hands.

12 The fortified towers of their walls will be thrown down, will be leveled, will be brought down to the earth, to the dust.

1 From Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. To all those in Philippi who are God's people in Christ Jesus, along with your supervisors and servants.

2 May the grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

3 I thank my God every time I mention you in my prayers.

4 I'm thankful for all of you every time I pray, and it's always a prayer full of joy.

5 I'm glad because of the way you have been my partners in the ministry of the gospel from the time you first believed it until now.

6 I'm sure about this: the one who started a good work in you will stay with you to complete the job by the day of Christ Jesus.

7 I have good reason to think this way about all of you because I keep you in my heart. You are all my partners in God's grace, both during my time in prison and in the defense and support of the gospel.

8 God is my witness that I feel affection for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus.

9 This is my prayer: that your love might become even more and more rich with knowledge and all kinds of insight.

10 I pray this so that you will be able to decide what really matters and so you will be sincere and blameless on the day of Christ.

11 I pray that you will then be filled with the fruit of righteousness, which comes from Jesus Christ, in order to give glory and praise to God.

12 Brothers and sisters, I want you to know that the things that have happened to me have actually advanced the gospel.

13 The whole Praetorian Guard and everyone else knows that I'm in prison for Christ.

14 Most of the brothers and sisters have had more confidence through the Lord to speak the word boldly and bravely because of my jail time.

15 Some certainly preach Christ with jealous and competitive motives, but others preach with good motives.

16 They are motivated by love, because they know that I'm put here to give a defense of the gospel;

17 the others preach Christ because of their selfish ambition. They are insincere, hoping to cause me more pain while I'm in prison.

18 What do I think about this? Just this: since Christ is proclaimed in every possible way, whether from dishonest or true motives, I'm glad and I'll continue to be glad.

19 I'm glad because I know that this will result in my release through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

20 It is my expectation and hope that I won't be put to shame in anything. Rather, I hope with daring courage that Christ's greatness will be seen in my body, now as always, whether I live or die.

21 Because for me, living serves Christ and dying is even better.

22 If I continue to live in this world, I get results from my work.

23 But I don't know what I prefer. I'm torn between the two because I want to leave this life and be with Christ, which is far better.

24 However, it's more important for me to stay in this world for your sake.

25 I'm sure of this: I will stay alive and remain with all of you to help your progress and the joy of your faith,

26 and to increase your pride in Christ Jesus through my presence when I visit you again.

27 Most important, live together in a manner worthy of Christ's gospel. Do this, whether I come and see you or I'm absent and hear about you. Do this so that you stand firm, united in one spirit and mind as you struggle together to remain faithful to the gospel.

28 That way, you won't be afraid of anything your enemies do. Your faithfulness and courage are a sign of their coming destruction and your salvation, which is from God.

29 God has generously granted you the privilege, not only of believing in Christ but also of suffering for Christ's sake.

30 You are having the same struggle that you saw me face and now hear that I'm still facing.