Category: Scripture

“The Lord says,’I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help. I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for Me.’ I said,’Here I am, here I am! to a nation that did not call on My name. All day long I opened My arms to a rebellious people. But they followed their own evil paths and their own crooked schemes. All day long they insult Me to My face by worshiping idols in their sacred gardens.'” (vv. 1-3, NLT)

“‘For when I called, you did not answer. When I spoke, you did not listen. You deliberately sinned – before My very eyes – and chose to do what you know I despise. Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

My servants will eat, but you will starve. My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. My servants will rejoice, but you will be sad and ashamed. My servants will sing for joy, but you will cry in sorrow and despair. Your name will be a curse word among My people, for the Sovereign Lord will destroy you and will call His true vine servants by another name.

And all who invoke a blessing or take an oath will do so by the God of truth. For I will put aside My anger and forget the evil of earlier days.'” (vv. 12B-16, NLT)

“Oh, that You would burst from the heavens and come down! How the mountains would quake in Your presence! As fire causes wood to burn and water to boil, Your coming would make the nations tremble. Then your enemies would learn the reason for Your fame!

When You came down long ago, you did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations. And oh, the mountain quakes! For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for Him! You welcome those who gladly do good, who follow godly ways. But have been very angry with us, for we are not godly. We are constant sinners; how can people like us be saved? We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind. Yet no one calls on Your name, or pleads with You for mercy. Therefore, You have turned away from us and turns us over to our sins.” (vv. 1-7, NLT)

“Lord, look down from heaven; look from Your holy, glorious home, and see us. where is the passion and might You used to show on our behalf? Where are Your mercy and compassion now? Surely you are still our Father! Even if Abraham and Jacob would disown us, Lord, You would still be our Father. You are our Redeemer from ages past. Lord, why have You allowed us to turn from Your path? Why have You given us stubborn hearts so we no longer fear You? Return and help us, for we are Your servants, the tribes that are your special possession.How briefly Your holy people possessed Your holy place, and now our enemies have destroyed it. Sometimes it seems as though we never belonged to You, as though we had never been know as Your people.” (vv. 15-19, NLT)

“I will tell of the Lord’s unfailing love. I will praise the Lord for all He has done. I will rejoice in His great goodness to Israel, which He has granted according to His mercy and love.

He said,’They are my very own people. Surely they will not betray me again.’ And He became their Savior. In all their suffering, He also has suffered, and He personally rescued them. In His love and mercy He redeemed them.He lifted them up and carried them through all the years. But they rebelled against Him and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He became their enemy and fought against them.

They remembered those days of old when Moses led his people out of Egypt. They cried out, ‘Where is the one who brought Israel through the sea, with Moses as their shepherd? Where is the one who sends His Holy Spirit to be among His people? Where is the one whose power was displayed when Moses lifted up his hand – the one who divided the sea before them, making himself famous forever? Where is the one who led them through the bottom of the sea? They were like fine stallions racing through the desert, never stumbling. As with cattle going down into a peaceful valley, the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest. You led your people, Lord, and gained a magnificent reputation!'” (vv. 7-14, NLT)

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. To all who mourn for Israel, He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for His own glory.” (vv.1-3, NLT)

“‘Arise Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you. Darkness as black as the night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you. All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance.

Look, see, for everyone is coming home! Your sons are coming from distant lands; you little daughters will be carried home. Your eyes will shine, and your heart will thrill with joy, for merchants from around the world will come to you. They will bring you the wealth of many lands. Vast caravans of camels will converge on you, the camels of Midian and Ephah. The people of Sheba will bring gold and frankincense and will come worshipping the Lord. The flocks of Kedar will be given to you, and the rams of Nebaioth will be brought to My altars. I will accept their offerings, and I will make My Temple glorious!'” (vv. 1-7, NLT)

“‘No longer will you need the sun to shine by day, nor the moon to give its light by night, for the Lord you God will be your everlasting light, and your sun will never set; your moon will not go down. For the Lord will be your everlasting light. Your days of mourning will come to an end.

All your people will be righteous. They will possess their land forever, for I will plant them there with my own hands in order to bring Myself glory. The smallest family will become a thousand people, and the tiniest group will become a mighty nation. At the right time, I, the Lord, will make it happen. ‘” (vv. 19-22, NLT)

“He will repay His enemies for their evil deeds. His fury will fall on His foes. He will pay them back even to the ends of the earth.

In the west, people will respect the name of the Lord; in the east, they will glorify Him. For He will come like a raging flood tide driven by the breath of the Lord.

‘The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins,’ says the Lord.

‘And this is my covenant with them,’ says the Lord. ‘My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children forever. I, the Lord, have spoken!'” (vv. 18-21, NLT)

“Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is His ear too deaf to hear your call. It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, He has turned away and will not listen anymore.” (v. 1-2, NLT)

“Their feet run to evil, and they rush to commit. murder. They think only of sinning. Misery and destruction always follows them. They don’t know where to find peace or what it means to be just and good. They have mapped out crooked roads, and no one who follows them knows a moment’s peace.

So there is not justice among us, and we know noting about right living. we look for light but find only darkness. We look for bright skies but walk in gloom. we grope like the bling along a wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. Even as the brightest noontime, we stumble as though it were dark.”( vv. 7-10, NLT)

“The Lord looked and was displeased to find there was not justice. He was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So He Himself stepped in to save them with His strong arm, and His justice sustained Him. He put on righteousness as His body armor and place the helmet of salvation on His head. He closed himself with a robe of vengeance and wrapped Himself in a cloak of divine passion. ” (vv. 15b-1 7, NLT)

“Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly. then the Lord will be your delight. I will give you a great honor and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (vv. 13-14, NLT)

“This is what the Lord says,’Be just and fair to all. do what is right and good, for I am coming soon to rescue and to display My righteousness among you. Blessed are all those who are careful to do this. Blessed are those who honor my Sabbath days of rest and keep themselves from doing wrong.'” (vv. 1-2, NLT)

“‘I will also bless the foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord, who serve Him and love His name, who worship Him and do not desecrate the Sabbath day of rest, and who hold fast to My covenant. I will bring them to my holy mountain of Jerusalem and will fill them with joy in My house of prayer. I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices, because My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations. For the Sovereign Lord, who brings back the outcasts of Israel says; I will bring others, too besides my people Israel.’ ” (vv. 6-8, NLT)