Isaiah 57:15-59:21 15 For this is what the high and exalted one says, the one who rules
forever, whose name is holy: “I dwell in an exalted and holy place, but also with the discouraged and humiliated,
in order to cheer up the humiliated and to encourage the discouraged.
16 For I will not be hostile
forever or perpetually angry, for then man’s spirit would grow faint before me,
the life-giving breath I created.
17 I was angry because of their sinful greed; I attacked them and angrily rejected them,
yet they remained disobedient and stubborn.
18 I have seen their behavior,
but I will heal them and give them rest, and I will once again console those who mourn.
19 I am the one who gives them reason to celebrate.
Complete prosperity
is available both to those who are far away and those who are nearby,” says the
Lord, “and I will heal them.
20 But the wicked are like a surging sea that is unable to be quiet; its waves toss up mud and sand.
21 There will be no prosperity,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
1 “Shout loudly! Don’t be quiet! Yell as loud as a trumpet! Confront my people with their rebellious deeds;
confront Jacob’s family with their sin!
2 They seek me day after day; they want to know my requirements,
like a nation that does what is right and does not reject the law of their God. They ask me for just decrees; they want to be near God.
3 They lament,
‘Why don’t you notice when we fast? Why don’t you pay attention when we humble ourselves?’ Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires,
you oppress your workers.
4 Look, your fasting is accompanied by
arguments, brawls, and fistfights.
Do not fast as you do today, trying to make your voice heard in heaven.
5 Is this really the kind of fasting I want?
Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves,
bowing their heads like a reed and stretching out
on sackcloth and ashes? Is this really what you call a fast, a day that is pleasing to the
Lord?
6 No, this is the kind of fast I want.
I want you
to remove the sinful chains, to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke, to set free the oppressed,
and to break every burdensome yoke.
7 I want you
to share your food with the hungry and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people.
When you see someone naked, clothe him! Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood!
8 Then your light will shine like the sunrise;
your restoration will quickly arrive;
your godly behavior
will go before you, and the
Lord’s splendor will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call out, and the
Lord will respond; you will cry out, and he will reply, ‘Here I am.’ You must
remove the burdensome yoke from among you and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully.
10 You must
actively help the hungry and feed the oppressed.
Then your light will dispel the darkness,
and your darkness will be transformed into noonday.
11 The
Lord will continually lead you; he will feed you even in parched regions.
He will give you renewed strength,
and you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring that continually produces water.
12 Your perpetual ruins will be rebuilt;
you will reestablish the ancient foundations. You will be called, ‘The one who repairs broken walls, the one who makes the streets inhabitable again.’
13 You must
observe the Sabbath
rather than doing anything you please on my holy day.
You must look forward to the Sabbath
and treat the
Lord’s holy day with respect.
You must treat it with respect by refraining from your normal activities, and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals.
14 Then you will find joy in your relationship to the
Lord,
and I will give you great prosperity,
and cause crops to grow on the land I gave to your ancestor Jacob.”
Know for certain that the
Lord has spoken.
1 Look, the
Lord’s hand is not too weak
to deliver you; his ear is not too deaf to hear you.
2 But your sinful acts have alienated you from your God; your sins have caused him to reject you and not listen to your prayers.
3 For your hands are stained with blood and your fingers with sin; your lips speak lies, your tongue utters malicious words.
4 No one is concerned about justice;
no one sets forth his case truthfully. They depend on false words
and tell lies; they conceive of oppression
and give birth to sin.
5 They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake and spin a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, a poisonous snake is hatched.
6 Their webs cannot be used for clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their deeds are sinful; they commit violent crimes.
7 They are eager to do evil,
quick to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are sinful; they crush and destroy.
8 They are unfamiliar with peace; their deeds are unjust.
They use deceitful methods, and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace.
9 For this reason deliverance
is far from us
and salvation does not reach us. We wait for light,
but see only darkness;
we wait for
a bright light,
but live
in deep darkness.
10 We grope along the wall like the blind, we grope like those who cannot see;
we stumble at noontime as if it were evening. Though others are strong, we are like dead men.
11 We all growl like bears, we coo mournfully like doves; we wait for deliverance,
but there is none, for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For you are aware of our many rebellious deeds,
and our sins testify against us; indeed, we are aware of our rebellious deeds; we know our sins all too well.
13 We have rebelled and tried to deceive the
Lord; we turned back from following our God. We stir up
oppression and rebellion; we tell lies we concocted in our minds.
14 Justice is driven back; godliness
stands far off. Indeed,
honesty stumbles in the city square and morality is not even able to enter.
15 Honesty has disappeared; the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed. The
Lord watches and is displeased,
for there is no justice.
16 He sees there is no advocate;
he is shocked
that no one intervenes. So he takes matters into his own hands;
his desire for justice drives him on.
17 He wears his desire for justice
like body armor,
and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head.
He puts on the garments of vengeance
and wears zeal like a robe.
18 He repays them for what they have done, dispensing angry judgment to his adversaries and punishing his enemies.
He repays the coastlands.
19 In the west, people respect
the
Lord’s reputation;
in the east they recognize his splendor.
For he comes like a rushing
stream driven on by wind sent from the
Lord.
20 “A protector
comes to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their rebellious deeds,”
says the
Lord.
21 “As for me, this is my promise to
them,” says the
Lord. “My spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and descendants from this time forward,”
says the
Lord.
Context (NET) Philippians 1:1-26 1 From Paul
and Timothy, slaves
of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi,
with the overseers
and deacons.
2 Grace and peace to you
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
3 I thank my God every time I remember you.
4 I always pray with joy in my every prayer for all of you
5 because of your participation
in the gospel from the first day until now.
6 For I am sure of this very thing,
that the one
who began a good work in
you will perfect it
until the day of Christ Jesus.
7 For
it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart,
since both in my imprisonment
and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel all of you became partners in God’s grace
together with me.
8 For God is my witness that I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9 And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight
10 so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ,
11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.
12 I want you to know, brothers and sisters,
that my situation has actually turned out to advance the gospel:
13 The
whole imperial guard
and everyone else knows
that I am in prison
for the sake of Christ,
14 and most of the brothers and sisters,
having confidence in the Lord
because of my imprisonment, now more than ever
dare to speak the word
fearlessly.
15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill.
16 The latter do so from love because they know that I am placed here for the defense of the gospel.
17 The former proclaim Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, because they think they can cause trouble for me in my imprisonment.
18 What is the result? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes,
and I will continue to rejoice,
19 for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance
through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
20 My confident hope
is that I will in no way be ashamed
but that with complete boldness, even now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether I live or die.
21 For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.
22 Now if I am to go on living in the body,
this will mean productive work
for me, yet I don’t know which I prefer:
23 I feel torn between the two,
because I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far,
24 but it is more vital for your sake that I remain
in the body.
25 And since I am sure of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for the sake of your progress
and joy in the faith,
26 so that what you can be proud of may increase
because of me in Christ Jesus, when I come back to you.
Context (NET) Psalm 71:1-24 1 In you, O
Lord, I have taken shelter! Never let me be humiliated!
2 Vindicate me by rescuing me!
Listen to me!
Deliver me!
3 Be my protector and refuge,
a stronghold where I can be safe!
For you are my high ridge
and my stronghold.
4 My God, rescue me from the power
of the wicked, from the hand of the cruel oppressor!
5 For you give me confidence,
O Lord; O
Lord, I have trusted in you since I was young.
6 I have leaned on you since birth;
you pulled me
from my mother’s womb. I praise you continually.
7 Many are appalled when they see me,
but you are my secure shelter.
8 I praise you constantly and speak of your splendor all day long.
9 Do not reject me in my old age!
When my strength fails, do not abandon me!
10 For my enemies talk about me; those waiting for a chance to kill me plot my demise.
11 They say,
“God has abandoned him. Run and seize him, for there is no one who will rescue him!”
12 O God, do not remain far away from me! My God, hurry and help me!
13 May my accusers be humiliated and defeated! May those who want to harm me
be covered with scorn and disgrace!
14 As for me, I will wait continually, and will continue to praise you.
15 I will tell about your justice, and all day long proclaim your salvation,
though I cannot fathom its full extent.
16 I will come and tell about
the mighty acts of the sovereign
Lord. I will proclaim your justice – yours alone.
17 O God, you have taught me since I was young, and I am still declaring
your amazing deeds.
18 Even when I am old and gray,
O God, do not abandon me, until I tell the next generation about your strength, and those coming after me about your power.
19 Your justice, O God, extends to the skies above;
you have done great things.
O God, who can compare to you?
20 Though you have allowed me to experience much trouble and distress,
revive me once again!
Bring me up once again
from the depths of the earth!
21 Raise me to a position of great honor!
Turn and comfort me!
22 I will express my thanks to you with a stringed instrument, praising
your faithfulness, O my God! I will sing praises to you accompanied by a harp, O Holy One of Israel!
23 My lips will shout for joy! Yes,
I will sing your praises! I will praise you when you rescue me!
24 All day long my tongue will also tell about your justice, for those who want to harm me
will be embarrassed and ashamed.
Context (NET) Proverbs 24:9-10 9 A foolish scheme
is sin, and the scorner is an abomination to people.
10 If you faint
in the day of trouble,
your strength is small!
Context (NET)
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