Isaiah 57-59

New International Version

57 The righteous perish,^(A)
    and no one takes it to heart;^(B)
the devout are taken away,
    and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away
    to be spared from evil.^(C)
²Those who walk uprightly^(D)
    enter into peace;
    they find rest^(E) as they lie in death.

³“But you—come here, you children of a sorceress,^(F)
    you offspring of adulterers^(G) and prostitutes!^(H)
⁴Who are you mocking?
    At whom do you sneer
    and stick out your tongue?
Are you not a brood of rebels,^(I)
    the offspring of liars?
⁵You burn with lust among the oaks^(J)
    and under every spreading tree;^(K)
you sacrifice your children^(L) in the ravines
    and under the overhanging crags.
⁶The idols^(M) among the smooth stones of the ravines are your portion;
    indeed, they are your lot.
Yes, to them you have poured out drink offerings^(N)
    and offered grain offerings.
    In view of all this, should I relent?^(O)
⁷You have made your bed on a high and lofty hill;^(P)
    there you went up to offer your sacrifices.^(Q)
⁸Behind your doors and your doorposts
    you have put your pagan symbols.
Forsaking me, you uncovered your bed,
    you climbed into it and opened it wide;
you made a pact with those whose beds you love,^(R)
    and you looked with lust on their naked bodies.^(S)
⁹You went to Molek^[a]^(T) with olive oil
    and increased your perfumes.^(U)
You sent your ambassadors^[b]^(V) far away;
    you descended to the very realm of the dead!^(W)
¹⁰You wearied^(X) yourself by such going about,
    but you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.’^(Y)
You found renewal of your strength,^(Z)
    and so you did not faint.

¹¹“Whom have you so dreaded and feared^(AA)
    that you have not been true to me,
and have neither remembered^(AB) me
    nor taken this to heart?^(AC)
Is it not because I have long been silent^(AD)
    that you do not fear me?
¹²I will expose your righteousness and your works,^(AE)
    and they will not benefit you.
¹³When you cry out^(AF) for help,
    let your collection of idols save^(AG) you!
The wind will carry all of them off,
    a mere breath will blow^(AH) them away.
But whoever takes refuge^(AI) in me
    will inherit the land^(AJ)
    and possess my holy mountain.”^(AK)

Comfort for the Contrite

¹⁴And it will be said:

“Build up, build up, prepare the road!^(AL)
    Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.”^(AM)
¹⁵For this is what the high and exalted^(AN) One says—
    he who lives forever,^(AO) whose name is holy:
“I live in a high^(AP) and holy place,
    but also with the one who is contrite^(AQ) and lowly in spirit,^(AR)
to revive the spirit of the lowly
    and to revive the heart of the contrite.^(AS)
¹⁶I will not accuse^(AT) them forever,
    nor will I always be angry,^(AU)
for then they would faint away because of me—
    the very people^(AV) I have created.
¹⁷I was enraged by their sinful greed;^(AW)
    I punished them, and hid^(AX) my face in anger,
    yet they kept on in their willful ways.^(AY)
¹⁸I have seen their ways, but I will heal^(AZ) them;
    I will guide^(BA) them and restore comfort^(BB) to Israel’s mourners,
¹⁹    creating praise on their lips.^(BC)
Peace, peace,^(BD) to those far and near,”^(BE)
    says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”
²⁰But the wicked^(BF) are like the tossing sea,^(BG)
    which cannot rest,
    whose waves cast up mire^(BH) and mud.
²¹“There is no peace,”^(BI) says my God, “for the wicked.”^(BJ)

True Fasting

58 “Shout it aloud,^(BK) do not hold back.
    Raise your voice like a trumpet.^(BL)
Declare to my people their rebellion^(BM)
    and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.^(BN)
²For day after day they seek^(BO) me out;
    they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
    and has not forsaken^(BP) the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
    and seem eager for God to come near^(BQ) them.
³‘Why have we fasted,’^(BR) they say,
    ‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled^(BS) ourselves,
    and you have not noticed?’^(BT)

“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please^(BU)
    and exploit all your workers.
⁴Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,^(BV)
    and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
    and expect your voice to be heard^(BW) on high.
⁵Is this the kind of fast^(BX) I have chosen,
    only a day for people to humble^(BY) themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed^(BZ)
    and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?^(CA)
Is that what you call a fast,
    a day acceptable to the Lord?

⁶“Is not this the kind of fasting^(CB) I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice^(CC)
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed^(CD) free
    and break every yoke?^(CE)
⁷Is it not to share your food with the hungry^(CF)
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter^(CG)—
when you see the naked, to clothe^(CH) them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?^(CI)
⁸Then your light will break forth like the dawn,^(CJ)
    and your healing^(CK) will quickly appear;
then your righteousness^[c]^(CL) will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.^(CM)
⁹Then you will call,^(CN) and the Lord will answer;^(CO)
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger^(CP) and malicious talk,^(CQ)
¹⁰and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,^(CR)
then your light^(CS) will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.^(CT)
¹¹The Lord will guide^(CU) you always;
    he will satisfy your needs^(CV) in a sun-scorched land^(CW)
    and will strengthen^(CX) your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,^(CY)
    like a spring^(CZ) whose waters never fail.
¹²Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins^(DA)
    and will raise up the age-old foundations;^(DB)
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,^(DC)
    Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

¹³“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath^(DD)
    and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight^(DE)
    and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
    and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,^(DF)
¹⁴then you will find your joy^(DG) in the Lord,
    and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights^(DH) of the land
    and to feast on the inheritance^(DI) of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.^(DJ)

Sin, Confession and Redemption

59 Surely the arm^(DK) of the Lord is not too short^(DL) to save,
    nor his ear too dull to hear.^(DM)
²But your iniquities have separated^(DN)
    you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
    so that he will not hear.^(DO)
³For your hands are stained with blood,^(DP)
    your fingers with guilt.^(DQ)
Your lips have spoken falsely,^(DR)
    and your tongue mutters wicked things.
⁴No one calls for justice;^(DS)
    no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely^(DT) on empty arguments, they utter lies;^(DU)
    they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.^(DV)
⁵They hatch the eggs of vipers^(DW)
    and spin a spider’s web.^(DX)
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
    and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
⁶Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
    they cannot cover themselves with what they make.^(DY)
Their deeds are evil deeds,
    and acts of violence^(DZ) are in their hands.
⁷Their feet rush into sin;
    they are swift to shed innocent blood.^(EA)
They pursue evil schemes;^(EB)
    acts of violence mark their ways.^(EC)
⁸The way of peace they do not know;^(ED)
    there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;^(EE)
    no one who walks along them will know peace.^(EF)

⁹So justice is far from us,
    and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness;^(EG)
    for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
¹⁰Like the blind^(EH) we grope along the wall,
    feeling our way like people without eyes.
At midday we stumble^(EI) as if it were twilight;
    among the strong, we are like the dead.^(EJ)
¹¹We all growl like bears;
    we moan mournfully like doves.^(EK)
We look for justice, but find none;
    for deliverance, but it is far away.

¹²For our offenses^(EL) are many in your sight,
    and our sins testify^(EM) against us.
Our offenses are ever with us,
    and we acknowledge our iniquities:^(EN)
¹³rebellion^(EO) and treachery against the Lord,
    turning our backs^(EP) on our God,
inciting revolt and oppression,^(EQ)
    uttering lies^(ER) our hearts have conceived.
¹⁴So justice^(ES) is driven back,
    and righteousness^(ET) stands at a distance;
truth^(EU) has stumbled in the streets,
    honesty cannot enter.
¹⁵Truth^(EV) is nowhere to be found,
    and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.

The Lord looked and was displeased
    that there was no justice.^(EW)
¹⁶He saw that there was no one,^(EX)
    he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;^(EY)
so his own arm achieved salvation^(EZ) for him,
    and his own righteousness^(FA) sustained him.
¹⁷He put on righteousness as his breastplate,^(FB)
    and the helmet^(FC) of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments^(FD) of vengeance^(FE)
    and wrapped himself in zeal^(FF) as in a cloak.
¹⁸According to what they have done,
    so will he repay^(FG)
wrath to his enemies
    and retribution to his foes;
    he will repay the islands^(FH) their due.
¹⁹From the west,^(FI) people will fear the name of the Lord,
    and from the rising of the sun,^(FJ) they will revere his glory.^(FK)
For he will come like a pent-up flood
    that the breath^(FL) of the Lord drives along.^[d]

²⁰“The Redeemer^(FM) will come to Zion,^(FN)
to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”^(FO)
declares the Lord.

²¹“As for me, this is my covenant^(FP) with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit,^(FQ) who is on you, will not depart from you,^(FR) and my words that I have put in your mouth^(FS) will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.

Footnotes

Isaiah 57:9 Or to the king
Isaiah 57:9 Or idols
Isaiah 58:8 Or your righteous One
Isaiah 59:19 Or When enemies come in like a flood, / the Spirit of the Lord will put them to flight

Psalm 103

New International Version

Psalm 103

Of David.

¹Praise the Lord,^(A) my soul;^(B)
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.^(C)
²Praise the Lord,^(D) my soul,
    and forget not^(E) all his benefits—
³who forgives all your sins^(F)
    and heals^(G) all your diseases,
⁴who redeems your life^(H) from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,^(I)
⁵who satisfies^(J) your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed^(K) like the eagle’s.^(L)

⁶The Lord works righteousness^(M)
and justice for all the oppressed.^(N)

⁷He made known^(O) his ways^(P) to Moses,
    his deeds^(Q) to the people of Israel:
⁸The Lord is compassionate and gracious,^(R)
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
⁹He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbor his anger forever;^(S)
¹⁰he does not treat us as our sins deserve^(T)
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love^(U) for those who fear him;^(V)
¹²as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions^(W) from us.

¹³As a father has compassion^(X) on his children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
¹⁴for he knows how we are formed,^(Y)
    he remembers that we are dust.^(Z)
¹⁵The life of mortals is like grass,^(AA)
    they flourish like a flower^(AB) of the field;
¹⁶the wind blows^(AC) over it and it is gone,
    and its place^(AD) remembers it no more.
¹⁷But from everlasting to everlasting
    the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
    and his righteousness with their children’s children^(AE)—
¹⁸with those who keep his covenant^(AF)
    and remember^(AG) to obey his precepts.^(AH)

¹⁹The Lord has established his throne^(AI) in heaven,
and his kingdom rules^(AJ) over all.

²⁰Praise the Lord,^(AK) you his angels,^(AL)
    you mighty ones^(AM) who do his bidding,^(AN)
    who obey his word.
²¹Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,^(AO)
    you his servants^(AP) who do his will.
²²Praise the Lord, all his works^(AQ)
    everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.^(AR)

2 Peter 3

New International Version

The Day of the Lord

3 Dear friends,^(A) this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders^(B) to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. ²I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets^(C) and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.^(D)

³Above all, you must understand that in the last days^(E) scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.^(F) ⁴They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised?^(G) Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”^(H) ⁵But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word^(I) the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water.^(J) ⁶By these waters also the world of that time^(K) was deluged and destroyed.^(L) ⁷By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire,^(M) being kept for the day of judgment^(N) and destruction of the ungodly.

⁸But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.^(O) ⁹The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise,^(P) as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient^(Q) with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.^(R)

¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.^(S) The heavens will disappear with a roar;^(T) the elements will be destroyed by fire,^(U) and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.^[a]^(V)

¹¹Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives ¹²as you look forward^(W) to the day of God and speed its coming.^[b]^(X) That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.^(Y) ¹³But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth,^(Z) where righteousness dwells.

¹⁴So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless^(AA) and at peace with him. ¹⁵Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience^(AB) means salvation,^(AC) just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.^(AD) ¹⁶He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable^(AE) people distort,^(AF) as they do the other Scriptures,^(AG) to their own destruction.

¹⁷Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard^(AH) so that you may not be carried away by the error^(AI) of the lawless^(AJ) and fall from your secure position.^(AK) ¹⁸But grow in the grace^(AL) and knowledge^(AM) of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.^(AN) To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.^(AO)