561 Thus says the Lord , " Preserve justice and do righteousness , For My salvation is about to come And My righteousness to be revealed . 2 "How blessed is the man who does this , And the son of man who takes hold of it; Who keeps from profaning the sabbath , And keeps his hand from doing any evil ."
3 Let not the foreigner e who has joined himself to the Lord say , "The Lord will surely separate me from His people ." Nor let the eunuch say , "Behold , I am a dry tree ." 4 For thus says the Lord , "To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths , And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant , 5 To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial , And a name better than that of sons and daughters ; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off . 6 "Also the foreigners e who join themselves to the Lord , To minister to Him, and to love the name of the Lord , To be His servants , every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath And holds fast My covenant ; 7 Even those I will bring to My holy mountain And make them joyful in My house of prayer . Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar ; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples ." 8 The Lord GOD , who gathers the dispersed of Israel , declares , "Yet others I will gather to them, to those already gathered ."
9 All you beasts of the field , All you beasts in the forest , Come to eat . 10 His watchmen are blind , All of them know nothing . All of them are mute dogs unable e to bark , Dreamers lying down , who love to slumber ; 11 And the dogs are greedy e , they are not satisfied e . And they are shepherds who have no understanding ; They have all turned to their own way , Each one to his unjust gain , to the last one . 12 "Come ," they say, "let us get wine , and let us drink heavily of strong drink ; And tomorrow will be like today e , only more e so."
571 The righteous man perishes , and no man takes it to heart ; And devout men are taken away , while no one understands . For the righteous man is taken away from evil , 2 He enters into peace ; They rest in their beds , Each one who walked in his upright way .
3 "But come here , you sons of a sorceress , Offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute . 4 "Against whom do you jest ? Against whom do you open wide your mouth And stick out your tongue ? Are you not children of rebellion , Offspring of deceit , 5 Who inflame yourselves among the oaks , Under every luxuriant tree , Who slaughter the children in the ravines , Under the clefts of the crags ? 6 "Among the smooth stones of the ravine Is your portion , they are your lot ; Even to them you have poured out a drink offering , You have made a grain offering . Shall I relent concerning these things ? 7 "Upon a high and lofty mountain You have made your bed . You also went up there to offer sacrifice . 8 "Behind the door and the doorpost You have set up your sign ; Indeed , far removed from Me, you have uncovered yourself, And have gone up and made your bed wide . And you have made an agreement for yourself with them, You have loved their bed , You have looked on their manhood . 9 "You have journeyed to the king with oil And increased your perfumes ; You have sent your envoys a great distance And made them go down to Sheol . 10 "You were tired out by the length of your road , Yet you did not say , ' It is hopeless .' You found renewed strength , Therefore e you did not faint . 11 "Of whom were you worried and fearful When you lied , and did not remember Me Nor give Me a thought ? Was I not silent even for a long time So you do not fear Me? 12 "I will declare your righteousness and your deeds , But they will not profit you.
13 "When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you. But the wind will carry all of them up, And a breath will take them away. But he who takes refuge in Me will inherit the land And will possess My holy mountain ." 14 And it will be said , " Build up, build up, prepare the way , Remove every obstacle out of the way of My people ." 15 For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever , whose name is Holy , "I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite . 16 "For I will not contend forever , Nor will I always be angry ; For the spirit would grow faint before e Me, And the breath of those whom I have made .
17 "Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him; I hid My face and was angry , And he went on turning away , in the way of his heart . 18 "I have seen his ways , but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and to his mourners , 19 Creating the praise of the lips . Peace , peace to him who is far and to him who is near ," Says the Lord , "and I will heal him." 20 But the wicked are like the tossing sea , For it cannot e be quiet , And its waters toss up refuse and mud . 21 " There is no peace ," says my God , "for the wicked ."
581 " Cry loudly , do not hold back ; Raise your voice like a trumpet , And declare to My people their transgression And to the house of Jacob their sins . 2 "Yet they seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways , As a nation that has done righteousness And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God . They ask Me for just decisions , They delight in the nearness of God .
3 'Why have we fasted and You do not see ? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice ?' Behold , on the day of your fast you find your desire , And drive hard all your workers . 4 "Behold , you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist . You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high . 5 "Is it a fast like this which I choose , a day for a man to humble himself ? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast , even an acceptable day to the Lord ? 6 "Is this not the fast which I choose , To loosen the bonds of wickedness , To undo the bands of the yoke , And to let the oppressed go free And break every yoke ? 7 "Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house ; When you see the naked , to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh ?
8 "Then your light will break out like the dawn , And your recovery will speedily spring forth ; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard . 9 "Then you will call , and the Lord will answer ; You will cry , and He will say , 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst , The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness , 10 And if you give yourself to the hungry And satisfy the desire of the afflicted , Then your light will rise in darkness And your gloom will become like midday . 11 "And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places , And give strength to your bones ; And you will be like a watered garden , And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail . 12 "Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins ; You will raise up the age-old foundations ; And you will be called the repairer of the breach , The restorer of the streets in which to dwell .
13 "If because of the sabbath , you turn your foot From doing your own pleasure on My holy day , And call the sabbath a delight , the holy day of the Lord honorable , And honor it, desisting from your own ways , From seeking your own pleasure And speaking your own word , 14 Then you will take delight in the Lord , And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth ; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father , For the mouth of the Lord has spoken ."
21 Now we request you, brethren , with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come .
3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless e the apostasy comes first , and the man of lawlessness is revealed , the son of destruction , 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship , so that he takes his seat in the temple of God , displaying himself as being God . 5 Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things ? 6 And you know what restrains him now , so that in his time he will be revealed . 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work ; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way . 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming ; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan , with all power and signs and false wonders , 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish , because e they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved . 11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false , 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth , but took pleasure in wickedness .
13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord , because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth . 14 It was for this He called you through our gospel , that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ . 15 So then , brethren , stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught , whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.
16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father , who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace , 17 comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word .
