Isaiah 23; Isaiah 24; Isaiah 25; Philippians 1

1 This is the divine revelation about Tyre. Cry loudly, you ships of Tarshish! Your port at Tyre is destroyed. Word has come to the ships from Cyprus.

2 Be silent, you inhabitants of the coastland, you merchants from Sidon. Your messengers have crossed the sea.

3 The grain of Shihor is on the Mediterranean. The harvest of the Nile River is brought to Tyre. Tyre became the marketplace for the nations.

4 Be ashamed, Sidon, because the stronghold by the sea has spoken, "I've never been in labor or given birth. I've raised no sons. I've brought up no daughters."

5 When the news reaches Egypt, the Egyptians will shudder over the news about Tyre.

6 Travel to Tarshish! Cry loudly, you inhabitants of the seacoast!

7 Is this your bustling city founded in the distant past? Is this the city that sent its people to settle in distant lands?

8 Who planned such a thing against Tyre, the city that produced kings? Its merchants are princes. Its traders are among the honored people of the world.

9 The LORD of Armies planned this in order to dishonor all arrogant people and to humiliate all the honored people of the world.

10 Travel through your country like the Nile, people of Tarshish. You no longer have a harbor.

11 The LORD has stretched his hand over the sea to shake kingdoms. He has commanded that Canaan's fortifications be destroyed.

12 He says, "You will no longer be joyful, my dear abused people Sidon." Get up, and travel to Cyprus. Even there you will find no rest.

13 Look at the land of the Babylonians. These people will be gone. Assyria gave this land to the desert animals. Assyria set up battle towers, stripped palaces bare, and turned these places into ruins.

14 Cry loudly, you ships of Tarshish, because your fortress will be destroyed.

15 When that day comes, Tyre will be forgotten for 70 years, the lifetime of one king. At the end of the 70 years, Tyre will be like the prostitute in this song:

16 "Take your lyre. Go around in the city, you forgotten prostitute. Make sweet music. Sing many songs so that you'll be remembered."

17 At the end of 70 years the LORD will come to help Tyre. Then she will go back to earning money as a prostitute. She will become a prostitute for all the world's kingdoms.

18 Her profits and her earnings will be turned over to the LORD for his holy purpose. It won't be stored or hoarded. Her merchandise will belong to those who live in the presence of the LORD so that they will have plenty of food and expensive clothing.

1 The LORD is going to turn the earth into a desolate wasteland. He will mar the face of the earth and scatter the people living on it.

2 The same will happen to people and priests, male slaves and masters, female slaves and masters, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, debtors and creditors.

3 The earth will be completely laid waste and stripped because the LORD has spoken.

4 The earth dries up and withers. The world wastes away and withers. The great leaders of the earth waste away.

5 The earth is polluted by those who live on it because they've disobeyed the LORD's teachings, violated his laws, and rejected the everlasting promise.

6 That is why a curse devours the earth, and its people are punished for their guilt. That is why those who live on the earth are burned up, and only a few people are left.

7 New wine dries up, and grapevines waste away. All happy people groan.

8 Joyful tambourine music stops. Noisy celebrations cease. Joyful harp music stops.

9 People no longer drink wine when they sing. Liquor tastes bad to its drinkers.

10 The ruined city lies desolate. The entrance to every house is barred shut.

11 People in the streets call for wine. All joy passes away, and the earth's happiness is banished.

12 The city is left in ruins. Its gate is battered to pieces.

13 That is the way it will be on earth among the nations. They will be like an olive tree which has been shaken or like what's left after the grape harvest.

14 They raise their voices. They shout for joy. From the sea they sing joyfully about the LORD's majesty.

15 Honor the LORD in the east. Honor the name of the LORD God of Israel along the coastlands.

16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise that honor the Righteous One. But I kept saying, "I'm wasting away! I'm wasting away! How horrible it is for me! Traitors continue to betray, and their treachery grows worse and worse."

17 Disasters, pits, and traps are in store for those who live on earth.

18 Whoever flees from news of a disaster will fall into a pit. Whoever climbs out of that pit will be caught in a trap. The floodgates in the sky will be opened, and the foundations of the earth will shake.

19 The earth will be completely broken. The earth will shake back and forth violently. The earth will stagger.

20 The earth will stumble like a drunk and sway like a shack in the wind. Its disobedience weighs heavy on it. It will fall and not get up again.

21 On that day the LORD will punish heaven's armies in heaven and earth's kings on earth.

22 They'll be gathered like prisoners in a jail and locked in prison. After a long time they'll be punished.

23 The moon will be embarrassed. The sun will be ashamed, because the LORD of Armies will rule on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem. He will be glorious in the presence of his respected leaders.

1 O LORD, you are my God. I will highly honor you; I will praise your name. You have done miraculous things. You have been completely reliable in carrying out your plans from long ago.

2 You have turned cities into ruins, fortified cities into piles of rubble, and foreigners' palaces into cities that will never be rebuilt.

3 That is why strong people will honor you, and cities ruled by the world's tyrants will fear you.

4 You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rain, and shade from the heat. (A tyrant's breath is like a rainstorm against a wall,

5 like heat in a dry land.) You calm the uproar of foreigners. The song of tyrants is silenced like heat that is [reduced] by the shadow of a cloud.

6 On this mountain the LORD of Armies will prepare for all people a feast with the best foods, a banquet with aged wines, with the best foods and the finest wines.

7 On this mountain he will remove the veil of grief covering all people and the mask covering all nations.

8 He will swallow up death forever. The Almighty LORD will wipe away tears from every face, and he will remove the disgrace of his people from the whole earth. The LORD has spoken.

9 On that day [his people] will say, "This is our God; we have waited for him, and now he will save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him. Let us rejoice and be glad because he will save us."

10 The LORD's power will be on this mountain. Moab will be trampled beneath him like straw that is trampled in a pile of manure.

11 The Moabites will stretch out their hands in the manure like swimmers who stretch out their hands to swim. [The LORD] will humble those arrogant people despite the movements of their hands.

12 He will bring down Moab's high fortified walls, level them, and throw them into the dust on the ground.

1 From Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus. To God's people in the city of Philippi and their bishops and deacons -- to everyone who is united with Christ Jesus.

2 Good will and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are yours!

3 I thank my God for all the memories I have of you.

4 Every time I pray for all of you, I do it with joy.

5 I can do this because of the partnership we've had with you in the Good News from the first day [you believed] until now.

6 I'm convinced that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it through to completion on the day of Christ Jesus.

7 You have a special place in my heart. So it's right for me to think this way about all of you. All of you are my partners. Together we share God's favor, whether I'm in prison or defending and confirming the truth of the Good News.

8 God is my witness that, with all the compassion of Christ Jesus, I long [to see] every one of you.

9 I pray that your love will keep on growing because of your knowledge and insight.

10 That way you will be able to determine what is best and be pure and blameless until the day of Christ.

11 Jesus Christ will fill your lives with everything that God's approval produces. Your lives will then bring glory and praise to God.

12 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what happened to me has helped to spread the Good News.

13 As a result, it has become clear to all the soldiers who guard the emperor and to everyone else that I am in prison because of Christ.

14 So through my being in prison, the Lord has given most of our brothers and sisters confidence to speak God's word more boldly and fearlessly than ever.

15 Some people tell the message about Christ because of their jealousy and envy. Others tell the message about him because of their good will.

16 Those who tell the message about Christ out of love know that God has put me here to defend the Good News.

17 But the others are insincere. They tell the message about Christ out of selfish ambition in order to stir up trouble for me while I'm in prison.

18 But what does it matter? Nothing matters except that, in one way or another, people are told the message about Christ, whether with honest or dishonest motives, and I'm happy about that. Yes, I will continue to be happy

19 for another reason. I know that I will be set free through your prayers and through the help that comes from the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will have nothing to be ashamed of. I will speak very boldly and honor Christ in my body, now as always, whether I live or die.

21 Christ means everything to me in this life, and when I die I'll have even more.

22 If I continue to live in this life, my work will produce more results. I don't know which I would prefer.

23 I find it hard to choose between the two. I would like to leave this life and be with Christ. That's by far the better choice.

24 But for your sake it's better that I remain in this life.

25 Since I'm convinced of this, I know that I will continue to live and be with all of you. This will help you to grow and be joyful in your faith.

26 So by coming to you again, I want to give you even more reason to have pride in Christ Jesus with me.

27 Live as citizens who reflect the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come to see you or whether I stay away, I'll hear all about you. I'll hear that you are firmly united in spirit, united in fighting for the faith that the Good News brings.

28 So don't let your opponents intimidate you in any way. This is God's way of showing them that they will be destroyed and that you will be saved.

29 God has given you the privilege not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him.

30 You are involved in the same struggle that you saw me having. Now you hear that I'm still involved in it.