Pray for Us

2 Thessalonians 3 Finally, our friends, pray for us that the Lord's message may continue to spread rapidly and be received with honor, just as it was among you. ²Pray also that God will rescue us from wicked and evil people; for not everyone believes the message.
³But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and keep you safe from the Evil One. ⁴And the Lord gives us confidence in you, and we are sure that you are doing and will continue to do what we tell you.
⁵May the Lord lead you into a greater understanding of God's love and the endurance that is given by Christ.

The Obligation to Work

⁶Our friends, we command you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to keep away from all believers who are living a lazy life and who do not follow the instructions that we gave them. ⁷You yourselves know very well that you should do just what we did. We were not lazy when we were with you. ⁸We did not accept anyone's support without paying for it. Instead, we worked and toiled; we kept working day and night so as not to be an expense to any of you. ⁹We did this, not because we do not have the right to demand our support; we did it to be an example for you to follow. ¹⁰While we were with you, we used to tell you, "Whoever refuses to work is not allowed to eat."
¹¹We say this because we hear that there are some people among you who live lazy lives and who do nothing except meddle in other people's business. ¹²In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we command these people and warn them to lead orderly lives and work to earn their own living.
¹³But you, friends, must not become tired of doing good. ¹⁴It may be that some there will not obey the message we send you in this letter. If so, take note of them and have nothing to do with them, so that they will be ashamed. ¹⁵But do not treat them as enemies; instead, warn them as believers.

Final Words

¹⁶May the Lord himself, who is our source of peace, give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all.
¹⁷With my own hand I write this: Greetings from Paul. This is the way I sign every letter; this is how I write.
¹⁸May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

The Fate of Jerusalem

Isaiah 29 God's altar, Jerusalem itself, is doomed! The city where David camped is doomed! Let another year or two come and go, with its feasts and festivals, ²and then God will bring disaster on the city that is called "God's altar." There will be weeping and wailing, and the whole city will be like an altar covered with blood. ³God will attack the city, surround it, and besiege it. ⁴Jerusalem will be like a ghost struggling to speak from under the ground, a muffled voice coming from the dust.
⁵Jerusalem, all the foreigners who attack you will be blown away like dust, and their terrifying armies will fly away like straw. Suddenly and unexpectedly ⁶the LORD Almighty will rescue you with violent thunderstorms and earthquakes. He will send windstorms and raging fire; ⁷then all the armies of the nations attacking the city of God's altar, all their weapons and equipment--everything--will vanish like a dream, like something imagined in the night. ⁸All the nations that assemble to attack Jerusalem will be like a starving person who dreams he is eating and wakes up hungry, or like someone dying of thirst who dreams he is drinking and wakes with a dry throat.

Disregarded Warnings

⁹Go ahead and be stupid! Go ahead and be blind! Get drunk without any wine! Stagger without drinking a drop! ¹⁰The LORD has made you drowsy, ready to fall into a deep sleep. The prophets should be the eyes of the people, but God has blindfolded them. ¹¹The meaning of every prophetic vision will be hidden from you; it will be like a sealed scroll. If you take it to someone who knows how to read and ask him to read it to you, he will say he can't because it is sealed. ¹²If you give it to someone who can't read and ask him to read it to you, he will answer that he doesn't know how.
¹³The Lord said, "These people claim to worship me, but their words are meaningless, and their hearts are somewhere else. Their religion is nothing but human rules and traditions, which they have simply memorized. ¹⁴So I will startle them with one unexpected blow after another. Those who are wise will turn out to be fools, and all their cleverness will be useless."

Hope for the Future

¹⁵Those who try to hide their plans from the LORD are doomed! They carry out their schemes in secret and think no one will see them or know what they are doing. ¹⁶They turn everything upside down. Which is more important, the potter or the clay? Can something you have made say, "You didn't make me"? Or can it say, "You don't know what you are doing"?
¹⁷As the saying goes, before long the dense forest will become farmland, and the farmland will go back to forest.
¹⁸When that day comes, the deaf will be able to hear a book being read aloud, and the blind, who have been living in darkness, will open their eyes and see. ¹⁹Poor and humble people will once again find the happiness which the LORD, the holy God of Israel, gives. ²⁰It will be the end of those who oppress others and show contempt for God. Every sinner will be destroyed. ²¹God will destroy those who slander others, those who prevent the punishment of criminals, and those who tell lies to keep honest people from getting justice.
²²So now the LORD, the God of Israel, who rescued Abraham from trouble, says, "My people, you will not be disgraced any longer, and your faces will no longer be pale with shame. ²³When you see the children that I will give you, then you will acknowledge that I am the holy God of Israel. You will honor me and stand in awe of me. ²⁴Foolish people will learn to understand, and those who are always grumbling will be glad to be taught."

A Useless Treaty with Egypt

Isaiah 30 The LORD has spoken: "Those who rule Judah are doomed because they rebel against me. They follow plans that I did not make, and sign treaties against my will, piling one sin on another. ²They go to Egypt for help without asking for my advice. They want Egypt to protect them, so they put their trust in Egypt's king. ³But the king will be powerless to help them, and Egypt's protection will end in disaster. ⁴Although their ambassadors have already arrived at the Egyptian cities of Zoan and Hanes, ⁵the people of Judah will regret that they ever trusted that unreliable nation, a nation that fails them when they expect help."
⁶This is God's message about the animals of the southern desert: "The ambassadors travel through dangerous country, where lions live and where there are poisonous snakes and flying dragons. They load their donkeys and camels with expensive gifts for a nation that cannot give them any help. ⁷The help that Egypt gives is useless. So I have nicknamed Egypt, 'The Harmless Dragon.'"

The Disobedient People

⁸God told me to write down in a book what the people are like, so that there would be a permanent record of how evil they are. ⁹They are always rebelling against God, always lying, always refusing to listen to the LORD's teachings. ¹⁰They tell the prophets to keep quiet. They say, "Don't talk to us about what's right. Tell us what we want to hear. Let us keep our illusions. ¹¹Get out of our way and stop blocking our path. We don't want to hear about your holy God of Israel."
¹²But this is what the holy God of Israel says: "You ignore what I tell you and rely on violence and deceit. ¹³You are guilty. You are like a high wall with a crack running down it; suddenly you will collapse. ¹⁴You will be shattered like a clay pot, so badly broken that there is no piece big enough to pick up hot coals with or to dip water from a cistern."
¹⁵The Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says to the people, "Come back and quietly trust in me. Then you will be strong and secure." But you refuse to do it. ¹⁶Instead, you plan to escape from your enemies by riding fast horses. And you are right--escape is what you will have to do! You think your horses are fast enough, but those who pursue you will be faster! ¹⁷A thousand of you will run away when you see one enemy soldier, and five soldiers will be enough to make you all run away. Nothing will be left of your army except a lonely flagpole on the top of a hill. ¹⁸And yet the LORD is waiting to be merciful to you. He is ready to take pity on you because he always does what is right. Happy are those who put their trust in the LORD.

God Will Bless His People

¹⁹You people who live in Jerusalem will not weep any more. The LORD is compassionate, and when you cry to him for help, he will answer you. ²⁰The Lord will make you go through hard times, but he himself will be there to teach you, and you will not have to search for him any more. ²¹If you wander off the road to the right or the left, you will hear his voice behind you saying, "Here is the road. Follow it." ²²You will take your idols plated with silver and your idols covered with gold, and will throw them away like filth, shouting, "Out of my sight!" ²³Whenever you plant your crops, the Lord will send rain to make them grow and will give you a rich harvest, and your livestock will have plenty of pasture. ²⁴The oxen and donkeys that plow your fields will eat the finest and best fodder. ²⁵On the day when the forts of your enemies are captured and their people are killed, streams of water will flow from every mountain and every hill. ²⁶The moon will be as bright as the sun, and the sun will be seven times brighter than usual, like the light of seven days in one. This will all happen when the LORD bandages and heals the wounds he has given his people.

God Will Punish Assyria

²⁷The LORD's power and glory can be seen in the distance. Fire and smoke show his anger. He speaks, and his words burn like fire. ²⁸He sends the wind in front of him like a flood that carries everything away. It sweeps nations to destruction and puts an end to their evil plans. ²⁹But you, God's people, will be happy and sing as you do on the night of a sacred festival. You will be as happy as those who walk to the music of flutes on their way to the Temple of the LORD, the defender of Israel.
³⁰The LORD will let everyone hear his majestic voice and feel the force of his anger. There will be flames, cloudbursts, hailstones, and torrents of rain. ³¹The Assyrians will be terrified when they hear the LORD's voice and feel the force of his punishment. ³²As the LORD strikes them again and again, his people will keep time with the music of drums and harps. God himself will fight against the Assyrians. ³³Long ago a place was prepared where a huge fire will burn the emperor of Assyria. It is deep and wide, and piled high with wood. The LORD will breathe out a stream of flame to set it on fire.

The Law of the LORD

Psalm 119 Happy are those whose lives are faultless,
who live according to the law of the LORD.
²Happy are those who follow his commands,
who obey him with all their heart.
³They never do wrong;
they walk in the LORD's ways.
⁴LORD, you have given us your laws
and told us to obey them faithfully.
⁵How I hope that I shall be faithful
in keeping your instructions!
⁶If I pay attention to all your commands,
then I will not be put to shame.
⁷As I learn your righteous judgments,
I will praise you with a pure heart.
⁸I will obey your laws;
never abandon me!

Obedience to the Law of the LORD

⁹How can young people keep their lives pure?
By obeying your commands.
¹⁰With all my heart I try to serve you;
keep me from disobeying your commandments.
¹¹I keep your law in my heart,
so that I will not sin against you.
¹²I praise you, O LORD;
teach me your ways.
¹³I will repeat aloud
all the laws you have given.
¹⁴I delight in following your commands
more than in having great wealth.
¹⁵I study your instructions;
I examine your teachings.
¹⁶I take pleasure in your laws;
your commands I will not forget.

Happiness in the Law of the LORD

¹⁷Be good to me, your servant,
so that I may live and obey your teachings.
¹⁸Open my eyes, so that I may see
the wonderful truths in your law.
¹⁹I am here on earth for just a little while;
do not hide your commands from me.
²⁰My heart aches with longing;
I want to know your judgments at all times.
²¹You reprimand the proud;
cursed are those who disobey your commands.
²²Free me from their insults and scorn,
because I have kept your laws.
²³The rulers meet and plot against me,
but I will study your teachings.
²⁴Your instructions give me pleasure;
they are my advisers.

Determination to Obey the Law of the LORD

²⁵I lie defeated in the dust;
revive me, as you have promised.
²⁶I confessed all I have done, and you answered me;
teach me your ways.
²⁷Help me to understand your laws,
and I will meditate on your wonderful teachings.
²⁸I am overcome by sorrow;
strengthen me, as you have promised.
²⁹Keep me from going the wrong way,
and in your goodness teach me your law.
³⁰I have chosen to be obedient;
I have paid attention to your judgments.
³¹I have followed your instructions, LORD;
don't let me be put to shame.
³²I will eagerly obey your commands,
because you will give me more understanding.