The One Year Bible TLB (192 page)
Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
September 10The year King Uzziah died I saw the Lord! He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the Temple was filled with his glory.
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Hovering about him were mighty, six-winged angels of fire. With two of their wings they covered their faces, with two others they covered their feet, and with two they flew.
3
In a great antiphonal chorus they sang, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is filled with his glory.”
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Such singing it was! It shook the Temple to its foundations, and suddenly the entire sanctuary was filled with smoke.
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Then I said, “My doom is sealed, for I am a foul-mouthed sinner, a member of a sinful, foul-mouthed race; and I have looked upon the King, the Lord of heaven’s armies.”
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Then one of the mighty angels flew over to the altar and with a pair of tongs picked out a burning coal.
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He touched my lips with it and said, “Now you are pronounced ‘not guilty’ because this coal has touched your lips. Your sins are all forgiven.”
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Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom shall I send as a messenger to my people? Who will go?”
And I said, “Lord, I’ll go! Send
me.”
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And he said, “Yes, go. But tell my people this: ‘Though you hear my words repeatedly, you won’t understand them. Though you watch and watch as I perform my miracles, still you won’t know what they mean.’
10
Dull their understanding, close their ears, and shut their eyes. I don’t want them to see or to hear or to understand, or to turn to me to heal them.”
*
11
Then I said, “Lord, how long will it be before they are ready to listen?”
And he replied, “Not until their cities are destroyed—without a person left—and the whole country is an utter wasteland,
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and they are all taken away as slaves to other countries far away, and all the land of Israel lies deserted!
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Yet a tenth—a remnant—will survive; and though Israel is invaded again and again and destroyed, yet Israel will be like a tree cut down, whose stump still lives to grow again.”
7:
1
During the reign of Ahaz (the son of Jotham and grandson of Uzziah), Jerusalem was attacked by King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel (the son of Remaliah). But it was not taken; the city stood.
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However, when the news came to the royal court, “Syria is allied with Israel against us!” the hearts of the king and his people trembled with fear as the trees of a forest shake in a storm.
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Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet King Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub, your son. You will find him at the end of the aqueduct that leads from Gihon Spring to the upper reservoir, near the road that leads down to the bleaching field.
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Tell him to quit worrying. Tell him he needn’t be frightened by the fierce anger of those two has-beens, Rezin and Pekah.
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Yes, the kings of Syria and Israel are coming against you.
“They say,
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‘We will invade Judah and throw her people into panic. Then we’ll fight our way into Jerusalem and install the son of Tabeel as their king.’
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“But the Lord God says: This plan will not succeed,
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for Damascus will remain the capital of Syria alone, and King Rezin’s kingdom will not increase its boundaries. And within sixty-five years Ephraim, too, will be crushed and broken.
*
9
Samaria is the capital of Ephraim alone, and King Pekah’s power will not increase. You don’t believe me? If you want me to protect you, you must learn to believe what I say.”
10
Not long after this, the Lord sent this further message to King Ahaz:
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“Ask me for a sign, Ahaz, to prove that I will indeed crush your enemies as I have said. Ask anything you like, in heaven or on earth.”
*
12
But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I’ll not bother the Lord with anything like that.”
13
Then Isaiah said: O House of David, you aren’t satisfied to exhaust
my
patience; you exhaust the Lord’s as well!
14
All right then, the Lord himself will choose the sign—a child shall be born to a virgin!
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And she shall call him Immanuel (meaning, “God is with us”).
15-16
By the time this child is weaned
*
and knows right from wrong, the two kings you fear so much—the kings of Israel and Syria—will both be dead.
17
But later on,
*
the Lord will bring a terrible curse on you and on your nation and your family. There will be terror such as has not been known since the division of Solomon’s empire into Israel and Judah—the mighty king of Assyria will come with his great army!
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At that time the Lord will whistle for the army of Upper Egypt,
*
and of Assyria too, to swarm down upon you like flies and destroy you, like bees to sting and to kill.
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They will come in vast hordes, spreading across the whole land, even into the desolate valleys, caves, and thorny parts, as well as to all your fertile acres.
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In that day the Lord will take this “razor”—these Assyrians you have hired to save you
*
—and use it on you to shave off everything you have: your land, your crops, your people.
21-22
When they finally stop plundering, the whole nation will be a pastureland; whole flocks and herds will be destroyed, and a farmer will be fortunate to have a cow and two sheep left. But the abundant pastureland will yield plenty of milk, and everyone left will live on curds and wild honey.
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At that time the lush vineyards will become patches of briars.
24
All the land will be one vast thornfield, a hunting ground overrun by wildlife.
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No one will go to the fertile hillsides where once the gardens grew, for thorns will cover them; cattle, sheep, and goats will graze there.
Again I plead, don’t think that I have lost my wits to talk like this; but even if you do, listen to me anyway—a witless man, a fool—while I also boast a little as they do.
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Such bragging isn’t something the Lord commanded me to do, for I am acting like a brainless fool.
18
Yet those other men keep telling you how wonderful they are, so here I go:
19-20
(You think you are so wise—yet you listen gladly to those fools; you don’t mind at all when they make you their slaves and take everything you have, and take advantage of you, and put on airs, and slap you in the face.
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I’m ashamed to say that I’m not strong and daring like that!
But whatever they can boast about—I’m talking like a fool again—I can boast about it, too.)
22
They brag that they are Hebrews, do they? Well, so am I. And they say that they are Israelites, God’s chosen people? So am I. And they are descendants of Abraham? Well, I am too.
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They say they serve Christ? But I have served him far more! (Have I gone mad to boast like this?) I have worked harder, been put in jail more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again and again.
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Five different times the Jews gave me their terrible thirty-nine lashes.
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Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I was in the open sea all night and the whole next day.
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I have traveled many weary miles and have been often in great danger from flooded rivers and from robbers and from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the hands of the Gentiles. I have faced grave dangers from mobs in the cities and from death in the deserts and in the stormy seas and from men who claim to be brothers in Christ but are not.
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I have lived with weariness and pain and sleepless nights. Often I have been hungry and thirsty and have gone without food; often I have shivered with cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.
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Then, besides all this, I have the constant worry of how the churches are getting along:
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Who makes a mistake and I do not feel his sadness? Who falls without my longing to help him? Who is spiritually hurt without my fury rising against the one who hurt him?
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But if I must brag, I would rather brag about the things that show how weak I am.
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God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is to be praised forever and ever, knows I tell the truth.
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For instance, in Damascus the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me;
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but I was let down by rope and basket from a hole in the city wall, and so I got away! What popularity!
*
Written by David at the time the men of Ziph tried to betray him to Saul.
Come with great power,
*
O God, and save me! Defend me with your might!
2
Oh, listen to my prayer.
3
For violent men have risen against me—ruthless men who care nothing for God are seeking my life.
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But God is my helper. He is a friend of mine!
*
5
He will cause the evil deeds of my enemies to boomerang upon them. Do as you promised and put an end to these wicked men, O God.
6
Gladly I bring my sacrifices to you; I will praise your name, O Lord, for it is good.
7
God has rescued me from all my trouble, and triumphed over my enemies.
When dining with a rich man,
*
be on your guard and don’t stuff yourself, though it all tastes so good; for he is trying to bribe you, and no good is going to come of his invitation.
September 11Again the Lord sent me a message: “Make a large signboard and write on it the birth announcement of the son I am going to give you. Use capital letters! His name will be Maher-shalal-hash-baz, which means ‘Your enemies will soon be destroyed.’”
*
2
I asked Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, both known as honest men, to watch me as I wrote so they could testify that I had written it before the child was even on the way.
*
3
Then I had sexual intercourse with my wife and she conceived and bore me a son. And the Lord said, “Call him Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
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This name prophesies that within a couple of years, before this child is even old enough to say ‘Daddy’ or ‘Mommy,’ the king of Assyria will invade both Damascus and Samaria and carry away their riches.”
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Then the Lord spoke to me again and said:
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“Since the people of Jerusalem are planning to refuse my gentle care
*
and are enthusiastic about asking King Rezin and King Pekah to come and aid them,
7-8
therefore I will overwhelm my people with Euphrates’ mighty flood; the king of Assyria and all his mighty armies will rage against them. This flood will overflow all its channels and sweep into your land of Judah, O Immanuel, submerging it from end to end.”
9-10
Do your worst, O Syria and Israel,
*
our enemies, but you will not succeed—you will be shattered. Listen to me, all you enemies of ours: Prepare for war against us—and perish! Yes! Perish! Call your councils of war, develop your strategies, prepare your plans of attacking us, and perish! For God is with us.
11
The Lord has said in strongest terms: Do not under any circumstances go along with the plans of Judah to surrender to Syria and Israel.
12
Don’t let people call you a traitor for staying true to God. Don’t you panic as so many of your neighbors are doing when they think of Syria and Israel attacking you.
13
Don’t fear anything except the Lord of the armies of heaven! If you fear him, you need fear nothing else.
14-15
He will be your safety; but Israel and Judah have refused his care and thereby stumbled against the Rock of their salvation and lie fallen and crushed beneath it: God’s presence among them has endangered them!
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Write down all these things I am going to do, says the Lord, and seal them up for the future. Entrust them to some godly man to pass on down to godly men of future generations.
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I will wait for the Lord to help us, though he is hiding now. My only hope is in him.
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I and the children God has given me have symbolic names that reveal the plans of the Lord of heaven’s armies for his people: Isaiah means “Jehovah will save (his people),” Shear-jashub means “A remnant shall return,” and Maher-shalal-hash-baz means “Your enemies will soon be destroyed.”
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So why are you trying to find out the future by consulting witches and mediums? Don’t listen to their whisperings and mutterings. Can the living find out the future from the dead? Why not ask your God?
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“Check these witches’ words against the Word of God!” he says. “If their messages are different than mine, it is because I have not sent them; for they have no light or truth in them.
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My people will be led away captive, stumbling, weary and hungry. And because they are hungry, they will rave and shake their fists at heaven and curse their King and their God.
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Wherever they look there will be trouble and anguish and dark despair. And they will be thrust out into the darkness.”
9:
1
Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair shall not go on forever. Though soon the land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be under God’s contempt and judgment, yet in the future these very lands, Galilee and northern Transjordan, where lies the road to the sea, will be filled with glory.
2
The people who walk in darkness shall see a great Light—a Light that will shine on all those who live in the land of the shadow of death.
3
For Israel will again be great, filled with joy like that of reapers when the harvesttime has come, and like that of men dividing up the plunder they have won.
4
For God will break the chains that bind his people and the whip that scourges them, just as he did when he destroyed the vast host of the Midianites by Gideon’s little band.
5
In that glorious day of peace there will no longer be the issuing of battle gear; no more the bloodstained uniforms of war; all such will be burned.
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For unto us a child is born; unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder. These will be his royal titles: “Wonderful,” “Counselor,” “The Mighty God,” “The Everlasting Father,” “The Prince of Peace.”
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His ever-expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule with perfect fairness and justice from the throne of his father David. He will bring true justice and peace to all the nations of the world. This is going to happen because the Lord of heaven’s armies has dedicated himself to do it!
8-10
The Lord has spoken out against that braggart Israel who says that though our land lies in ruins now, we will rebuild it better than before. The sycamore trees are cut down, but we will replace them with cedars!
11-12
The Lord’s reply to your bragging is to bring your enemies
*
against you—the Syrians on the east and the Philistines on the west. With bared fangs they will devour Israel. And even then the Lord’s anger against you will not be satisfied—his fist will still be poised to smash you.
13
For after all this punishment you will not repent and turn to him, the Lord of heaven’s armies.
14-15
Therefore the Lord, in one day, will destroy the leaders of Israel and the lying prophets.
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For the leaders of his people have led them down the paths of ruin.
17
That is why the Lord has no joy in their young men and no mercy upon even the widows and orphans, for they are all filthy-mouthed, wicked liars. That is why his anger is not yet satisfied, but his fist is still poised to smash them all.
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He will burn up all this wickedness, these thorns and briars; and the flames will consume the forests too, and send a vast cloud of smoke billowing up from their burning.
19-20
The land is blackened by that fire, by the wrath of the Lord of heaven’s armies. The people are fuel for the fire. Each fights against his brother to steal his food but will never have enough. Finally they will even eat their own children!
21
Manasseh against Ephraim and Ephraim against Manasseh—and both against Judah. Yet even after all of this, God’s anger is not yet satisfied. His hand is still heavy upon them to crush them.
This boasting is all so foolish, but let me go on. Let me tell about the visions I’ve had, and revelations from the Lord.
2-3
Fourteen years ago I
*
was taken up to heaven for a visit. Don’t ask me whether my body was there or just my spirit, for I don’t know; only God can answer that. But anyway, there I was in paradise,
4
and heard things so astounding that they are beyond a man’s power to describe or put in words (and anyway I am not allowed to tell them to others).
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That experience is something worth bragging about, but I am not going to do it. I am going to boast only about how weak I am and how great God is to use such weakness for his glory.
6
I have plenty to boast about and would be no fool in doing it, but I don’t want anyone to think more highly of me than he should from what he can actually see in my life and my message.
7
I will say this: because these experiences I had were so tremendous, God was afraid I might be puffed up by them; so I was given a physical condition which has been a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to hurt and bother me and prick my pride.
8
Three different times I begged God to make me well again.
9
Each time he said,
“No. But I am with you; that is all you need. My power shows up best in weak people.”
Now I am glad to boast about how weak I am; I am glad to be a living demonstration of Christ’s power, instead of showing off my own power and abilities.
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Since I know it is all for Christ’s good, I am quite happy about “the thorn,” and about insults and hardships, persecutions and difficulties; for when I am weak, then I am strong—the less I have, the more I depend on him.
Listen to my prayer, O God; don’t hide yourself when I cry to you.
2
Hear me, Lord! Listen to me! For I groan and weep beneath my burden of woe.
3
My enemies shout against me and threaten me with death. They surround me with terror and plot to kill me. Their fury and hatred rise to engulf me.
4
My heart is in anguish within me. Stark fear overpowers me.
5
Trembling and horror overwhelm me.
6
Oh, for wings like a dove, to fly away and rest!
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I would fly to the far-off deserts and stay there.
8
I would flee to some refuge from all this storm.
9
O Lord, make these enemies begin to quarrel among themselves—destroy them with their own violence and strife.
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10
Though they patrol their walls night and day against invaders, their real problem is internal—wickedness and dishonesty are entrenched in the heart of the city.
11
There is murder and robbery there, and cheating in the markets and wherever you look.
12
It was not an enemy who taunted me—then I could have borne it; I could have hidden and escaped.
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But it was you, a man like myself, my companion and my friend.
14
What fellowship we had, what wonderful discussions as we walked together to the Temple of the Lord on holy days.
15
Let death seize them and cut them down in their prime, for there is sin in their homes, and they are polluted to the depths of their souls.
16
But I will call upon the Lord to save me—and he will.
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I will pray morning, noon, and night, pleading aloud with God; and he will hear and answer.
18
Though the tide of battle runs strongly against me, for so many are fighting me, yet he will rescue me.
19
God himself—God from everlasting ages past—will answer them! For they refuse to fear him or even honor his commands.
20
This friend of mine betrayed me—I who was at peace with him. He broke his promises.
21
His words were oily smooth, but in his heart was war. His words were sweet, but underneath were daggers.
22
Give your burdens to the Lord. He will carry them. He will not permit the godly to slip or fall.
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He will send my enemies to the pit of destruction. Murderers and liars will not live out half their days. But I am trusting you to save me.
Don’t weary yourself trying to get rich. Why waste your time? For riches can disappear as though they had the wings of a bird!