The One Year Bible TLB (206 page)
Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
You know how they talk about me, and how they so shamefully dishonor me. You see them all and know what each has said.
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Their contempt has broken my heart; my spirit is heavy within me. If even one would show some pity, if even one would comfort me!
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For food they gave me gall; for my awful thirst they offered vinegar.
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Let their joys
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turn to ashes and their peace disappear;
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let darkness, blindness, and great feebleness be theirs.
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Pour out your fury upon them; consume them with the fierceness of your anger.
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Let their homes be desolate and abandoned.
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For they persecute the one you have smitten and scoff at the pain of the one you have pierced.
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Pile their sins high and do not overlook them.
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Let these men be blotted from the list of the living;
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do not give them the joys of life with the righteous.
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But rescue me, O God, from my poverty and pain.
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Then I will praise God with my singing! My thanks will be his praise—
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that will please him more than sacrificing a bullock or an ox.
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The humble shall see their God at work for them. No wonder they will be so glad! All who seek for God shall live in joy.
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For Jehovah hears the cries of his needy ones and does not look the other way.
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Praise him, all heaven and earth! Praise him, all the seas and everything in them!
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For God will save Jerusalem;
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he rebuilds the cities of Judah. His people shall live in them and not be dispossessed.
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Their children shall inherit the land; all who love his name shall live there safely.
Wisdom is too much for a rebel. He’ll not be chosen as a counselor!
September 28Sing, O childless woman! Break out into loud and joyful song, Jerusalem,
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for she who was abandoned has more blessings now than she whose husband stayed!
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Enlarge your house; build on additions; spread out your home!
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For you will soon be bursting at the seams! And your descendants will possess the cities left behind during the exile and rule the nations that took their lands.
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Fear not; you will no longer live in shame. The shame of your youth and the sorrows of widowhood will be remembered no more,
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for your Creator will be your “husband.” The Lord Almighty is his name; he is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth.
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For the Lord has called you back from your grief—a young wife abandoned by her husband.
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For a brief moment I abandoned you. But with great compassion I will take you back.
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In a moment of anger I turned my face a little while; but with everlasting love I will have pity on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer.
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Just as in the time of Noah I swore that I would never again permit the waters of a flood to cover the earth and destroy its life, so now I swear that I will never again pour out my anger on you.
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For the mountains may depart and the hills disappear, but my kindness shall not leave you. My promise of peace for you will never be broken, says the Lord who has mercy upon you.
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O my afflicted people, tempest-tossed and troubled, I will rebuild you on a foundation of sapphires and make the walls of your houses from precious jewels.
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I will make your towers of sparkling agate and your gates and walls of shining gems.
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And all your citizens shall be taught by me, and their prosperity shall be great.
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You will live under a government that is just and fair. Your enemies will stay far away; you will live in peace. Terror shall not come near.
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If any nation comes to fight you, it will not be sent by me to punish you. Therefore, it will be routed, for I am on your side.
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I have created the smith who blows the coals beneath the forge and makes the weapons of destruction. And I have created the armies that destroy.
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But in that coming day, no weapon turned against you shall succeed, and you will have justice against every courtroom lie. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord. This is the blessing I have given you, says the Lord.
55:
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Say there! Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink—even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine and milk—it’s all free!
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Why spend your money on food that doesn’t give you strength? Why pay for groceries that do you no good? Listen and I’ll tell you where to get good food that fattens up the soul!
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Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, for the life of your soul is at stake. I am ready to make an everlasting covenant with you, to give you all the unfailing mercies and love that I had for King David.
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He proved my power by conquering foreign nations.
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You also will command the nations, and they will come running to obey, not because of your own power or virtue, but because I, the Lord your God, have glorified you.
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Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call upon him now while he is near.
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Let men cast off their wicked deeds; let them banish from their minds the very thought of doing wrong! Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy upon them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon!
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This plan of mine is not what you would work out, neither are my thoughts the same as yours!
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For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than yours, and my thoughts than yours.
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As the rain and snow come down from heaven and stay upon the ground to water the earth, and cause the grain to grow and to produce seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry,
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so also is my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It shall accomplish all I want it to and prosper everywhere I send it.
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You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills, the trees of the field—all the world around you—will rejoice.
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Where once were thorns, fir trees will grow; where briars grew, the myrtle trees will sprout up. This miracle will make the Lord’s name very great and be an everlasting sign of God’s power and love.
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56:
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Be just and fair to all, the Lord God says. Do what’s right and good, for I am coming soon to rescue you.
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Blessed is the man who refuses to work during my Sabbath days of rest, but honors them; and blessed is the man who checks himself from doing wrong.
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And my blessings are for Gentiles, too, when they accept the Lord; don’t let them think that I will make them second-class citizens. And this is for the eunuchs too. They can be as much mine as anyone.
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For I say this to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths holy, who choose the things that please me and obey my laws:
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I will give them—in my house, within my walls—a name far greater than the honor they would receive from having sons and daughters. For the name that I will give them is an everlasting one; it will never disappear.
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As for the Gentiles, the outsiders who join the people of the Lord and serve him and love his name, who are his servants and don’t desecrate the Sabbath, and have accepted his covenant and promises,
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I will bring them also to my holy mountain of Jerusalem and make them full of joy within my House of Prayer.
I will accept their sacrifices and offerings, for my Temple shall be called “A House of Prayer for All People”!
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For the Lord God who brings back the outcasts of Israel says: I will bring others, too, besides my people Israel.
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Come, wild animals of the field; come, tear apart the sheep; come, wild animals of the forest, devour my people.
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For the leaders of my people—the Lord’s watchmen, his shepherds—are all blind to every danger. They are featherbrained and give no warning when danger comes. They love to lie there, love to sleep, to dream.
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And they are as greedy as dogs, never satisfied; they are stupid shepherds who only look after their own interest, each trying to get as much as he can for himself from every possible source.
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“Come,” they say. “We’ll get some wine and have a party; let’s all get drunk. This is really living; let it go on and on, and tomorrow will be even better!”
57:
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The good men perish; the godly die before their time, and no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to realize that God is taking them away from evil days ahead.
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For the godly who die shall rest in peace.
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But you—come here, you witches’ sons, you offspring of adulterers and harlots!
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Who is it you mock, making faces and sticking out your tongues? You children of sinners and liars!
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You worship your idols with great zeal beneath the shade of every tree and slay your children as human sacrifices down in the valleys, under overhanging rocks.
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Your gods are the smooth stones in the valleys. You worship them, and they, not I, are your inheritance. Does all this make me happy?
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You have committed adultery on the tops of the mountains, for you worship idols there, deserting me. Behind closed doors you set your idols up and worship someone other than me. This is adultery, for you are giving these idols your love instead of loving me.
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You have taken pleasant incense and perfume to Molech as your gift. You have traveled far, even to hell itself, to find new gods to love.
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You grew weary in your search, but you never gave up. You strengthened yourself and went on.
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Why were you more afraid of them than of me? How is it that you gave not even a second thought to me? Is it because I’ve been too gentle that you have no fear of me?
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And then there is your “righteousness” and your “good works”—none of which will save you.
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Let’s see if the whole collection of your idols can help you when you cry to them to save you! They are so weak that the wind can carry them off! A breath can puff them away. But he who trusts in me shall possess the land and inherit my holy mountain.
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I will say, Rebuild the road! Clear away the rocks and stones. Prepare a glorious highway for my people’s return from captivity.
Children, obey your parents; this is the right thing to do because God has placed them in authority over you.
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Honor your father and mother. This is the first of God’s Ten Commandments that ends with a promise.
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And this is the promise: that if you honor your father and mother, yours will be a long life, full of blessing.
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And now a word to you parents. Don’t keep on scolding and nagging your children, making them angry and resentful. Rather, bring them up with the loving discipline the Lord himself approves, with suggestions and godly advice.
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Slaves, obey your masters; be eager to give them your very best. Serve them as you would Christ.
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Don’t work hard only when your master is watching and then shirk when he isn’t looking; work hard and with gladness all the time, as though working for Christ, doing the will of God with all your hearts.
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Remember, the Lord will pay you for each good thing you do, whether you are slave or free.
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And you slave owners must treat your slaves right, just as I have told them to treat you. Don’t keep threatening them; remember, you yourselves are slaves to Christ; you have the same Master they do, and he has no favorites.
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Last of all I want to remind you that your strength must come from the Lord’s mighty power within you.
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Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand safe against all strategies and tricks of Satan.
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For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies—the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world.
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So use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will still be standing up.
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But to do this, you will need the strong belt of truth and the breastplate of God’s approval.
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Wear shoes that are able to speed you on as you preach the Good News of peace with God.
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In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan.
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And you will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the Word of God.
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Pray all the time. Ask God for anything in line with the Holy Spirit’s wishes. Plead with him, reminding him of your needs, and keep praying earnestly for all Christians everywhere.
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Pray for me, too, and ask God to give me the right words as I boldly tell others about the Lord and as I explain to them that his salvation is for the Gentiles too.
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I am in chains now for preaching this message from God. But pray that I will keep on speaking out boldly for him even here in prison, as I should.
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Tychicus, who is a much-loved brother and faithful helper in the Lord’s work, will tell you all about how I am getting along.
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I am sending him to you for just this purpose: to let you know how we are and be encouraged by his report.
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May God give peace to you, my Christian brothers, and love, with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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May God’s grace and blessing be upon all who sincerely love our Lord Jesus Christ.
Sincerely, Paul
Rescue me, O God! Lord, hurry to my aid!
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They are after my life and delight in hurting me. Confuse them! Shame them! Stop them! Don’t let them keep on mocking me!
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But fill the followers of God with joy. Let those who love your salvation exclaim, “What a wonderful God he is!”
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But I am in deep trouble. Rush to my aid, for only you can help and save me. O Lord, don’t delay.