Old/New Testament
56 1 An exhortation to judgment and justice. 10 Against shepherds that devour their flock.
1 Thus saith the Lord, [a]Keep judgment and do justice, for my salvation is at hand to come, and my [b]righteousness to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man which layeth hold on it; he that keepeth the [c]Sabbath, and polluteth it not, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
3 And let not the son of the strangers, which [d]is joined to the Lord, speak and say, The Lord hath surely separated me from his people; neither let the Eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.
4 For thus saith the Lord unto the Eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths, and choose the thing that pleaseth me, and take hold of my covenant,
5 Even unto them will I give in mine [e]House and within my walls, a place, and a [f]name better than of the sons and of the daughters; I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be put out.
6 Also the strangers that cleave unto the Lord, to serve him, and to love the Name of the Lord, and to be his servants; everyone that keepeth the Sabbath, and polluteth it not, and embraceth my covenant,
7 Them will I bring also to mine holy mountain, and make them joyful in mine House of prayer; their burnt [g]offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar: for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for [h]all people.
8 The Lord God saith, which gathereth the scattered of Israel, Yet will I gather to them those that are to be gathered to them.
9 All ye [i]beasts of the field, come to devour, even all ye beasts of the forest.
10 Their [j]watchmen are all blind: they have no knowledge: they are all dumb dogs: they cannot bark: they lie and sleep, and delight in sleeping.
11 And these greedy dogs can never have enough: and these shepherds cannot understand: for they all look to their own way, everyone for his advantage, and for his own purpose.
12 Come, I will bring wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink, and [k]tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.
57 1 God taketh away the good, that he should not see the horrible plagues to come. 3 Of the wicked idolaters, 9 and their vain confidence.
1 The righteous perisheth, and no man considereth it in heart, and merciful men are taken away, and no man understandeth that the righteous is taken away [l]from the evil to come.
2 [m]Peace shall come: they shall rest in their beds, everyone that walketh before him.
3 But you [n]witches’ children, come hither, the seed of the adulterer and of the whore.
4 On whom have ye jested? upon whom have ye gaped and thrust out your tongue? are not ye rebellious children, and a false seed?
5 Inflamed with idols under every green tree? and sacrificing the [o]children in the valleys under the tops of the rocks?
6 Thy portion is in the smooth stones [p]of the river: they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured a drink offering: thou hast offered a sacrifice. Should I delight in [q]these?
7 Thou hast made thy [r]bed upon a very high mountain: thou wentest up thither, even thither wentest thou to offer sacrifice.
8 Behind the [s]doors also and posts hast thou set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered thyself to another, than me, and wentest up, and didst [t]enlarge thy bed, and make a covenant between thee and them, and lovedst their bed in every place where thou sawest it.
9 Thou wentest [u]to the kings with oil, and didst increase thine ointments, and send thy messengers far off, and didst humble thyself unto hell.
10 Thou weariedst thyself in thy manifold journeys, yet saidest thou not, [v]There is no hope: thou [w]hast found life by thine hand, therefore thou wast not grieved.
11 And whom didst thou reverence or fear, seeing thou hast [x]lied unto me, and hast not remembered me, neither set thy mind thereon? is it not because I hold my peace, and that of long [y]time? therefore thou fearest not me.
12 I will declare thy righteousness [z]and thy works, and they shall not profit thee.
13 When thou cryest, let them that thou hast gathered together, deliver thee: but the wind [aa]shall take them all away: vanity shall pull them away: but he that trusteth in me shall inherit the land, and shall possess mine holy Mountain.
14 [ab]And he shall say, Cast up, cast up: prepare the way: take up the stumbling blocks out of the way of my people.
15 For thus saith he that is high and excellent, he that inhabiteth the eternity, whose Name is the Holy one, I dwell in the high and holy place: with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit to revive the spirit of the humble, and to give life to them that are of a contrite heart.
16 For I will not contend forever: neither will I be always wroth, [ac]for the spirit should fail before me: and I have made the breath.
17 For his [ad]wicked covetousness I am angry with him, and have smitten him: I hid me, and was angry, yet he went away, and turned after the way of his own heart.
18 I have seen his ways, and will [ae]heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comfort unto him, and to those that lament him.
19 I create the [af]fruit of the lips, to be peace: peace unto them that are [ag]far off, and to them that are near, saith the Lord: for I will heal him.
20 But the wicked are like the raging sea, that [ah]cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
21 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
58 1 The office of God’s ministers. 2 The works of the hypocrites. 6 The fast of the faithful. 13 Of the true Sabbath.
1 Cry [ai]aloud, spare not: lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they [aj]seek me daily, and will know my ways, even as a nation that did righteously, and had not forsaken the statutes of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice: they will draw near unto God, saying,
3 [ak]Wherefore have we fasted, and thou seest it not? we have punished ourselves, and thou regardest it not. Behold, in the day of your fast you will seek [al]your will, and require all your debts.
4 Behold, ye fast to strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do today, to make your voice to be [am]heard above.
5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen, that a man should afflict his soul for a day, and to bow down his head, as a bull rush, and to lie down in sackcloth and ashes? wilt thou call this a fasting, or an acceptable day to the Lord?
6 Is not this the fasting that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to take off the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every [an]yoke?
7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that wander, unto thine house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him, and hide not thyself from [ao]thine own flesh?
8 Then shall thy [ap]light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall grow speedily: thy [aq]righteousness shall go before thee, and the glory of the Lord shall embrace thee.
9 Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer: thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am: if thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the [ar]finger, and wicked speaking:
10 If thou [as]pour out thy soul to the hungry, and refresh the troubled soul: then shall thy light spring out in the [at]darkness, and thy darkness shall be as the noon day.
11 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones, and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
12 And they shall be of thee, that shall build the old [au]waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations for many generations, and thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach, and the restorer of the paths to dwell in.
13 If thou [av]turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy will on mine Holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight to consecrate it, as glorious to the Lord, and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor seeking thine own will, nor speaking a vain word,
14 Then shalt thou delight in the Lord, and I will cause thee to mount upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
2 2 He showeth that the day of the Lord shall not come, till there be a departure from the faith, 3 and that Antichrist be revealed, 8 whose destruction he setteth out, 15 and thereupon exhorteth to constancy.
1 Now [a]we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our [b]assembling unto him,
2 [c]That ye be not suddenly moved from your mind, nor troubled neither by [d]spirit, nor by [e]word, nor by [f]letter, as it were from us, as though the day of Christ were at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: [g]for that day shall not come, except there come a departing first, and that [h]that man of sin be disclosed, even the son of perdition.
4 Which is an adversary, and [i]exalteth himself against all that is called God, or that is worshipped: [j]so that he doth sit as God in the Temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
5 [k]Remember ye not, that when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye know [l]what withholdeth, that he might be revealed in his time.
7 [m]For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: [n]only he which now [o]withholdeth, shall let till he be taken out of the way.
8 [p]And then shall [q]that wicked man be revealed, (A)whom the Lord shall [r]consume with the [s]Spirit of his mouth, and shall abolish with the brightness of his coming,
9 [t]Even him whose coming is by the effectual working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and [u]lying wonders,
10 And in all deceivableness of unrighteousness, among them that perish, because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And therefore God shall send them [v]strong delusion, that they should believe lies,
12 That all they might be damned which believed not the truth, but [w]had pleasure in unrighteousness.
13 [x]But we ought to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because that God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation, through [y]sanctification of the Spirit, and the [z]faith of truth,
14 Whereunto he called you by our [aa]Gospel, to obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
15 [ab]Therefore, brethren, stand fast and keep the instructions, which ye have been taught, either by word, or by our Epistle.
16 Now the same Jesus Christ our Lord, and our God, even the Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,
17 Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every word and good work.
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