Isaiah 59; Isaiah 60; Isaiah 61; 2 Thessalonians 3

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Isaiah 59

1 Surely the Lord's power is enough to save you. He can hear you when you ask him for help.
2 It is your evil that has separated you from your God. Your sins cause him to turn away from you, so he does not hear you.
3 With your hands you have killed others, and with your fingers you have done wrong. With your lips you have lied, and with your tongue you say evil things.
4 People take each other to court unfairly, and no one tells the truth in arguing his case. They accuse each other falsely and tell lies. They cause trouble and create more evil.
5 They hatch evil like eggs from poisonous snakes. If you eat one of those eggs, you will die, and if you break one open, a poisonous snake comes out. People tell lies as they would spin a spider's web.
6 The webs they make cannot be used for clothes; you can't cover yourself with those webs. The things they do are evil, and they use their hands to hurt others.
7 They eagerly run to do evil, and they are always ready to kill innocent people. They think evil thoughts. Everywhere they go they cause ruin and destruction.
8 They don't know how to live in peace, and there is no fairness in their lives. They are dishonest. Anyone who lives as they live will never have peace.
9 Fairness has gone far away; goodness is nowhere to be found. We wait for the light, but there is only darkness now. We hope for a bright light, but all we have is darkness.
10 We are like the blind feeling our way along a wall. We feel our way as if we had no eyes. In the brightness of day we trip as if it were night. We are like dead men among the strong.
11 All of us growl like the bears. We call out sadly like the doves. We look for justice, but there isn't any. We want to be saved, but salvation is far away.
12 We have done many wrong things against our God; our sins show we are wrong. We know we have turned against God; we know the evil things we have done:
13 sinning and rejecting the Lord, turning away from our God, planning to hurt others and to disobey God, planning and speaking lies.
14 So we have driven away justice, and we have kept away from what is right. Truth is not spoken in the streets; what is honest is not allowed to enter the city.
15 Truth cannot be found anywhere, and people who refuse to do evil are attacked. The Lord looked and could not find any justice, and he was displeased.
16 He could not find anyone to help the people, and he was surprised that there was no one to help. So he used his own power to save the people; his own goodness gave him strength.
17 He covered himself with goodness like armor. He put the helmet of salvation on his head. He put on the clothes of punishment and wrapped himself in the coat of his strong love.
18 The Lord will pay back his enemies for what they have done. He will show his anger to those who were against him; he will punish the people in faraway places as they deserve.
19 Then people from the west will fear the Lord, and people from the east will fear his glory. fast-flowing river, driven by the breath of the Lord.
20 "Then a Savior will come to Jerusalem and to the people of Jacob who have turned from sin," says the Lord.
21 The Lord says, "This is my agreement with these people: My Spirit and my words that I give you will never leave you or your children or your grandchildren, now and forever."
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Isaiah 60

1 "Jerusalem, get up and shine, because your light has come, and the glory of the Lord shines on you.
2 Darkness now covers the earth; deep darkness covers her people. But the Lord shines on you, and people see his glory around you.
3 Nations will come to your light; kings will come to the brightness of your sunrise.
4 "Look around you. People are gathering and coming to you. Your sons are coming from far away, and your daughters are coming with them.
5 When you see them, you will shine with happiness; you will be excited and full of joy, because the wealth of the nations across the seas will be given to you; the riches of the nations will come to you.
6 Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels from Midian and Ephah. bringing gold and incense, and they will sing praises to the Lord.
7 All the sheep from Kedar will be given to you; the sheep from Nebaioth will be brought to you. They will be pleasing sacrifices on my altar, and I will make my beautiful Temple more beautiful.
8 "The people are returning to you like clouds, like doves flying to their nests.
9 People in faraway lands are waiting for me. The great trading ships will come first, bringing your children from faraway lands, and with them silver and gold. This will honor the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, who does wonderful things for you.
10 "Jerusalem, foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. When I was angry, I hurt you, but now I want to be kind to you and comfort you.
11 Your gates will always be open; they will not be closed day or night so the nations can bring their wealth to you, and their kings will be led to you.
12 The nation or kingdom that doesn't serve you will be destroyed; it will be completely ruined.
13 "The great trees of Lebanon will be given to you: its pine, fir, and cypress trees together. You will use them to make my Temple beautiful, and I will give much honor to this place where I rest my feet.
14 The people who have hurt you will bow down to you; those who hated you will bow down at your feet. They will call you The City of the Lord, Jerusalem, city of the Holy One of Israel.
15 "You have been hated and left empty with no one passing through. But I will make you great from now on; you will be a place of happiness forever and ever.
16 You will be given what you need from the nations, like a child drinking milk from its mother. Then you will know that it is I, the Lord, who saves you. You will know that the Powerful One of Jacob protects you.
17 I will bring you gold in place of bronze, silver in place of iron, bronze in place of wood, iron in place of rocks. I will change your punishment into peace, and you will be ruled by what is right.
18 There will be no more violence in your country; it will not be ruined or destroyed. and your gates Praise.
19 The sun will no longer be your light during the day nor will the brightness from the moon be your light, because the Lord will be your light forever, and your God will be your glory.
20 Your sun will never set again, and your moon will never be dark, because the Lord will be your light forever, and your time of sadness will end.
21 All of your people will do what is right. They will receive the earth forever. They are the plant I have planted, the work of my own hands to show my greatness.
22 The smallest family will grow to a thousand. The least important of you will become a powerful nation. I am the Lord, and when it is time, I will make these things happen quickly."
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Isaiah 61

1 The Lord God has put his Spirit in me, because the Lord has appointed me to tell the good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort those whose hearts are broken, to tell the captives they are free, and to tell the prisoners they are released.
2 He has sent me to announce the time when the Lord will show his kindness and the time when our God will punish evil people. He has sent me to comfort all those who are sad
3 and to help the sorrowing people of Jerusalem. I will give them a crown to replace their ashes, and the oil of gladness to replace their sorrow, and clothes of praise to replace their spirit of sadness. Then they will be called Trees of Goodness, trees planted by the Lord to show his greatness.
4 They will rebuild the old ruins and restore the places destroyed long ago. They will repair the ruined cities that were destroyed for so long.
5 My people, foreigners will come to tend your sheep. People from other countries will tend your fields and vineyards.
6 You will be called priests of the Lord; you will be named the servants of our God. You will have riches from all the nations on earth, and you will take pride in them.
7 Instead of being ashamed, my people will receive twice as much wealth. Instead of being disgraced, they will be happy because of what they receive. They will receive a double share of the land, so their happiness will continue forever.
8 "I, the Lord, love justice. I hate stealing and everything that is wrong. I will be fair and give my people what they should have, and I will make an agreement with them that will continue forever.
9 Everyone in all nations will know the children of my people, and their children will be known among the nations. Anyone who sees them will know that they are people the Lord has blessed."
10 The Lord makes me very happy; all that I am rejoices in my God. He has covered me with clothes of salvation and wrapped me with a coat of goodness, like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding, like a bride dressed in jewels.
11 The earth causes plants to grow, and a garden causes the seeds planted in it to grow. goodness and praise come from all the nations.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

2 Thessalonians 3

1 And now, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the Lord's teaching will continue to spread quickly and that people will give honor to that teaching, just as happened with you.
2 And pray that we will be protected from stubborn and evil people, because not all people believe.
3 But the Lord is faithful and will give you strength and will protect you from the Evil One.
4 The Lord makes us feel sure that you are doing and will continue to do the things we told you.
5 May the Lord lead your hearts into God's love and Christ's patience.
6 Brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ we command you to stay away from any believer who refuses to work and does not follow the teaching we gave you.
7 You yourselves know that you should live as we live. We were not lazy when we were with you.
8 And when we ate another person's food, we always paid for it. We worked very hard night and day so we would not be an expense to any of you.
9 We had the right to ask you to help us, but we worked to take care of ourselves so we would be an example for you to follow.
10 When we were with you, we gave you this rule: "Anyone who refuses to work should not eat."
11 We hear that some people in your group refuse to work. They do nothing but busy themselves in other people's lives.
12 We command those people and beg them in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and earn their own food.
13 But you, brothers and sisters, never become tired of doing good.
14 If some people do not obey what we tell you in this letter, then take note of them. Have nothing to do with them so they will feel ashamed.
15 But do not treat them as enemies. Warn them as fellow believers.
16 Now may the Lord of peace give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
17 I, Paul, end this letter now in my own handwriting. All my letters have this to show they are from me. This is the way I write.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.