Isaiah 32; Isaiah 33; Colossians 1

1 A king will rule in a way that brings justice, and leaders will make fair decisions.

2 Then each ruler will be like a shelter from the wind, like a safe place in a storm, like streams of water in a dry land, like a cool shadow from a large rock in a hot land.

3 People will look to the king for help, and they will truly listen to what he says.

4 People who are now worried will be able to understand. Those who cannot speak clearly now will then be able to speak clearly and quickly.

5 Fools will not be called great, and people will not respect the wicked.

6 A fool says foolish things, and in his mind he plans evil. A fool does things that are wicked, and he says wrong things about the Lord. A fool does not feed the hungry or let thirsty people drink water.

7 The wicked person uses evil like a tool. He plans ways to take everything from the poor. He destroys the poor with lies, even when the poor person is in the right.

8 But a good leader plans to do good, and those good things make him a good leader.

9 You women who are calm now, stand up and listen to me. You women who feel safe now, hear what I say.

10 You women feel safe now, but after one year you will be afraid. There will be no grape harvest and no summer fruit to gather.

11 Women, you are calm now, but you should shake with fear. Women, you feel safe now, but you should tremble. Take off your nice clothes and put rough cloth around your waist to show your sadness.

12 Beat your breasts in grief, because the fields that were pleasant are now empty. Cry, because the vines that once had fruit now have no more grapes.

13 Cry for the land of my people, in which only thorns and weeds now grow. Cry for the city that once was happy and for all the houses that once were filled with joy.

14 The palace will be empty; people will leave the noisy city. Strong cities and towers will be empty. Wild donkeys will love to live there, and sheep will go there to eat.

15 This will continue until God pours his Spirit from above upon us. Then the desert will be like a fertile field and the fertile field like a forest.

16 Justice will be found even in the desert, and fairness will be found in the fertile fields.

17 That fairness will bring peace, and it will bring calm and safety forever.

18 My people will live in peaceful places and in safe homes and in calm places of rest.

19 Hail will destroy the forest, and the city will be completely destroyed.

20 But you will be happy as you plant seeds near every stream and as you let your cattle and donkeys wander freely.

1 How terrible it will be for you who destroy others but have not been destroyed yet. How terrible it will be for you, traitor, whom no one has turned against yet. When you stop destroying, others will destroy you. When you stop turning against others, they will turn against you.

2 Lord, be kind to us. We have waited for your help. Give us strength every morning. Save us when we are in trouble. —

3 Your powerful voice makes people run away in fear; your greatness causes the nations to run away.

4 Like locusts, your enemies will take away the things you stole in war. Like locusts rushing about, they will take your wealth.

5 The Lord is very great, and he lives in a high place. He fills Jerusalem with fairness and justice.

6 He will be your safety. He is full of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. Respect for the Lord is the greatest treasure.

7 See, brave men are crying out in the streets; those who tried to bring peace are crying loudly.

8 There is no one on the roads, no one walking in the paths. People have broken the agreements they made. They refuse to believe the proof from witnesses. No one respects other people.

9 The land is sick and dying; Lebanon is ashamed and dying. The Plain of Sharon is dry like the desert, and the trees of Bashan and Carmel are dying.

10 The Lord says, "Now, I will stand up and show my greatness. Now, I will become important to the people.

11 You people do useless things that are like hay and straw. A destructive wind will burn you like fire.

12 People will be burned until their bones become like lime; they will burn quickly like dry thornbushes."

13 You people in faraway lands, hear what I have done. You people who are near me, learn about my power.

14 The sinners in Jerusalem are afraid; those who are separated from God shake with fear. They say, "Can any of us live through this fire that destroys? Who can live near this fire that burns on and on?"

15 A person who does what is right and speaks what is right, who refuses to take money unfairly, who refuses to take money to hurt others, who does not listen to plans of murder, who refuses to think about evil --

16 this is the kind of person who will be safe. He will be protected as he would be in a high, walled city. He will always have bread, and he will not run out of water.

17 Your eyes will see the king in his beauty. You will see the land that stretches far away.

18 You will think about the terror of the past: "Where is that officer? Where is the one who collected the taxes? Where is the officer in charge of our defense towers?"

19 No longer will you see those proud people from other countries, whose strange language you couldn't understand.

20 Look at Jerusalem, the city of our festivals. Look at Jerusalem, that beautiful place of rest. It is like a tent that will never be moved; the pegs that hold her in place will never be pulled up, and her ropes will never be broken.

21 There the Lord will be our Mighty One. That land is a place with streams and wide rivers, but there will be no enemy boats on those rivers; no powerful ship will sail on them.

22 This is because the Lord is our judge. The Lord makes our laws. The Lord is our king. He will save us.

23 You sailors from other lands, hear: The ropes on your boats hang loose. The mast is not held firm. The sails are not spread open. Then your great wealth will be divided. There will be so much wealth that even the crippled people will carry off a share.

24 No one living in Jerusalem will say, "I am sick." The people who live there will have their sins forgiven.

1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am an apostle because that is what God wanted. Also from Timothy, our brother.

2 To the holy and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ that live in Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

3 In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

4 because we have heard about the faith you have in Christ Jesus and the love you have for all of God's people.

5 You have this faith and love because of your hope, and what you hope for is kept safe for you in heaven. You learned about this hope when you heard the message about the truth, the Good News

6 that was told to you. Everywhere in the world that Good News is bringing blessings and is growing. This has happened with you, too, since you heard the Good News and understood the truth about the grace of God.

7 You learned about God's grace from Epaphras, whom we love. He works together with us and is a faithful servant of Christ for us.

8 He also told us about the love you have from the Holy Spirit.

9 Because of this, since the day we heard about you, we have continued praying for you, asking God that you will know fully what he wants. We pray that you will also have great wisdom and understanding in spiritual things

10 so that you will live the kind of life that honors and pleases the Lord in every way. You will produce fruit in every good work and grow in the knowledge of God.

11 God will strengthen you with his own great power so that you will not give up when troubles come, but you will be patient.

12 And you will joyfully give thanks to the Father who has made you able to have a share in all that he has prepared for his people in the kingdom of light.

13 God has freed us from the power of darkness, and he brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son.

14 The Son paid for our sins, and in him we have forgiveness.

15 No one can see God, but Jesus Christ is exactly like him. He ranks higher than everything that has been made.

16 Through his power all things were made -- things in heaven and on earth, things seen and unseen, all powers, authorities, lords, and rulers. All things were made through Christ and for Christ.

17 He was there before anything was made, and all things continue because of him.

18 He is the head of the body, which is the church. Everything comes from him. He is the first one who was raised from the dead. So in all things Jesus has first place.

19 God was pleased for all of himself to live in Christ.

20 And through Christ, God has brought all things back to himself again -- things on earth and things in heaven. God made peace through the blood of Christ's death on the cross.

21 At one time you were separated from God. You were his enemies in your minds, and the evil things you did were against God.

22 But now God has made you his friends again. He did this through Christ's death in the body so that he might bring you into God's presence as people who are holy, with no wrong, and with nothing of which God can judge you guilty.

23 This will happen if you continue strong and sure in your faith. You must not be moved away from the hope brought to you by the Good News that you heard. That same Good News has been told to everyone in the world, and I, Paul, help in preaching that Good News.

24 I am happy in my sufferings for you. There are things that Christ must still suffer through his body, the church. I am accepting, in my body, my part of these things that must be suffered.

25 I became a servant of the church because God gave me a special work to do that helps you, and that work is to tell fully the message of God.

26 This message is the secret that was hidden from everyone since the beginning of time, but now it is made known to God's holy people.

27 God decided to let his people know this rich and glorious secret which he has for all people. This secret is Christ himself, who is in you. He is our only hope for glory.

28 So we continue to preach Christ to each person, using all wisdom to warn and to teach everyone, in order to bring each one into God's presence as a mature person in Christ.

29 To do this, I work and struggle, using Christ's great strength that works so powerfully in me.