Isaiah 62; Isaiah 63; Isaiah 64; 1 Timothy 1

Isaiah 62

1 I will speak out to encourage Jerusalem; I will not be silent until she is saved, And her victory shines like a torch in the night.

2 Jerusalem, the nations will see you victorious! All their kings will see your glory. You will be called by a new name, A name given by the Lord himself.

3 You will be like a beautiful crown for the Lord.

4 No longer will you be called "Forsaken," Or your land be called "The Deserted Wife." Your new name will be "God Is Pleased with Her." Your land will be called "Happily Married," Because the Lord is pleased with you And will be like a husband to your land.

5 Like a young man taking a virgin as his bride, He who formed you will marry you. As a groom is delighted with his bride, So your God will delight in you.

6 On your walls, Jerusalem, I have placed sentries; They must never be silent day or night. They must remind the Lord of his promises And never let him forget them.

7 They must give him no rest until he restores Jerusalem And makes it a city the whole world praises.

8 The Lord has made a solemn promise, And by his power he will carry it out: "Your grain will no longer be food for your enemies, And foreigners will no longer drink your wine.

9 But you that planted and harvested the grain Will eat the bread and praise the Lord. You that tended and gathered the grapes Will drink the wine in the courts of my Temple."

10 People of Jerusalem, go out of the city And build a road for your returning people! Prepare a highway; clear it of stones! Put up a signal so that the nations can know

11 That the Lord is announcing to all the earth: "Tell the people of Jerusalem That the Lord is coming to save you, Bringing with him the people he has rescued."

12 You will be called "God's Holy People," "The People the Lord Has Saved." Jerusalem will be called "The City That God Loves," "The City That God Did Not Forsake."

Isaiah 63

1 "Who is this coming from the city of Bozrah in Edom? Who is this so splendidly dressed in red, marching along in power and strength?" It is the Lord, powerful to save, coming to announce his victory.

2 "Why is his clothing so red, like that of someone who tramples grapes to make wine?"

3 The Lord answers, "I have trampled the nations like grapes, and no one came to help me. I trampled them in my anger, and their blood has stained all my clothing.

4 I decided that the time to save my people had come; it was time to punish their enemies.

5 I was amazed when I looked and saw that there was no one to help me. But my anger made me strong, and I won the victory myself.

6 In my anger I trampled whole nations and shattered them. I poured out their lifeblood on the ground."

7 I will tell of the Lord's unfailing love; I praise him for all he has done for us. He has richly blessed the people of Israel because of his mercy and constant love.

8 The Lord said, "They are my people; they will not deceive me." And so he saved them

9 from all their suffering. It was not an angel, but the Lord himself who saved them. In his love and compassion he rescued them. He had always taken care of them in the past,

10 but they rebelled against him and made his holy spirit sad. So the Lord became their enemy and fought against them.

11 But then they remembered the past, the days of Moses, the servant of the Lord, and they asked, "Where now is the Lord, who saved the leaders of his people from the sea? Where is the Lord, who gave his spirit to Moses?

12 Where is the Lord, who by his power did great things through Moses, dividing the waters of the sea and leading his people through the deep water, to win everlasting fame for himself?" Led by the Lord, they were as sure-footed as wild horses, and never stumbled.

14 As cattle are led into a fertile valley, so the Lord gave his people rest. He led his people and brought honor to his name.

15 Lord, look upon us from heaven, where you live in your holiness and glory. Where is your great concern for us? Where is your power? Where are your love and compassion? Do not ignore us.

16 You are our father. Our ancestors Abraham and Jacob do not acknowledge us, but you, Lord, are our father, the one who has always rescued us.

17 Why do you let us stray from your ways? Why do you make us so stubborn that we turn away from you? Come back, for the sake of those who serve you, for the sake of the people who have always been yours.

18 We, your holy people, were driven out by our enemies for a little while; they trampled down your sanctuary.

19 You treat us as though you had never been our ruler, as though we had never been your people.

Isaiah 64

1 Why don't you tear the sky open and come down? The mountains would see you and shake with fear.

2 They would tremble like water boiling over a hot fire. Come and reveal your power to your enemies, and make the nations tremble at your presence!

3 There was a time when you came and did terrifying things that we did not expect; the mountains saw you and shook with fear.

4 No one has ever seen or heard of a God like you, who does such deeds for those who put their hope in him.

5 You welcome those who find joy in doing what is right, those who remember how you want them to live. You were angry with us, but we went on sinning; in spite of your great anger we have continued to do wrong since ancient times.

6 All of us have been sinful; even our best actions are filthy through and through. Because of our sins we are like leaves that wither and are blown away by the wind.

7 No one turns to you in prayer; no one goes to you for help. You have hidden yourself from us and have abandoned us because of our sins.

8 But you are our father, Lord. We are like clay, and you are like the potter. You created us,

9 so do not be too angry with us or hold our sins against us forever. We are your people; be merciful to us.

10 Your sacred cities are like a desert; Jerusalem is a deserted ruin,

11 and our Temple, the sacred and beautiful place where our ancestors praised you, has been destroyed by fire. All the places we loved are in ruins.

12 Lord, are you unmoved by all this? Are you going to do nothing and make us suffer more than we can endure?

1 Timothy 1

1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by order of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope -

2 To Timothy, my true son in the faith: May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace.

3 I want you to stay in Ephesus, just as I urged you when I was on my way to Macedonia. Some people there are teaching false doctrines, and you must order them to stop.

4 Tell them to give up those legends and those long lists of ancestors, which only produce arguments; they do not serve God's plan, which is known by faith.

5 The purpose of this order is to arouse the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a genuine faith.

6 Some people have turned away from these and have lost their way in foolish discussions.

7 They want to be teachers of God's law, but they do not understand their own words or the matters about which they speak with so much confidence.

8 We know that the Law is good if it is used as it should be used.

9 It must be remembered, of course, that laws are made, not for good people, but for lawbreakers and criminals, for the godless and sinful, for those who are not religious or spiritual, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,

10 for the immoral, for sexual perverts, for kidnappers, for those who lie and give false testimony or who do anything else contrary to sound doctrine.

11 That teaching is found in the gospel that was entrusted to me to announce, the Good News from the glorious and blessed God.

12 I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength for my work. I thank him for considering me worthy and appointing me to serve him,

13 even though in the past I spoke evil of him and persecuted and insulted him. But God was merciful to me because I did not yet have faith and so did not know what I was doing.

14 And our Lord poured out his abundant grace on me and gave me the faith and love which are ours in union with Christ Jesus.

15 This is a true saying, to be completely accepted and believed: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I am the worst of them,

16 but God was merciful to me in order that Christ Jesus might show his full patience in dealing with me, the worst of sinners, as an example for all those who would later believe in him and receive eternal life.

17 To the eternal King, immortal and invisible, the only God - to him be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen.

18 Timothy, my child, I entrust to you this command, which is in accordance with the words of prophecy spoken in the past about you. Use those words as weapons in order to fight well,

19 and keep your faith and a clear conscience. Some people have not listened to their conscience and have made a ruin of their faith.

20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have punished by handing them over to the power of Satan; this will teach them to stop their blasphemy.