Old/New Testament
The Lord Takes Delight in Zion
62 For the sake of Zion I will not be silent;
for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be quiet,
until her vindication shines brightly[a]
and her deliverance burns like a torch.
2 Nations will see your vindication,
and all kings your splendor.
You will be called by a new name
that the Lord himself will give you.[b]
3 You will be a majestic crown in the hand of the Lord,
a royal turban in the hand of your God.
4 You will no longer be called, “Abandoned,”
and your land will no longer be called “Desolate.”
Indeed,[c] you will be called “My Delight is in Her,”[d]
and your land “Married.”[e]
For the Lord will take delight in you,
and your land will be married to him.[f]
5 As a young man marries a young woman,
so your sons[g] will marry you.
As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride,
so your God will rejoice over you.
6 I[h] post watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
they should keep praying all day and all night.[i]
You who pray to[j] the Lord, don’t be silent!
7 Don’t allow him to rest until he reestablishes Jerusalem,[k]
until he makes Jerusalem the pride[l] of the earth.
8 The Lord swears an oath by his right hand,
by his strong arm:[m]
“I will never again give your grain
to your enemies as food,
and foreigners will not drink your wine,
which you worked hard to produce.
9 But those who harvest the grain[n] will eat it,
and will praise the Lord.
Those who pick the grapes will drink the wine[o]
in the courts of my holy sanctuary.”
10 Come through! Come through the gates!
Prepare the way for the people!
Build it—Build the roadway!
Remove the stones.
Lift a signal flag for the nations.
11 Look, the Lord announces to the entire earth:[p]
“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘Look, your deliverer comes!
Look, his reward is with him,
and his reward goes before him!’”[q]
12 They will be called, “The Holy People,
the Ones Protected[r] by the Lord.”
You will be called, “Sought After,
City Not Abandoned.”
The Victorious Divine Warrior
63 Who is this who comes from Edom,[s]
dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah?[t]
Who[u] is this one wearing royal attire,[v]
who marches confidently[w] because of his great strength?
“It is I, the one who announces vindication,
and who is able to deliver!”[x]
2 Why are your clothes red?
Why do you look like someone who has stomped on grapes in a vat?[y]
3 “I have stomped grapes in the winepress all by myself;
no one from the nations joined me.
I stomped on them[z] in my anger;
I trampled them down in my rage.
Their juice splashed on my garments,
and stained[aa] all my clothes.
4 For I looked forward to the day of vengeance,
and then payback time arrived.[ab]
5 I looked, but there was no one to help;
I was shocked because there was no one offering support.[ac]
So my right arm accomplished deliverance;
my raging anger drove me on.[ad]
6 I trampled nations in my anger;
I made them drunk[ae] in my rage;
I splashed their blood on the ground.”[af]
A Prayer for Divine Intervention
7 I will tell of the faithful acts of the Lord,
of the Lord’s praiseworthy deeds.
I will tell about all[ag] the Lord did for us,
the many good things he did for the family of Israel,[ah]
because of[ai] his compassion and great faithfulness.
8 He said, “Certainly they will be my people,
children who are not disloyal.”[aj]
He became their deliverer.
9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too.[ak]
The messenger sent from his very presence[al] delivered them.
In his love and mercy he protected[am] them;
he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times.[an]
10 But they rebelled and offended[ao] his holy Spirit,[ap]
so he turned into an enemy
and fought against them.
11 His people remembered the ancient times.[aq]
Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea,
along with the shepherd of[ar] his flock?
Where is the one who placed his holy Spirit among them,[as]
12 the one who made his majestic power available to Moses,[at]
who divided the water before them,
gaining for himself a lasting reputation,[au]
13 who led them through the deep water?
Like a horse running through the wilderness[av] they did not stumble.
14 As an animal that goes down into a valley to graze,[aw]
so the Spirit of the Lord granted them rest.
In this way[ax] you guided your people,
gaining for yourself an honored reputation.[ay]
15 Look down from heaven and take notice,
from your holy, majestic palace!
Where are your zeal[az] and power?
Do not hold back your tender compassion![ba]
16 For you are our father,
though Abraham does not know us
and Israel does not recognize us.
You, Lord, are our father;
you have been called our Protector from ancient times.[bb]
17 Why, Lord, do you make us stray[bc] from your ways,[bd]
and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you?[be]
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your inheritance!
18 For a short time your special[bf] nation possessed a land,[bg]
but then our adversaries knocked down[bh] your holy sanctuary.
19 We existed from ancient times,[bi]
but you did not rule over them;
they were not your subjects.[bj]
64 (63:19b)[bk] If only you would tear apart the sky[bl] and come down!
The mountains would tremble[bm] before you!
2 (64:1) As when fire ignites dry wood,
or fire makes water boil,
let your adversaries know who you are,[bn]
and may the nations shake at your presence!
3 When you performed awesome deeds that took us by surprise,[bo]
you came down, and the mountains trembled[bp] before you.
4 Since ancient times no one has heard or perceived,[bq]
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who intervenes for those who wait for him.
5 You assist[br] those who delight in doing what is right,[bs]
who observe your commandments.[bt]
Look, you were angry because we violated them continually.
How then can we be saved?[bu]
6 We are all like one who is unclean,
all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight.[bv]
We all wither like a leaf;
our sins carry us away like the wind.
7 No one invokes[bw] your name,
or makes an effort[bx] to take hold of you.
For you have rejected us[by]
and handed us over to our own sins.[bz]
8 Yet,[ca] Lord, you are our father.
We are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the product of your labor.[cb]
9 Lord, do not be too angry!
Do not hold our sins against us continually.[cc]
Take a good look at your people, at all of us.[cd]
10 Your chosen[ce] cities have become a wilderness;
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem, a desolate ruin.
11 Our holy temple, our pride and joy,[cf]
the place where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned with fire;
all our prized possessions have been destroyed.[cg]
12 In light of all this,[ch] how can you still hold back, Lord?
How can you be silent and continue to humiliate us?
Salutation
1 From Paul,[a] an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior[b] and of Christ Jesus our hope, 2 to Timothy, my genuine child in the faith. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord!
Timothy’s Task in Ephesus
3 As I urged you when I was leaving for Macedonia, stay on in Ephesus to instruct[c] certain people not to spread false teachings,[d] 4 nor to occupy themselves with myths and interminable genealogies.[e] Such things promote useless speculations rather than God’s redemptive plan[f] that operates by faith. 5 But the aim of our instruction[g] is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.[h] 6 Some have strayed from these and turned away to empty discussion. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or the things they insist on so confidently.[i]
8 But we know that the law is good if someone uses it legitimately, 9 realizing that law[j] is not intended for a righteous person, but for lawless and rebellious people, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 sexually immoral people, practicing homosexuals,[k] kidnappers, liars, perjurers—in fact, for any who live contrary to sound teaching. 11 This[l] accords with the glorious gospel of the blessed God[m] that was entrusted to me.[n]
12 I am grateful to the one who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me faithful in putting me into ministry, 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor, and an arrogant[o] man. But I was treated with mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and our Lord’s grace was abundant, bringing faith and love in Christ Jesus.[p] 15 This saying[q] is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them![r] 16 But here is why I was treated with mercy: so that[s] in me as the worst,[t] Christ Jesus could demonstrate his utmost patience, as an example for those who are going to believe in him for eternal life. 17 Now to the eternal king,[u] immortal, invisible, the only[v] God, be honor and glory forever and ever![w] Amen.
18 I put this charge[x] before you, Timothy my child, in keeping with the prophecies once spoken about you,[y] in order that with such encouragement[z] you may fight the good fight. 19 To do this[aa] you must hold firmly to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck in regard to the faith. 20 Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I handed over to Satan[ab] to be taught not to blaspheme.
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