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The people reply, "Who would have believed what we now report? Who could have seen the LORD's hand in this?
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It was the will of the LORD that his servant grow like a plant taking root in dry ground. He had no dignity or beauty to make us take notice of him. There was nothing attractive about him, nothing that would draw us to him.
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We despised him and rejected him; he endured suffering and pain. No one would even look at him--- we ignored him as if he were nothing.
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"But he endured the suffering that should have been ours, the pain that we should have borne. All the while we thought that his suffering was punishment sent by God.
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But because of our sins he was wounded, beaten because of the evil we did. We are healed by the punishment he suffered, made whole by the blows he received.
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All of us were like sheep that were lost, each of us going his own way. But the LORD made the punishment fall on him, the punishment all of us deserved.
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"He was treated harshly, but endured it humbly; he never said a word. Like a lamb about to be slaughtered, like a sheep about to be sheared, he never said a word.
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He was arrested and sentenced and led off to die, and no one cared about his fate. He was put to death for the sins of our people.
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He was placed in a grave with those who are evil, he was buried with the rich, even though he had never committed a crime or ever told a lie."
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The LORD says, "It was my will that he should suffer; his death was a sacrifice to bring forgiveness. And so he will see his descendants; he will live a long life, and through him my purpose will succeed.
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After a life of suffering, he will again have joy; he will know that he did not suffer in vain. My devoted servant, with whom I am pleased, will bear the punishment of many and for his sake I will forgive them.
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And so I will give him a place of honor, a place among the great and powerful. He willingly gave his life and shared the fate of evil men. He took the place of many sinners and prayed that they might be forgiven."
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Jerusalem, you have been like a childless woman, but now you can sing and shout for joy. Now you will have more children than a woman whose husband never left her.
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Make the tent you live in larger; lengthen its ropes and strengthen the pegs!
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You will extend your boundaries on all sides; your people will get back the land that the other nations now occupy. Cities now deserted will be filled with people.
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Do not be afraid---you will not be disgraced again; you will not be humiliated. You will forget your unfaithfulness as a young wife, and your desperate loneliness as a widow.
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Your Creator will be like a husband to you--- the LORD Almighty is his name. The holy God of Israel will save you--- he is the ruler of all the world.
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Israel, you are like a young wife, deserted by her husband and deeply distressed. But the LORD calls you back to him and says:
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"For one brief moment I left you; with deep love I will take you back.
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I turned away angry for only a moment, but I will show you my love forever." So says the LORD who saves you.
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"In the time of Noah I promised never again to flood the earth. Now I promise not to be angry with you again; I will not reprimand or punish you.
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The mountains and hills may crumble, but my love for you will never end; I will keep forever my promise of peace." So says the LORD who loves you.
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The LORD says, "O Jerusalem, you suffering, helpless city, with no one to comfort you, I will rebuild your foundations with precious stones.
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I will build your towers with rubies, your gates with stones that glow like fire, and the wall around you with jewels.
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"I myself will teach your people and give them prosperity and peace.
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Justice and right will make you strong. You will be safe from oppression and terror.
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Whoever attacks you, does it without my consent; whoever fights against you will fall.
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"I create the blacksmith, who builds a fire and forges weapons. I also create the soldier, who uses the weapons to kill.
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But no weapon will be able to hurt you; you will have an answer for all who accuse you. I will defend my servants and give them victory." The LORD has spoken.
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The LORD says, "Come, everyone who is thirsty--- here is water! Come, you that have no money--- buy grain and eat! Come! Buy wine and milk--- it will cost you nothing!
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Why spend money on what does not satisfy? Why spend your wages and still be hungry? Listen to me and do what I say, and you will enjoy the best food of all.
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"Listen now, my people, and come to me; come to me, and you will have life! I will make a lasting covenant with you and give you the blessings I promised to David.
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I made him a leader and commander of nations, and through him I showed them my power.
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Now you will summon foreign nations; at one time they did not know you, but now they will come running to join you! I, the LORD your God, the holy God of Israel, will make all this happen; I will give you honor and glory."
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Turn to the LORD and pray to him, now that he is near.
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Let the wicked leave their way of life and change their way of thinking. Let them turn to the LORD, our God; he is merciful and quick to forgive.
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"My thoughts," says the LORD, "are not like yours, and my ways are different from yours.
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As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways and thoughts above yours.
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"My word is like the snow and the rain that come down from the sky to water the earth. They make the crops grow and provide seed for planting and food to eat.
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So also will be the word that I speak--- it will not fail to do what I plan for it; it will do everything I send it to do.
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"You will leave Babylon with joy; you will be led out of the city in peace. The mountains and hills will burst into singing, and the trees will shout for joy.
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Cypress trees will grow where now there are briers; myrtle trees will come up in place of thorns. This will be a sign that will last forever, a reminder of what I, the LORD, have done."
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The LORD says to his people, "Do what is just and right, for soon I will save you.
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I will bless those who always observe the Sabbath and do not misuse it. I will bless those who do nothing evil."
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A foreigner who has joined the LORD's people should not say, "The LORD will not let me worship with his people." A man who has been castrated should never think that because he cannot have children, he can never be part of God's people.
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The LORD says to such a man, "If you honor me by observing the Sabbath and if you do what pleases me and faithfully keep my covenant,
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then your name will be remembered in my Temple and among my people longer than if you had sons and daughters. You will never be forgotten."
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And the LORD says to those foreigners who become part of his people, who love him and serve him, who observe the Sabbath and faithfully keep his covenant:
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"I will bring you to Zion, my sacred hill, give you joy in my house of prayer, and accept the sacrifices you offer on my altar. My Temple will be called a house of prayer for the people of all nations."
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The Sovereign LORD, who has brought his people Israel home from exile, has promised that he will bring still other people to join them.
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The LORD has told the foreign nations to come like wild animals and devour his people.
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He says, "All the leaders, who are supposed to warn my people, are blind! They know nothing. They are like watch dogs that don't bark---they only lie around and dream. How they love to sleep!
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They are like greedy dogs that never get enough. These leaders have no understanding. They each do as they please and seek their own advantage.
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'Let's get some wine,' these drunkards say, 'and drink all we can hold! Tomorrow will be even better than today!' "
1
False prophets appeared in the past among the people, and in the same way false teachers will appear among you. They will bring in destructive, untrue doctrines, and will deny the Master who redeemed them, and so they will bring upon themselves sudden destruction.
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Even so, many will follow their immoral ways; and because of what they do, others will speak evil of the Way of truth.
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In their greed these false teachers will make a profit out of telling you made-up stories. For a long time now their Judge has been ready, and their Destroyer has been wide awake!
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God did not spare the angels who sinned, but threw them into hell, where they are kept chained in darkness, waiting for the Day of Judgment.
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God did not spare the ancient world, but brought the flood on the world of godless people; the only ones he saved were Noah, who preached righteousness, and seven other people.
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God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, destroying them with fire, and made them an example of what will happen to the godless.
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He rescued Lot, a good man, who was distressed by the immoral conduct of lawless people.
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That good man lived among them, and day after day he suffered agony as he saw and heard their evil actions.
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And so the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials and how to keep the wicked under punishment for the Day of Judgment,
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especially those who follow their filthy bodily lusts and despise God's authority. These false teachers are bold and arrogant, and show no respect for the glorious beings above; instead, they insult them.
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Even the angels, who are so much stronger and mightier than these false teachers, do not accuse them with insults in the presence of the Lord.
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But these people act by instinct, like wild animals born to be captured and killed; they attack with insults anything they do not understand. They will be destroyed like wild animals,
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and they will be paid with suffering for the suffering they have caused. Pleasure for them is to do anything in broad daylight that will satisfy their bodily appetites; they are a shame and a disgrace as they join you in your meals, all the while enjoying their deceitful ways!
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They want to look for nothing but the chance to commit adultery; their appetite for sin is never satisfied. They lead weak people into a trap. Their hearts are trained to be greedy. They are under God's curse!
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They have left the straight path and have lost their way; they have followed the path taken by Balaam son of Beor, who loved the money he would get for doing wrong
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and was rebuked for his sin. His donkey spoke with a human voice and stopped the prophet's insane action.
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These people are like dried-up springs, like clouds blown along by a storm; God has reserved a place for them in the deepest darkness.
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They make proud and stupid statements, and use immoral bodily lusts to trap those who are just beginning to escape from among people who live in error.
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They promise them freedom while they themselves are slaves of destructive habits---for we are slaves of anything that has conquered us.
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If people have escaped from the corrupting forces of the world through their knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and then are again caught and conquered by them, such people are in worse condition at the end than they were at the beginning.
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It would have been much better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than to know it and then turn away from the sacred command that was given them.
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What happened to them shows that the proverbs are true: "A dog goes back to what it has vomited" and "A pig that has been washed goes back to roll in the mud."
