Isaiah 14; Isaiah 15; Isaiah 16; Ephesians 5:1-16

1 The Lord will show mercy to the people of Jacob, and he will again choose the people of Israel. He will settle them in their own land. Then non-Israelite people will join the Israelites and will become a part of the family of Jacob.

2 Nations will take the Israelites back to their land. Then those men and women from the other nations will become slaves to Israel in the Lord's land. In the past the Israelites were their slaves, but now the Israelites will defeat those nations and rule over them.

3 The Lord will take away the Israelites' hard work and will comfort them. They will no longer have to work hard as slaves.

4 On that day Israel will sing this song about the king of Babylon: The cruel king who ruled us is finished; his angry rule is finished!

5 The Lord has broken the scepter of evil rulers and taken away their power.

6 The king of Babylon struck people in anger again and again. He ruled nations in anger and continued to hurt them.

7 But now, the whole world rests and is quiet. Now the people begin to sing.

8 Even the pine trees are happy, and the cedar trees of Lebanon rejoice. They say, "The king has fallen, so no one will ever cut us down again."

9 The place of the dead is excited to meet you when you come. It wakes the spirits of the dead, the leaders of the world. It makes kings of all nations stand up from their thrones to greet you.

10 All these leaders will make fun of you and will say, "Now you are weak, as we are. Now you are just like us."

11 Your pride has been sent down to the place of the dead. The music from your harps goes with it. Flies are spread out like your bed beneath you, and worms cover your body like a blanket.

12 King of Babylon, morning star, you have fallen from heaven, even though you were as bright as the rising sun! In the past all the nations on earth bowed down before you, but now you have been cut down.

13 You told yourself, "I will go up to heaven. I will put my throne above God's stars. I will sit on the mountain of the gods, on the slopes of the sacred mountain.

14 I will go up above the tops of the clouds. I will be like God Most High."

15 But you were brought down to the grave, to the deep places where the dead are.

16 Those who see you stare at you. They think about what has happened to you and say, "Is this the same man who caused great fear on earth, who shook the kingdoms,

17 who turned the world into a desert, who destroyed its cities, who captured people in war and would not let them go home?"

18 Every king of the earth has been buried with honor, each in his own grave.

19 But you are thrown out of your grave, like an unwanted branch. You are covered by bodies that died in battle, by bodies to be buried in a rocky pit. You are like a dead body other soldiers walk on.

20 You will not be buried with those bodies, because you ruined your own country and killed your own people. The children of evil people will never be mentioned again.

21 Prepare to kill his children, because their father is guilty. They will never again take control of the earth; they will never again fill the world with their cities.

22 The Lord All-Powerful says this: "I will fight against those people; I will destroy Babylon and its people, its children and their descendants," says the Lord.

23 "I will make Babylon fit only for owls and for swamps. destruction," says the Lord All-Powerful.

24 The Lord All-Powerful has made this promise: "These things will happen exactly as I planned them; they will happen exactly as I set them up.

25 I will destroy the king of Assyria in my country; I will trample him on my mountains. He placed a heavy load on my people, but that weight will be removed.

26 "This is what I plan to do for all the earth. And this is the hand that I have raised over all nations."

27 When the Lord All-Powerful makes a plan, no one can stop it. When the Lord raises his hand to punish people, no one can stop it.

28 This message was given in the year that King Ahaz died:

29 Country of Philistia, don't be happy that the king who struck you is now dead. He is like a snake that will give birth to another dangerous snake. The new king will be like a quick, dangerous snake to bite you.

30 Even the poorest of my people will be able to eat safely, and people in need will be able to lie down in safety. But I will kill your family with hunger, and all your people who are left will die.

31 People near the city gates, cry out! Philistines, be frightened, because a cloud of dust comes from the north. It is an army, full of men ready to fight.

32 What shall we tell the messengers from Philistia? and that his poor people will go there for safety.

1 This is a message about Moab: In one night armies took the wealth from Ar in Moab, and it was destroyed. In one night armies took the wealth from Kir in Moab, and it was destroyed.

2 The people of Dibon go to the places of worship to cry. The people of Moab cry for the cities of Nebo and Medeba. Every head and beard has been shaved to show how sad Moab is.

3 In the streets they wear rough cloth to show their sadness. On the roofsn and in the public squares, they are crying loudly.

4 People in the cities Heshbon and Elealeh cry out loud. You can hear their voices far away in the city Jahaz. Even the soldiers are frightened; they are shaking with fear.

5 My heart cries with sorrow for Moab. Its people run away to Zoar for safety; they run to Eglath Shelishiyah. People are going up the mountain road to Luhith, crying as they go. People are going on the road to Horonaim, crying over their destruction.

6 But the water of Nimrim has dried up. The grass has dried up, and all the plants are dead; nothing green is left.

7 So the people gather up what they have saved and carry it across the Ravine of the Poplars.

8 Crying is heard everywhere in Moab. Their crying is heard as far away as the city Eglaim; it is heard as far away as Beer Elim.

9 The water of the city Dibon is full of blood, and I, the Lord, will bring even more troubles to Dibon. the enemy, but I will send lions to kill them.

1 Send the king of the land the payment he demands. to the mountain of Jerusalem.

2 The women of Moab try to cross the river Arnon like little birds that have fallen from their nest.

3 They say: "Help us. Tell us what to do. Protect us from our enemies as shade protects us from the noon sun. Hide us, because we are running for safety! Don't give us to our enemies.

4 Let those of us who were forced out of Moab live in your land. Hide us from our enemies." The robbing of Moab will stop. The enemy will be defeated; those who hurt others will disappear from the land.

5 Then a new loyal king will come; this faithful king will be from the family of David. He will judge fairly and do what is right.

6 We have heard that the people of Moab are proud and very conceited. They are very proud and angry, but their bragging means nothing.

7 So the people of Moab will cry; they will all be sad. They will moan and groan for the raisin cakes they had in Kir Hareseth.

8 But the fields of Heshbon and the vines of Sibmah cannot grow grapes; foreign rulers have destroyed the grapevines. The grapevines once spread as far as the city of Jazer and into the desert; they had spread as far as the sea.

9 I cry with the people of Jazer for the grapevines of Sibmah. I will cry with the people of Heshbon and Elealeh. There will be no shouts of joy, because there will be no harvest or ripe fruit.

10 There will be no joy and happiness in the orchards and no songs or shouts of joy in the vineyards. No one makes wine in the winepresses, because I have put an end to shouts of joy.

11 My heart cries for Moab like a harp playing a funeral song; I am very sad for Kir Hareseth.

12 The people of Moab will go to their places of worship and will try to pray. But when they go to their temple to pray, they will not be able.

13 Earlier the Lord said these things about Moab.

14 Now the Lord says, "In three years all those people and what they take pride in will be hated. (This is three years as a hired helper would count time.) There will be a few people left, but they will be weak."

1 You are God's children whom he loves, so try to be like him.

2 Live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself for us as a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice to God.

3 But there must be no sexual sin among you, or any kind of evil or greed. Those things are not right for God's holy people.

4 Also, there must be no evil talk among you, and you must not speak foolishly or tell evil jokes. These things are not right for you. Instead, you should be giving thanks to God.

5 You can be sure of this: No one will have a place in the kingdom of Christ and of God who sins sexually, or does evil things, or is greedy. Anyone who is greedy is serving a false god.

6 Do not let anyone fool you by telling you things that are not true, because these things will bring God's anger on those who do not obey him.

7 So have nothing to do with them.

8 In the past you were full of darkness, but now you are full of light in the Lord. So live like children who belong to the light.

9 Light brings every kind of goodness, right living, and truth.

10 Try to learn what pleases the Lord.

11 Have nothing to do with the things done in darkness, which are not worth anything. But show that they are wrong.

12 It is shameful even to talk about what those people do in secret.

13 But the light makes all things easy to see,

14 and everything that is made easy to see can become light. This is why it is said: "Wake up, sleeper! Rise from death, and Christ will shine on you."

15 So be very careful how you live. Do not live like those who are not wise, but live wisely.

16 Use every chance you have for doing good, because these are evil times.