Isaiah 56; Isaiah 57; Isaiah 58; 2 Thessalonians 2

1 This is what the Lord says: Preserve justice and do what is right, for My salvation is coming soon, and My righteousness will be revealed.

2 Happy is the man who does this, anyone who maintains this, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.

3 No foreigner who has converted to the Lord should say, "The Lord will exclude me from His people"; and the eunuch should not say, "Look, I am a dried-up tree."

4 For the Lord says this: "For the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me, and hold firmly to My covenant,

5 I will give them, in My house and within My walls, a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give each [of them] an everlasting name that will never be cut off.

6 And the foreigners who convert to the Lord, minister to Him, love the Lord's name, and are His servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it, and who hold firmly to My covenant-

7 I will bring them to My holy mountain and let them rejoice in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar, for My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations."

8 [This is] the declaration of the Lord God , who gathers the dispersed of Israel: "I will gather to them still others besides those already gathered."

9 All you animals of the field and forest, come and eat!

10 Israel's watchmen are blind, all of them, they know nothing; all of them are mute dogs, they cannot bark; they dream, lie down, and love to sleep.

11 These dogs have fierce appetites; they never have enough. And they are shepherds who have no discernment; all of them turn to their own way, every last one for his own gain.

12 "Come, let me get [some] wine, let's guzzle [some] beer; and tomorrow will be like today, only far better!"

1 The righteous one perishes, and no one takes it to heart; faithful men are swept away, with no one realizing that the righteous one is swept away from the presence of evil.

2 He will enter into peace- they will rest on their beds- everyone who lives uprightly.

3 But come here, you sons of a sorceress, offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute!

4 Who is it you are mocking? Who is it you are opening your mouth and sticking out your tongue at? Isn't it you, you rebellious children, you race of liars,

5 who burn with lust among the oaks, under every flourishing tree, who slaughter children in the wadis below the clefts of the rocks?

6 Your portion is among the smooth [stones] of the wadi; indeed, they are your lot. You have even poured out a drink offering to them; you have offered a grain offering; should I be satisfied with these?

7 You have placed your bed on a high and lofty mountain; you also went up there to offer sacrifice.

8 You have set up your memorial behind the door and doorpost. For away from Me, you stripped, went up, and made your bed wide, and you have made a bargain for yourself with them. You have loved their bed; you have gazed on their genitals.

9 You went to the king with oil and multiplied your perfumes; you sent your envoys far away and sent [them] down even to Sheol.

10 You became weary on your many journeys, [but] you did not say, "I give up!" You found a renewal of your strength; therefore you did not grow weak.

11 Who was it you dreaded and feared, so that you lied and didn't remember Me or take it to heart? Have I not kept silent for such a long time and you do not fear Me?

12 I will expose your righteousness, and your works-they will not profit you.

13 When you cry out, let your collection [of idols] deliver you! The wind will carry all of them off, a breath will take them away. But whoever takes refuge in Me will inherit the land and possess My holy mountain.

14 He said, "Build it up, build it up, prepare the way, remove [every] obstacle from My people's way."

15 For the High and Exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy says this: "I live in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and lowly of spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the oppressed.

16 For I will not accuse [you] forever, and I will not always be angry; for then the spirit would grow weak before Me, even the breath [of man], which I have made.

17 Because of his sinful greed I was angry, so I struck him; I was angry and hid; but he went on turning back to the desires of his heart.

18 I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and comfort him and his mourners,

19 creating words of praise." The Lord says, "Peace, peace to the one who is far or near, and I will heal him.

20 But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea, for it cannot be still, and its waters churn up mire and muck.

21 There is no peace for the wicked," says my God.

1 "Cry out loudly, don't hold back! Raise your voice like a trumpet. Tell My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

2 They seek Me day after day and delight to know My ways, like a nation that does what is right and does not abandon the justice of their God. They ask Me for righteous judgments; they delight in the nearness of God."

3 "Why have we fasted, but You have not seen? We have denied ourselves, but You haven't noticed!" "Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast, and oppress all your workers.

4 You fast [with] contention and strife to strike viciously with [your] fist. You cannot fast as [you do] today, [hoping] to make your voice heard on high.

5 Will the fast I choose be like this: A day for a person to deny himself, to bow his head like a reed, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast and a day acceptable to the Lord?

6 Isn't the fast I choose: To break the chains of wickedness, to untie the ropes of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to tear off every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your house, to clothe the naked when you see him, and to not ignore your own flesh [and blood]?

8 Then your light will appear like the dawn, and your recovery will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the Lord's glory will be your rear guard.

9 At that time, when you call, the Lord will answer; when you cry out, He will say: Here I am. If you get rid of the yoke from those around you, the finger-pointing and malicious speaking,

10 and if you offer yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted one, then your light will shine in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday.

11 The Lord will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones. You will be like a watered garden and like a spring whose waters never run dry.

12 Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will restore the foundations laid long ago; you will be called the repairer of broken walls, the restorer of streets where people live.

13 "If you keep from desecrating the Sabbath, from doing whatever you want on My holy day; if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy [day] of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, seeking your own pleasure, or talking too much;

14 then you will delight yourself in the Lord, and I will make you ride over the heights of the land, and let you enjoy the heritage of your father Jacob." For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him: we ask you, brothers,

2 not to be easily upset in mind or troubled, either by a spirit or by a message or by a letter as if from us, alleging that the Day of the Lord has come.

3 Don't let anyone deceive you in any way. For [that day] will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.

4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits in God's sanctuary, publicizing that he himself is God.

5 Don't you remember that when I was still with you I told you about this?

6 And you know what currently restrains [him], so that he will be revealed in his time.

7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; but the one now restraining will do so until he is out of the way,

8 and then the lawless one will be revealed. The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of His mouth and will bring him to nothing with the brightness of His coming.

9 The coming [of the lawless one] is based on Satan's working, with all kinds of false miracles, signs, and wonders,

10 and with every unrighteous deception among those who are perishing. [They perish] because they did not accept the love of the truth in order to be saved.

11 For this reason God sends them a strong delusion so that they will believe what is false,

12 so that all will be condemned-those who did not believe the truth but enjoyed unrighteousness.

13 But we must always thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God has chosen you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth.

14 He called you to this through our gospel, so that you might obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

15 Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions you were taught, either by our message or by our letter.

16 May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal encouragement and good hope by grace,

17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good work and word.