Isaiah 23; Isaiah 24; Isaiah 25; Philippians 1

1 An oracle against Tyre: Wail, ships of Tarshish, for your haven has been destroyed. Word has reached them from the land of Cyprus.

2 Mourn, inhabitants of the coastland, you merchants of Sidon; your agents have crossed the sea

3 on many waters. Tyre's revenue was the grain from Shihor- the harvest of the Nile. She was the merchant among the nations.

4 Be ashamed Sidon, the stronghold of the sea, for the sea has spoken: "I have not been in labor or given birth. I have not raised young men [or] brought up young women."

5 When the news reaches Egypt, they will be in anguish over the news about Tyre.

6 Cross over to Tarshish; wail, inhabitants of the coastland!

7 Is this your jubilant [city], whose origin was in ancient times, whose feet have taken her to settle far away?

8 Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose traders are princes, whose merchants are the honored ones of the earth?

9 The Lord of Hosts planned it, to desecrate all [its] glorious beauty, to disgrace all the honored ones of the earth.

10 Overflow your land like the Nile, daughter of Tarshish; there is no longer anything to restrain [you].

11 He stretched out His hand over the sea; He made kingdoms tremble. The Lord has commanded that the Canaanite fortresses be destroyed.

12 He said, "You will not rejoice any more, ravished young woman, daughter of Sidon. Get up and cross over to Cyprus- even there you will have no rest!"

13 Look at the land of Chaldeans- a people who no longer exist. Assyria destined it for wild beasts. They set up their siege towers and stripped its palaces. They made it a ruin.

14 Wail, ships of Tarshish, because your fortress is destroyed!

15 On that day Tyre will be forgotten for 70 years-the life span of one king. At the end of 70 years, what the song [says] about the prostitute will happen to Tyre:

16 Pick up [your] harp, stroll through the city, prostitute forgotten [by men]. Play skillfully, sing many a song, and you will be thought of again.

17 And at the end of the 70 years, the Lord will restore Tyre and she will go back into business, prostituting herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.

18 But her profits and wages will be dedicated to the Lord. They will not be stored or saved, for her profit will go to those who live in the Lord's presence, to provide them with ample food and sacred clothing.

1 Look, the Lord is stripping the earth bare and making it desolate. He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants:

2 people and priest alike, servant and master, female servant and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor.

3 The earth will be stripped completely bare and will be totally plundered, for the Lord has spoken this message.

4 The earth mourns and withers; the world wastes away and withers; the exalted people of the earth waste away.

5 The earth is polluted by its inhabitants, for they have transgressed teachings, overstepped decrees, and broken the everlasting covenant.

6 Therefore a curse has consumed the earth, and its inhabitants have become guilty; the earth's inhabitants have been burned, and only a few survive.

7 The new wine mourns; the vine withers. All the carousers now groan.

8 The joyful tambourines have ceased. The noise of the jubilant has stopped. The joyful lyre has ceased.

9 They no longer sing and drink wine; beer is bitter to those who drink it.

10 The city of chaos is shattered; every house is closed to entry.

11 In the streets they cry for wine. All joy grows dark; earth's rejoicing goes into exile.

12 Only desolation remains in the city; its gate has collapsed in ruins.

13 For this is how it will be on earth among the nations: like a harvested olive tree, like a gleaning after a grape harvest.

14 They raise their voices, they sing out; they proclaim in the west the majesty of the Lord.

15 Therefore in the east honor the Lord! In the islands of the west [honor] the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs: The Splendor of the Righteous One. But I said, "I waste away! I waste away! Woe is me." The treacherous act treacherously; the treacherous deal very treacherously.

17 Terror, pit, and snare [await] you who dwell on the earth.

18 Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit, and whoever escapes from the pit will be caught in a snare. For the windows are opened from above, and the foundations of the earth are shaken.

19 The earth is completely devastated; the earth is split open; the earth is violently shaken.

20 The earth staggers like a drunkard and sways like a hut. Earth's rebellion weighs it down, and it falls, never to rise again.

21 On that day the Lord will punish the host of heaven above and kings of the earth below.

22 They will be gathered together like prisoners in a pit. They will be confined to a dungeon; after many days they will be punished.

23 The moon will be put to shame and the sun disgraced, because the Lord of Hosts will reign as king on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, and He will [display His] glory in the presence of His elders.

1 Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You. I will praise Your name, for You have accomplished wonders, plans [formed] long ago, with perfect faithfulness.

2 For You have turned the city into a pile of rubble, a fortified city, into a ruin; the fortress of barbarians is no longer a city; it will never be rebuilt.

3 Therefore, a strong people will honor You. A city of violent people will fear You.

4 For You have been a stronghold for the poor, a stronghold for the humble person in his distress, a refuge from the rain, a shade from the heat. When the breath of the violent is like rain [against] a wall,

5 like heat in a dry land, You subdue the uproar of barbarians. As the shade of a cloud [cools] the heat of the day, [so] He stills the song of the violent.

6 The Lord of Hosts will prepare a feast for all the peoples on this mountain- a feast of aged wine, choice meat, finely aged wine.

7 On this mountain [He] will destroy the [burial] shroud, the shroud over all the peoples, the sheet covering all the nations;

8 He will destroy death forever. The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every face and remove His people's disgrace from the whole earth, for the Lord has spoken.

9 On that day it will be said, "Look, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He has saved us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him. Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation."

10 For the Lord's power will rest on this mountain. But Moab will be trampled in his place as straw is trampled in a dung pile.

11 He will spread out his arms in the middle of it, as a swimmer spreads out [his arms] to swim. His pride will be brought low, along with the trickery of his hands.

12 The high-walled fortress will be brought down, thrown to the ground, to the dust.

1 Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus: To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons.

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you,

4 always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer,

5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

6 I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

7 It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and establishment of the gospel.

8 For God is my witness, how I deeply miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

9 And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment,

10 so that you can determine what really matters and can be pure and blameless in the day of Christ,

11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that [comes] through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has actually resulted in the advancement of the gospel,

13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is for Christ.

14 Most of the brothers in the Lord have gained confidence from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the message fearlessly.

15 Some, to be sure, preach Christ out of envy and strife, but others out of good will.

16 These do so out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel;

17 the others proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely, seeking to cause [me] trouble in my imprisonment.

18 What does it matter? Just that in every way, whether out of false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed. And in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice

19 because I know this will lead to my deliverance through your prayers and help from the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

20 My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all boldness, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

21 For me, living is Christ and dying is gain.

22 Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don't know which one I should choose.

23 I am pressured by both. I have the desire to depart and be with Christ-which is far better-

24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you.

25 Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your advancement and joy in the faith,

26 so that, because of me, your confidence may grow in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.

27 Just one thing: live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, working side by side for the faith of the gospel,

28 not being frightened in any way by your opponents. This is evidence of their destruction, but of your deliverance-and this is from God.

29 For it has been given to you on Christ's behalf not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him,

30 having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear about me.