Isaiah 47; Isaiah 48; Isaiah 49; 1 Thessalonians 4

1 "City of Babylon, go down and sit in the dust. Leave your throne and sit on the ground. City of the Babylonians, your life will not be comfortable and easy anymore.

2 Get millstones and grind some flour like a female slave. Take your veil off. Lift your skirts up. Make your legs bare. Wade through the streams.

3 Everyone will see your naked body. Everyone will see your shame. I will pay you back for what you did. I will not spare any of your people."

4 The one who sets us free is the Holy One of Israel. His name is The LORD Who Rules Over All.

5 The LORD says, "City of the Babylonians, go into a dark prison and sit there quietly. You will not be called the queen of kingdoms anymore.

6 I was angry with my people. I treated them as if they did not belong to me. I handed them over to you. And you did not show them any pity. You even placed heavy loads on their old people.

7 You said, 'I will continue to be queen forever!' But you did not think about what you were doing. You did not consider how things might turn out.

8 "So listen, you who love pleasure. You think you are safe and secure. You say to yourself, 'I am like a god. No one is greater than I am. I'll never be a widow. And my children will never be taken away from me.'

9 But both of those things will happen to you in a moment. They will take place on a single day. You will lose your children. And you will become a widow. That is what will happen to you. All of your evil magic and powerful spells will not save you.

10 You have felt secure in your evil ways. You have said, 'No one sees what I'm doing.' Your wisdom and knowledge lead you down the wrong path. You say to yourself, 'I am like a god. No one is greater than I am.'

11 So horrible trouble will come on you. You will not know how to use your evil magic to make it go away. Great trouble will fall on you. No amount of money can keep it away. Something terrible will happen to you all at once. You will not see it coming ahead of time.

12 "So keep on casting your magic spells. Keep on practicing your evil magic. You have been doing those things ever since you were a child. Perhaps they will help you. Maybe they will scare your enemies away.

13 All of the advice you have received has only worn you out! Let those who study the heavens come forward. They claim to know what is going to happen by watching the stars every month. So let them save you from the trouble that is coming on you.

14 They are just like straw. Fire will burn them up. They can't even save themselves from the powerful flames. They are not like coals that can warm anyone. They are not like a fire to sit by.

15 They can't do you any good. You have done business with them ever since you were a child. You have always asked them for advice. All of them are bewildered and continue in their own ways. None of them can save you."

1 People of Jacob, listen to me. You are called by the name of Israel. You come from the family line of Judah. You take oaths in the name of the Lord. You pray to Israel's God. But you aren't honest. You don't mean what you say.

2 You call yourselves citizens of the holy city of Jerusalem. You say you depend on Israel's God. His name is The LORD Who Rules Over All. He says,

3 "Long ago I told you ahead of time what would happen. I announced it and made it known. Then all of a sudden I acted. And those things took place.

4 I knew how stubborn you were. Your neck was as unbending as iron. Your forehead was as hard as bronze.

5 So I told you those things long ago. Before they happened I announced them to you. I did it so you would not be able to say, 'My statues of gods did them. My wooden and metal gods made them happen.'

6 You have heard me tell you those things. Think about all of them. Won't you admit they have taken place? "From now on I will tell you about new things that will happen. I have not made them known to you before.

7 Those things are taking place right now. They did not happen long ago. You have not heard of them before today. So you can't say, 'Oh, yes. I already knew about them.'

8 You have not heard or understood what I said. Your ears have been plugged up for a long time. I knew very well that you would turn against me. From the day you were born, you have refused to obey me.

9 For the honor of my own name I put off showing my anger. I hold it back from you so people will continue to praise me. I do not want to destroy you.

10 I have put you to the test in the furnace of suffering. I have tried to make you pure. But I did not use as much heat as it takes to make silver pure.

11 I tried to purify you for my own honor. I did it for the honor of my name. How can I let myself be dishonored? I will not give up my glory to any other god.

12 "Family of Jacob, listen to me. People of Israel, pay attention. I have chosen you. I am the First and the Last. I am the Lord.

13 With my own hand I laid the foundations of the earth. With my right hand I spread out the heavens. When I send for them, they come and stand ready to obey me.

14 "People of Israel, come together and listen to me. What other god has said ahead of time that certain things would happen? I have chosen Cyrus. He will carry out my plans against Babylon. He will use his powerful arm against the Babylonians.

15 I myself have spoken. I have chosen him to carry out my purpose. I will bring him to Babylon. He will succeed in what I tell him to do.

16 "Come close and listen to me. "From the first time I said Cyrus was coming, I did not do it in secret. When he comes, I will be there." The LORD and King has filled me with his Spirit. People of Israel, he has sent me to you.

17 The LORD is the Holy One of Israel. He sets his people free. He says to them, "I am the LORD your God. I teach you what is best for you. I direct you in the way you should go.

18 I wish you would pay attention to my commands. If you did, peace would flow over you like a river. Holiness would sweep over you like the waves of the ocean.

19 Your family would be like the sand. Your children after you would be as many as the grains of sand by the sea. It would be impossible to count them. I would always accept the members of your family line. They would never be cut off or destroyed."

20 People of Israel, leave Babylon! Hurry up and get away from the Babylonians! Here is what I want you to announce. Make it known with shouts of joy. Send the news out from one end of the earth to the other. Say, "The LORD has set Jacob's people free. They are his servants."

21 They didn't get thirsty when he led them through the deserts. He made water flow out of the rock for them. He broke the rock open, and water came out of it.

22 "There is no peace for those who are evil," says the Lord.

1 People who live on the islands, listen to me. Pay attention, you nations far away. Before I was born the LORD chose me to serve him. He appointed me by name.

2 He made my words like a sharp sword. He hid me in the palm of his hand. He made me into a sharpened arrow. He took good care of me and kept me safe.

3 He said to me, "You are my true servant Israel. I will show my glory through you."

4 But I said, "In spite of my hard work, I feel as if I haven't accomplished anything. I've used up all of my strength. It seems as if everything I've done is worthless. But the LORD will give me what I should receive. My God will reward me."

5 The LORD formed me in my mother's body to be his servant. He wanted me to bring the family of Jacob back to him. He wanted me to gather the people of Israel to himself. The LORD will honor me. My God will give me strength.

6 The LORD says to me, "It is not enough for you as my servant to bring the tribes of Jacob back to their land. It is not enough for you to bring back the people of Israel I have kept alive. I will also make you a light for other nations. Then you will make it possible for the whole world to be saved."

7 The LORD sets his people free. He is the Holy One of Israel. He speaks to his servant, who is looked down on and hated by the nations. He speaks to the servant of rulers. He says to him, "Kings will see you and rise up to honor you. Princes will see you and bow down to show you their respect. I am the Lord. I am faithful. I am the Holy One of Israel. I have chosen you."

8 The LORD says to his servant, "When it is time to show you my favor, I will answer your prayers. When it is time to save you, I will help you. I will keep you safe. You will put my covenant with the people of Israel into effect. Then their land will be made like new again. Each tribe will be sent back to its territory that was left empty.

9 I want you to say to the prisoners, 'Come out.' Tell those who are in their dark cells, 'You are free!' "On their way home they will eat beside the roads. They will find plenty to eat on every bare hill.

10 They will not get hungry or thirsty. The heat from the desert sun will not beat down on them. The One who shows his tender love to them will guide them. Like a shepherd, he will lead them beside springs of water.

11 I will make roads across the mountains. I will build wide roads for my people.

12 They will come from far away. Some of them will come from the north. Others will come from the west. Still others will come from Aswan in the south."

13 Shout with joy, you heavens! Be glad, you earth! Burst into song, you mountains! The LORD will comfort his people. He will show his tender love to those who are suffering.

14 But the city of Zion said, "The LORD has deserted me. The Lord has forgotten me."

15 The LORD answers, "Can a mother forget the baby who is nursing at her breast? Can she stop showing her tender love to the child who was born to her? She might forget her child. But I will not forget you.

16 I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Your walls are never out of my sight.

17 Your people will hurry back. Those who destroyed you so completely will leave you.

18 Look up. Look all around you. All of your people are getting together to come back to you. You can be sure that I live," announces the Lord. "And you can be just as sure that your people will be like decorations you will wear. Like a bride, you will wear them proudly.

19 "Zion, you were destroyed. Your land was left empty. It was turned into a dry and empty desert. But now you will be too small to hold all of your people. And those who destroyed you will be far away.

20 The children who were born during your time of sorrow will speak to you. They will say, 'This city is too small for us. Give us more space to live in.'

21 Then you will say to yourself, 'Whose children are these? I lost my children. And I couldn't have any more. My children were taken far away from me. And no one wanted them. Who brought these children up? I was left all alone. So where have these children come from?' "

22 The LORD and King continues, "I will call out to the nations. I will give a signal to them. They will bring back your sons in their arms. They will carry your daughters on their shoulders.

23 Their kings will become like fathers to you. Their queens will be like mothers who nurse you. They will bow down to you with their faces toward the ground. They will kiss the dust at your feet to show you their respect. Then you will know that I am the Lord. Those who put their hope in me will not be ashamed."

24 Can goods that were stolen by soldiers be taken away from them? Can prisoners be set free from the powerful Babylonians?

25 "Yes, they can," the LORD answers. "Prisoners will be taken away from soldiers. Stolen goods will be taken back from the powerful Babylonians. Zion, I will fight against those who fight against you. And I will save your people.

26 I will make those who beat you down eat the flesh of others. They will drink blood and get drunk on it as if it were wine. Then everyone on earth will know that I am the one who saves you. I am the Lord. I set you free. I am the Mighty One of Jacob."

1 Finally, brothers and sisters, we taught you how to live in a way that pleases God. In fact, that is how you are living. In the name of the Lord Jesus we ask and beg you to do it more and more.

2 You know the directions we gave you. They were given by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

3 God wants you to be made holy. He wants you to stay away from sexual sins.

4 He wants all of you to learn to control your own bodies. You must live in a way that is holy. You must live with honor.

5 Don't long to commit sexual sins like those who don't know God.

6 None of you should sin against your brother by doing that. You should not take advantage of him. The Lord will punish everyone who commits those kinds of sins. We have already told you and warned you about that.

7 God chose us to live pure lives. He wants us to be holy.

8 So if you refuse to accept my teaching, you turn your back on God, not on people. God gives you his Holy Spirit.

9 We don't need to write to you about love among believers. God himself has taught you to love each other.

10 In fact, you do love all the brothers and sisters all around Macedonia. But we are asking you to love each other more and more.

11 Do everything you can to live a quiet life. Mind your own business. Work with your hands, just as we told you to.

12 Then unbelievers will have respect for your everyday life. And you won't have to depend on anyone.

13 Brothers and sisters, we want you to know what happens to those who die. We don't want you to be sad, as other people are. They don't have any hope.

14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again. When he returns, many who believe in him will have died already. We believe that God will bring them back with Jesus.

15 That agrees with what the Lord has said. When the Lord comes, many of us will still be alive. We tell you that we will certainly not go up before those who have died.

16 The Lord himself will come down from heaven. We will hear a loud command. We will hear the voice of the leader of the angels. We will hear a blast from God's trumpet. Many who believe in Christ will have died already. They will rise first.

17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them. We will be taken up in the clouds. We will meet the Lord in the air. And we will be with him forever.

18 So cheer each other up with these words of comfort.