# verses

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and moves out across the skies as radiant as a bridegroom going to his wedding,* or as joyous as an athlete looking forward to a race!


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And keep me from deliberate wrongs; help me to stop doing them. Only then can I be free of guilt and innocent of some great crime.


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May there be shouts of joy when we hear the news of your victory, flags flying with praise to God for all that he has done for you. May he answer all your prayers!


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You welcomed him to the throne with success and prosperity. You set a royal crown of solid gold upon his head.


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He asked for a long, good life, and you have granted his request; the days of his life stretch on and on forever.


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You have endowed him with eternal happiness. You have given him the unquenchable joy of your presence.


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And because the king trusts in the Lord, he will never stumble, never fall; for he depends upon the steadfast love of the God who is above all gods.


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When you appear, they will be destroyed in the fierce fire of your presence. The Lord will destroy them and their children.


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Accept our praise, O Lord, for all your glorious power. We will write songs to celebrate your mighty acts!


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My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why do you refuse to help me or even to listen to my groans?


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for you are holy.
The praises of our fathers surrounded your throne; they trusted you and you delivered them.


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You heard their cries for help and saved them; they were never disappointed when they sought your aid.


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“Is this the one who rolled his burden on the Lord?” they laugh. “Is this the one who claims the Lord delights in him? We’ll believe it when we see God rescue him!”


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Lord, how you have helped me before! You took me safely from my mother’s womb and brought me through the years of infancy. I have depended upon you since birth; you have always been my God. Don’t leave me now, for trouble is near and no one else can possibly help.


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My strength has drained away like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart melts like wax;


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my strength has dried up like sun-baked clay; my tongue sticks to my mouth, for you have laid me in the dust of death.


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The enemy, this gang of evil men, circles me like a pack of dogs; they have pierced my hands and feet.


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Save me from these lions’ jaws and from the horns of these wild oxen. Yes, God will answer me and rescue me.


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I will praise you to all my brothers; I will stand up before the congregation and testify of the wonderful things you have done.


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“Praise the Lord, each one of you who fears him,” I will say. “Each of you must fear and reverence his name. Let all Israel sing his praises,


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for he has not despised my cries of deep despair; he has not turned and walked away. When I cried to him, he heard and came.”


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Yes, I will stand and praise you before all the people. I will publicly fulfill my vows in the presence of all who reverence your name.


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The poor shall eat and be satisfied; all who seek the Lord shall find him and shall praise his name. Their hearts shall rejoice with everlasting joy.


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He lets me rest in the meadow grass and leads me beside the quiet streams. He gives me new strength. He helps me do what honors him the most.


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Even when walking through the dark valley of death I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me, guarding, guiding all the way.


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You provide delicious food for me in the presence of my enemies. You have welcomed me as your guest; blessings overflow!


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Your goodness and unfailing kindness shall be with me all of my life, and afterwards I will live with you forever in your home.


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They will receive God’s own goodness as their blessing from him, planted in their lives by God himself, their Savior.


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Don’t fail me, Lord, for I am trusting you. Don’t let my enemies succeed. Don’t give them victory over me.


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None of those who have faith in God will ever be disgraced for trusting him. But all who harm the innocent shall be defeated.


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Overlook my youthful sins, O Lord! Look at me instead through eyes of mercy and forgiveness, through eyes of everlasting love and kindness.


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And when we obey him, every path he guides us on is fragrant with his loving-kindness and his truth.


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Friendship with God is reserved for those who reverence him. With them alone he shares the secrets of his promises.


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Save me from them! Deliver my life from their power! Oh, let it never be said that I trusted you in vain!


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Dismiss all the charges against me, Lord, for I have tried to keep your laws and have trusted you without wavering.


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No, I am not like that, O Lord; I try to walk a straight and narrow path of doing what is right; therefore in mercy save me.


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Yes, though a mighty army marches against me, my heart shall know no fear! I am confident that God will save me.


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The one thing I want from God, the thing I seek most of all, is the privilege of meditating in his Temple, living in his presence every day of my life, delighting in his incomparable perfections and glory.


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out of reach of all my enemies. Then I will bring him sacrifices and sing his praises with much joy.


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My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me, O my people.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”


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Oh, do not hide yourself when I am trying to find you. Do not angrily reject your servant. You have been my help in all my trials before; don’t leave me now. Don’t forsake me, O God of my salvation.


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Don’t let them get me, Lord! Don’t let me fall into their hands! For they accuse me of things I never did, and all the while are plotting cruelty.


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I am expecting the Lord to rescue me again, so that once again I will see his goodness to me here in the land of the living.


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Don’t be impatient. Wait for the Lord, and he will come and save you! Be brave, stouthearted, and courageous. Yes, wait and he will help you.


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I plead with you to help me, Lord, for you are my Rock of safety. If you refuse to answer me, I might as well give up and die.


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Don’t punish me with all the wicked ones who speak so sweetly to their neighbors while planning to murder them.


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Give them the punishment they so richly deserve! Measure it out to them in proportion to their wickedness; paythem back for all their evil deeds.


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They care nothing for God or what he has done or what he has made; therefore God will dismantle them like old buildings, never to be rebuilt again.


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He is my strength, my shield from every danger. I trusted in him, and he helped me. Joy rises in my heart until I burst out in songs of praise to him.


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Defend your people, Lord; defend and bless your chosen ones. Lead them like a shepherd and carry them forever in your arms.


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Praise him for his majestic glory, the glory of his name. Come before him clothed in sacred garments.


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It breaks down the cedars. It splits the giant trees of Lebanon. It shakes Mount Lebanon and Mount Sirion. They leap and skip before him like young calves!


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The voice of the Lord spins and topples the mighty oaks. It strips the forests bare. They whirl and sway beneath the blast. But in his Temple all are praising, “Glory, glory to the Lord.”


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I will praise you, Lord, for you have saved me from my enemies. You refuse to let them triumph over me.


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His anger lasts a moment; his favor lasts for life! Weeping may go on all night, but in the morning there is joy.


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In my prosperity I said, “This is forever; nothing can stop me now! The Lord has shown me his favor. He has made me steady as a mountain.” Then, Lord, you turned your face away from me and cut off your river of blessings. Suddenly my courage was gone; I was terrified and panic-stricken.


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“What will you gain, O Lord, from killing me? How can I praise you then to all my friends? How can my dust in the grave speak out and tell the world about your faithfulness?


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so that I might sing glad praises to the Lord instead of lying in silence in the grave. O Lord my God, I will keep on thanking you forever!


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Lord, I trust in you alone. Don’t let my enemies defeat me. Rescue me because you are the God who always does what is right.


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Answer quickly when I cry to you; bend low and hear my whispered plea. Be for me a great Rock of safety from my foes.


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Into your hand I commit my spirit.
You have rescued me, O God who keeps his promises. I worship only you; how you hate all those who worship idols, those imitation gods.


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I am radiant with joy because of your mercy, for you have listened to my troubles and have seen the crisis in my soul.


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O Lord, have mercy on me in my anguish. My eyes are red from weeping; my health is broken from sorrow. I am pining away with grief; my years are shortened, drained away because of sadness. My sins have sapped my strength; I stoop with sorrow and with shame.


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I am scorned by all my enemies and even more by my neighbors and friends. They dread meeting me and look the other way when I go by.


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I heard the lies about me, the slanders of my enemies. Everywhere I looked I was afraid, for they were plotting against my life.


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But I am trusting you, O Lord. I said, “You alone are my God; my times are in your hands. Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly.


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Don’t disgrace me, Lord, by not replying when I call to you for aid. But let the wicked be shamed by what they trust in; let them lie silently in their graves,


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their lying lips quieted at last—the lips of these arrogant men who are accusing honest men of evil deeds.”


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Oh, how great is your goodness to those who publicly declare that you will rescue them. For you have stored up great blessings for those who trust and reverence you.


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Hide your loved ones in the shelter of your presence, safe beneath your hand, safe from all conspiring men.


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Blessed is the Lord, for he has shown me that his never-failing love protects me like the walls of a fort!


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I spoke too hastily when I said, “The Lord has deserted me,” for you listened to my plea and answered me.


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Oh, love the Lord, all of you who are his people; for the Lord protects those who are loyal to him, but harshly punishes all who haughtily reject him.


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What happiness for those whose guilt has been forgiven! What joys when sins are covered over! What relief for those who have confessed their sins and God has cleared their record.


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There was a time when I wouldn’t admit what a sinner I was. But my dishonesty made me miserable and filled my days with frustration.


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until I finally admitted all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, “I will confess them to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.


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Now I say that each believer should confess his sins to God when he is aware of them, while there is time to be forgiven. Judgment will not touch him if he does.


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You are my hiding place from every storm of life; you even keep me from getting into trouble! You surround me with songs of victory.


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I will instruct you (says the Lord) and guide you along the best pathway for your life; I will advise you and watch your progress.


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The Lord gazes down upon mankind from heaven where he lives. He has made their hearts and closely watches everything they do.


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The best-equipped army cannot save a king—for great strength is not enough to save anyone. A war horse is a poor risk for winning victories—it is strong, but it cannot save.


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But the eyes of the Lord are watching over those who fear him, who rely upon his steady love. He will keep them from death even in times of famine!


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Oh, put God to the test and see how kind he is! See for yourself the way his mercies shower down on all who trust in him.


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Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those of us who reverence the Lord will never lack any good thing.


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Sons and daughters, come and listen and let me teach you the importance of trusting and fearing the Lord.


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Turn from all known sin and spend your time in doing good. Try to live in peace with everyone; work hard at it.


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For the eyes of the Lord are intently watching all who live good lives, and he gives attention when they cry to him.


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Yes, the Lord hears the good man when he calls to him for help and saves him out of all his troubles.


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The Lord is close to those whose hearts are breaking; he rescues those who are humbly sorry for their sins.


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The good man does not escape all troubles—he has them too. But the Lord helps him in each and every one.


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But as for those who serve the Lord, he will redeem them; everyone who takes refuge in him will be freely pardoned.


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Lift your spear in my defense, for my pursuers are getting very close. Let me hear you say that you will save me from them.


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From the bottom of my heart praise rises to him. Where is his equal in all of heaven and earth? Who else protects the weak and helpless from the strong, and the poor and needy from those who would rob them?


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When they were ill, I mourned before the Lord in sackcloth, asking him to make them well; I refused to eat; I prayed for them with utmost earnestness, but God did not listen.


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But now that I am in trouble they are glad; they come together in meetings filled with slander against me—I didn’t even know some of those who were there.


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Lord, how long will you stand there, doing nothing? Act now and rescue me, for I have but one life and these young lions are out to get it.


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Save me, and I will thank you publicly before the entire congregation, before the largest crowd I can find.


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Don’t give victory to those who fight me without any reason! Don’t let them rejoice at my fall—let them die.


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They don’t talk of peace and doing good, but of plots against innocent men who are minding their own business.


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They shout that they have seen me doing wrong! “Aha!” they say. “With our own eyes we saw him do it.”


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Don’t let them say, “Aha! Our dearest wish against him will soon be fulfilled!” and, “At last we have him!”


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Shame them; let these who boast against me and who rejoice at my troubles be themselves overcome by misfortune that strips them bare of everything they own. Bare them to dishonor.


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But give great joy to all who wish me well. Let them shout with delight, “Great is the Lord who enjoys helping his child!”


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Sin lurks deep in the hearts of the wicked, forever urging them on to evil deeds. They have no fear of God to hold them back.


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Your steadfast love, O Lord, is as great as all the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.


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Your justice is as solid as God’s mountains. Your decisions are as full of wisdom as the oceans are with water. You are concerned for men and animals alike.


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Pour out your unfailing love on those who know you! Never stop giving your blessings to those who long to do your will.


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Trust in the Lord instead. Be kind and good to others; then you will live safely here in the land and prosper, feeding in safety.


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Your innocence will be clear to everyone. He will vindicate you with the blazing light of justice shining down as from the noonday sun.


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But all who humble themselves before the Lord shall be given every blessing and shall have wonderful peace.


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The Lord is laughing at those who plot against the godly, for he knows their judgment day is coming.


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Evil men borrow and “cannot pay it back”! But the good man returns what he owes with some extra besides.


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I have been young and now I am old. And in all my years I have never seen the Lord forsake a man who loves him; nor have I seen the children of the godly go hungry.


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Instead, the godly are able to be generous with their gifts and loans to others, and their children are a blessing.


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For the Lord loves justice and fairness; he will never abandon his people. They will be kept safe forever; but all who love wickedness shall perish.


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But the Lord will not let these evil men succeed, nor let the godly be condemned when they are brought before the judge.


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Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act! Keep traveling steadily along his pathway and in due season he will honor you with every blessing, and you will see the wicked destroyed.


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I myself have seen it happen: a proud and evil man, towering like a cedar of Lebanon, but when I looked again, he was gone! I searched but could not find him!


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But the good man—what a different story! For the good man—the blameless, the upright, the man of peace—he has a wonderful future ahead of him. For him there is a happy ending.


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Because of your anger, my body is sick, my health is broken beneath my sins. They are like a flood, higher than my head; they are a burden too heavy to bear.


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My wounds are festering and full of pus. Because of my sins, I am bent and racked with pain. My days are filled with anguish.


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Meanwhile my enemies are trying to kill me. They plot my ruin and spend all their waking hours planning treachery.


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But I am deaf to all their threats; I am silent before them as a man who cannot speak. I have nothing to say.


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How constantly I find myself upon the verge of sin; this source of sorrow always stares me in the face.


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But my enemies persecute with vigor and continue to hate me—though I have done nothing against them to deserve it.


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I said to myself, I’m going to quit complaining! I’ll keep quiet, especially when the ungodly are around me.


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But as I stood there silently the turmoil within me grew to the bursting point. The more I mused, the hotter the fires inside. Then at last I spoke and pled with God:


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Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth will be. Help me to know that I am here for but a moment more.


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My life is no longer than my hand! My whole lifetime is but a moment to you. Proud man! Frail as breath! A shadow! And all his busy rushing ends in nothing. He heaps up riches for someone else to spend.


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Lord, I am speechless before you. I will not open my mouth to speak one word of complaint, for my punishment is from you.


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When you punish a man for his sins, he is destroyed, for he is as fragile as a moth-infested cloth; yes, man is frail as breath.


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Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry! Don’t sit back, unmindful of my tears. For I am your guest. I am a traveler passing through the earth, as all my fathers were.


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He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out from the bog and the mire, and set my feet on a hard, firm path, and steadied me as I walked along.


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He has given me a new song to sing, of praises to our God. Now many will hear of the glorious things he did for me, and stand in awe before the Lord, and put their trust in him.


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Many blessings are given to those who trust the Lord and have no confidence in those who are proud or who trust in idols.


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O Lord my God, many and many a time you have done great miracles for us, and we are ever in your thoughts. Who else can do such glorious things? No one else can be compared with you. There isn’t time to tell of all your wonderful deeds.


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It isn’t sacrifices and offerings that you really want from your people. Burnt animals bring no special joy to your heart. But you have accepted the offer of my lifelong service.


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I have told everyone the good news that you forgive people’s sins. I have not been timid about it, as you well know, O Lord.


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I have not kept this good news hidden in my heart, but have proclaimed your loving-kindness and truth to all the congregation.


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Otherwise I perish, for problems far too big for me to solve are piled higher than my head. Meanwhile my sins, too many to count, have all caught up with me, and I am ashamed to look up. My heart quails within me.


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Confuse them! Turn them around and send them sprawling—all these who are trying to destroy me. Disgrace these scoffers with their utter failure!


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But may the joy of the Lord be given to everyone who loves him and his salvation. May they constantly exclaim, “How great God is!”


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I am poor and weak, yet the Lord is thinking about me right now! O my God, you are my helper. You are my Savior; come quickly, and save me. Please don’t delay!


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He protects them and keeps them alive; he publicly honors them and destroys the power of their enemies.


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They act so friendly when they come to visit me while I am sick; but all the time they hate me and are glad that I am lying there upon my bed of pain. And when they leave, they laugh and mock.


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Bless the Lord, the God of Israel, who exists from everlasting ages past—and on into everlasting eternity ahead. Amen and amen!


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Day and night I weep for his help, and all the while my enemies taunt me. “Where is this God of yours?” they scoff.


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Take courage, my soul! Do you remember those times (but how could you ever forget them!) when you led a great procession to the Temple on festival days, singing with joy, praising the Lord? Why then be downcast? Why be discouraged and sad? Hope in God! I shall yet praise him again. Yes, I shall again praise him for his help.


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Yet I am standing here depressed and gloomy, but I will meditate upon your kindness to this lovely land where the Jordan River flows and where Mount Hermon and Mount Mizar stand.


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All your waves and billows have gone over me, and floods of sorrow pour upon me like a thundering cataract.


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Yet day by day the Lord also pours out his steadfast love upon me, and through the night I sing his songs and pray to God who gives me life.


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“O God my Rock,” I cry, “why have you forsaken me? Why must I suffer these attacks from my enemies?”


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Their taunts pierce me like a fatal wound; again and again they scoff, “Where is that God of yours?”


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But, O my soul, don’t be discouraged. Don’t be upset. Expect God to act! For I know that I shall again have plenty of reason to praise him for all that he will do. He is my help! He is my God!


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For you are God, my only place of refuge. Why have you tossed me aside? Why must I mourn at the oppression of my enemies?


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Oh, send out your light and your truth—let them lead me. Let them lead me to your Temple on your holy mountain, Zion.


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O my soul, why be so gloomy and discouraged? Trust in God! I shall again praise him for his wondrous help; he will make me smile again, for he is my God!


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O God, we have heard of the glorious miracles you did in the days of long ago. Our forefathers have told us how you drove the heathen nations from this land and gave it all to us, spreading Israel from one end of the country to the other.


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They did not conquer by their own strength and skill, but by your mighty power and because you smiled upon them and favored them.


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And yet for a time, O Lord, you have tossed us aside in dishonor and have not helped us in our battles.


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You have actually fought against us and defeated us before our foes. Our enemies have invaded our land and pillaged the countryside.


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If we had, we could understand your punishing us in the barren wilderness and sending us into darkness and death.


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But that is not our case. For we are facing death threats constantly because of serving you! We are like sheep awaiting slaughter.


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My heart is overflowing with a beautiful thought! I will write a lovely poem to the King, for I am as full of words as the speediest writer pouring out his story.


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And in your majesty
Go on to victory,
Defending truth, humility, and justice.
Go forth to awe-inspiring deeds!


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You love what is good
And hate what is wrong.
Therefore God, your God,
Has given you more gladness
Than anyone else.


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Your robes are perfumed with myrrh, aloes, and cassia. In your palaces of inlaid ivory, lovely music is being played for your enjoyment.


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Kings’ daughters are among your concubines. Standing beside you is the queen, wearing jewelry of finest gold from Ophir.


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“I advise you, O daughter, not to fret about your parents in your homeland far away. Your royal husband delights in your beauty. Reverence him, for he is your lord.


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The people of Tyre, the richest people of our day, will shower you with gifts and entreat your favors.”


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“I will cause your name to be honored in all generations; the nations of the earth will praise you forever.”


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There is a river of joy flowing through the city of our God—the sacred home of the God above all gods.


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God himself is living in that city; therefore it stands unmoved despite the turmoil everywhere. He will not delay his help.


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The nations rant and rave in anger—but when God speaks, the earth melts in submission and kingdoms totter into ruin.


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The Commander of the armies of heaven is here among us. He, the God of Jacob, has come to rescue us.


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For the Lord, the God above all gods, is awesome beyond words; he is the great King of all the earth.


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and will personally select his choicest blessings for his Jewish people—the very best for those he loves.


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Sing out your praises to our God, our King. Yes, sing your highest praises to our King, the King of all the earth. Sing thoughtful praises!


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The Gentile rulers of the world have joined with us in praising him—praising the God of Abraham—for the battle shields of all the armies of the world are his trophies. He is highly honored everywhere.


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What a glorious sight! See Mount Zion rising north of the city high above the plains for all to see—Mount Zion, joy of all the earth, the residence of the great King.


book: Ps
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We have heard of the city’s glory—the city of our God, the Commander of the armies of heaven. And now we see it for ourselves! God has established Jerusalem forever.


book: Ps
contenido:
Your name is known throughout the earth, O God. You are praised everywhere for the salvation you have scattered throughout the world.


book: Ps
contenido:
O Jerusalem, rejoice! O people of Judah, rejoice! For God will see to it that you are finally treated fairly.


book: Ps
contenido:
yet not one of them, though rich as kings, can ransom his own brother from the penalty of sin! For God’s forgiveness does not come that way.


book: Ps
contenido:
For a soul is far too precious to be ransomed by mere earthly wealth. There is not enough of it in all the earth to buy eternal life for just one soul, to keep it out of hell.


book: Ps
contenido:
Rich man! Proud man! Wise man! You must die like all the rest! You have no greater lease on life than foolish, stupid men. You must leave your wealth to others.


book: Ps
contenido:
You name your estates after yourselves as though your lands could be forever yours and you could live on them eternally.


book: Ps
contenido:
Death is the shepherd of all mankind. And “in the morning” those who are evil will be the slaves of those who are good. For the power of their wealth is gone when they die; they cannot take it with them.


book: Ps
contenido:
He comes with the noise of thunder, surrounded by devastating fire; a great storm rages round about him.


book: Ps
contenido:
For all the animals of field and forest are mine! The cattle on a thousand hills! And all the birds upon the mountains!


book: Ps
contenido:
What I want from you is your true thanks; I want your promises fulfilled. I want you to trust me in your times of trouble, so I can rescue you and you can give me glory.


book: Ps
contenido:
I remained silent—you thought I didn’t care—but now your time of punishment has come, and I list all the above charges against you.


book: Ps
contenido:
This is the last chance for all of you who have forgotten God, before I tear you apart—and no one can help you then.


book: Ps
contenido:
But true praise is a worthy sacrifice; this really honors me. Those who walk my paths will receive salvation from the Lord.


book: Ps
contenido:
Written after Nathan the prophet had come to inform David of God’s judgment against him because of his adultery with Bathsheba, and his murder of Uriah, her husband.
O loving and kind God, have mercy. Have pity upon me and take away the awful stain of my transgressions.


book: Ps
contenido:
It is against you and you alone I sinned and did this terrible thing. You saw it all, and your sentence against me is just.


book: Ps
contenido:
Sprinkle me with the cleansing blood and I shall be clean again. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.


book: Ps
contenido:
Then I will teach your ways to other sinners, and they—guilty like me—will repent and return to you.


book: Ps
contenido:
Don’t sentence me to death. O my God, you alone can rescue me. Then I will sing of your forgiveness, for my lips will be unsealed—oh, how I will praise you.


book: Ps
contenido:
You don’t want penance; if you did, how gladly I would do it! You aren’t interested in offerings burned before you on the altar.


book: Ps
contenido:
It is a broken spirit you want—remorse and penitence. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not ignore.


book: Ps
contenido:
And when my heart is right, then you will rejoice in the good that I do* and in the bullocks I bring to sacrifice upon your altar.


book: Ps
contenido:
Written by David to protest against his enemy Doeg (1 Samuel 22), who later slaughtered eighty-five priests and their families.
You call yourself a hero, do you? You boast about this evil deed of yours against God’s people.


book: Ps
contenido:
But God will strike you down, pull you from your home, and drag you away from the land of the living.


book: Ps
contenido:
“See what happens to those who despise God and trust in their wealth, and become ever more bold in their wickedness.”


book: Ps
contenido:
But I am like a sheltered olive tree protected by the Lord himself. I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.


book: Ps
contenido:
O Lord, I will praise you forever and ever for your punishment. And I will wait for your mercies—for everyone knows what a merciful God you are.


book: Ps
contenido:
Only a fool would say to himself, “There is no God.” And why does he say it? Because of his wicked heart, his dark and evil deeds. His life is corroded with sin.


book: Ps
contenido:
God looks down from heaven, searching among all mankind to see if there is a single one who does right and really seeks for God.


book: Ps
contenido:
But all have turned their backs on him; they are filthy with sin—corrupt and rotten through and through. Not one is good, not one!


book: Ps
contenido:
How can this be? Can’t they understand anything? For they devour my people like bread and refuse to come to God.


book: Ps
contenido:
But soon unheard-of terror will fall on them. God will scatter the bones of these, your enemies. They are doomed, for God has rejected them.


book: Ps
contenido:
Oh, that God would come from Zion now and save Israel! Only when the Lord himself restores them can they ever be really happy again.


book: Ps
contenido:
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!


book: Ps
contenido:
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.


book: Ps
contenido:
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.


book: Ps
contenido:
O Lord, make these enemies begin to quarrel among themselves—destroy them with their own violence and strife.


book: Ps
contenido:
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.


book: Ps
contenido:
What fellowship we had, what wonderful discussions as we walked together to the Temple of the Lord on holy days.


book: Ps
contenido:
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.


book: Ps
contenido:
Though the tide of battle runs strongly against me, for so many are fighting me, yet he will rescue me.


book: Ps
contenido:
God himself—God from everlasting ages past—will answer them! For they refuse to fear him or even honor his commands.


book: Ps
contenido:
His words were oily smooth, but in his heart was war. His words were sweet, but underneath were daggers.


book: Ps
contenido:
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.


book: Ps
contenido:
Lord, have mercy on me; all day long the enemy troops press in. So many are proud to fight against me; how they long to conquer me.


book: Ps
contenido:
But when I am afraid, I will put my confidence in you. Yes, I will trust the promises of God. And since I am trusting him, what can mere man do to me?


book: Ps
contenido:
They meet together to perfect their plans; they hide beside the trail, listening for my steps, waiting to kill me.


book: Ps
contenido:
You have seen me tossing and turning through the night. You have collected all my tears and preserved them in your bottle! You have recorded every one in your book.


book: Ps
contenido:
The very day I call for help, the tide of battle turns. My enemies flee! This one thing I know: God is for me!


book: Ps
contenido:
I am trusting God—oh, praise his promises! I am not afraid of anything mere man can do to me! Yes, praise his promises.


book: Ps
contenido:
For you have saved me from death and my feet from slipping, so that I can walk before the Lord in the land of the living.


book: Ps
contenido:
O God, have pity, for I am trusting you! I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings until this storm is past.


book: Ps
contenido:
He will send down help from heaven to save me because of his love and his faithfulness. He will rescue me from these liars who are so intent upon destroying me.


book: Ps
contenido:
I am surrounded by fierce lions—hotheads whose teeth are sharp as spears and arrows. Their tongues are like swords.


book: Ps
contenido:
My enemies have set a trap for me. Frantic fear grips me. They have dug a pitfall in my path. But look! They themselves have fallen into it!


book: Ps
contenido:
Justice? You high and mighty politicians don’t even know the meaning of the word! Fairness? Which of you has any left? Not one! All your dealings are crooked: you give “justice” in exchange for bribes.


book: Ps
contenido:
Let them be as snails that dissolve into slime and as those who die at birth, who never see the sun.


book: Ps
contenido:
God will sweep away both old and young. He will destroy them more quickly than a cooking pot can feel the blazing fire of thorns beneath it.


book: Ps
contenido:
The godly shall rejoice in the triumph of right; they shall walk the bloodstained fields of slaughtered, wicked men.


book: Ps
contenido:
Then at last everyone will know that good is rewarded, and that there is a God who judges justly here on earth.


book: Ps
contenido:
Written by David at the time King Saul set guards at his home to capture and kill him. (1 Samuel 19:11)
O my God, save me from my enemies. Protect me from these who have come to destroy me.


book: Ps
contenido:
They lurk in ambush for my life. Strong men are out there waiting. And not, O Lord, because I’ve done them wrong.


book: Ps
contenido:
(And O Jehovah, God of heaven’s armies, God of Israel, arise and punish the heathen nations surrounding us.) Do not spare these evil, treacherous men.


book: Ps
contenido:
My God is changeless in his love for me, and he will come and help me. He will let me see my wish come true upon my enemies.


book: Ps
contenido:
Don’t kill them—for my people soon forget such lessons—but stagger them with your power and bring them to their knees. Bring them to the dust, O Lord our shield.


book: Ps
contenido:
They are proud, cursing liars. Angrily destroy them. Wipe them out. (And let the nations find out, too, that God rules in Israel and will reign throughout the world.)


book: Ps
contenido:
Let these evil men slink back at evening and prowl the city all night before they are satisfied, howling like dogs and searching for food.


book: Ps
contenido:
But as for me, I will sing each morning about your power and mercy. For you have been my high tower of refuge, a place of safety in the day of my distress.


book: Ps
contenido:
Written by David at the time he was at war with Syria, with the outcome still uncertain; this was when Joab, captain of his forces, slaughtered twelve thousand men of Edom in Salt Valley.
O God, you have rejected us and broken our defenses; you have become angry and deserted us. Lord, restore us again to your favor.


book: Ps
contenido:
You have caused this nation to tremble in fear; you have torn it apart. Lord, heal it now, for it is shaken to its depths.


book: Ps
contenido:
But you have given us a banner to rally to; all who love truth will rally to it; then you can deliver your beloved people. Use your strong right arm to rescue us.


book: Ps
contenido:
God has promised to help us. He has vowed it by his holiness! No wonder I exult! “Shechem, Succoth, Gilead, Manasseh—still are mine!” he says. “Judah shall continue to produce kings, and Ephraim great warriors.


book: Ps
contenido:
Moab shall become my lowly servant, and Edom my slave. And I will shout in triumph over the Philistines.”


book: Ps
contenido:
Who will bring me in triumph into Edom’s strong cities? God will! He who cast us off! He who abandoned us to our foes!


book: Ps
contenido:
For wherever I am, though far away at the ends of the earth, I will cry to you for help. When my heart is faint and overwhelmed, lead me to the mighty, towering Rock of safety.


book: Ps
contenido:
For you have heard my vows, O God, to praise you every day, and you have given me the blessings you reserve for those who reverence your name.


book: Ps
contenido:
You will give me added years of life, as rich and full as those of many generations, all packed into one.


book: Ps
contenido:
And I shall live before the Lord forever. Oh, send your loving-kindness and truth to guard and watch over me,


book: Ps
contenido:
Yes, he alone is my Rock, my rescuer, defense and fortress. Why then should I be tense with fear when troubles come?


book: Ps
contenido:
But what is this? They pick on me at a time when my throne is tottering; they plot my death and use lies and deceit to try to force me from the throne. They are so friendly to my face while cursing in their hearts!


book: Ps
contenido:
But I stand silently before the Lord, waiting for him to rescue me. For salvation comes from him alone.


book: Ps
contenido:
Yes, he alone is my Rock, my rescuer, defense, and fortress—why then should I be tense with fear when troubles come?


book: Ps
contenido:
The greatest of men or the lowest—both alike are nothing in his sight. They weigh less than air on scales.


book: Ps
contenido:
God has said it many times, that power belongs to him (and also, O Lord, steadfast love belongs to you). He rewards each one of us according to what our works deserve.


book: Ps
contenido:
A psalm of David when he was hiding in the wilderness of Judea.
O God, my God! How I search for you! How I thirst for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. How I long to find you!


book: Ps
contenido:
of how much you have helped me—and how I rejoice through the night beneath the protecting shadow of your wings.


book: Ps
contenido:
Lord, listen to my complaint: Oh, preserve my life from the conspiracy of these wicked men, these gangs of criminals.


book: Ps
contenido:
They cut me down with sharpened tongues; they aim their bitter words like arrows straight at my heart.


book: Ps
contenido:
They encourage each other to do evil. They meet in secret to set their traps. “He will never notice them here,” they say.


book: Ps
contenido:
They keep a sharp lookout for opportunities of crime. They spend long hours with all their endless evil thoughts and plans.


book: Ps
contenido:
They will stagger backward, destroyed by those they spoke against. All who see it happening will scoff at them.


book: Ps
contenido:
Then everyone shall stand in awe and confess the greatness of the miracles of God; at last they will realize what amazing things he does.


book: Ps
contenido:
O God in Zion, we wait before you in silent praise, and thus fulfill our vow. And because you answer prayer, all mankind will come to you with their requests.


book: Ps
contenido:
How greatly to be envied are those you have chosen to come and live with you within the holy tabernacle courts! What joys await us among all the good things there.


book: Ps
contenido:
With dread deeds and awesome power you will defend us from our enemies, O God who saves us. You are the only hope of all mankind throughout the world and far away upon the sea.


book: Ps
contenido:
In the farthest corners of the earth the glorious acts of God shall startle everyone. The dawn and sunset shout for joy!


book: Ps
contenido:
He waters the earth to make it fertile. The rivers of God will not run dry! He prepares the earth for his people and sends them rich harvests of grain.


book: Ps
contenido:
He waters the furrows with abundant rain. Showers soften the earth, melting the clods and causing seeds to sprout across the land.


book: Ps
contenido:
The pastures are filled with flocks of sheep, and the valleys are carpeted with grain. All the world shouts with joy and sings.


book: Ps
contenido:
He made a dry road through the sea for them. They went across on foot. What excitement and joy there was that day!


book: Ps
contenido:
Because of his great power he rules forever. He watches every movement of the nations. O rebel lands, he will deflate your pride.


book: Ps
contenido:
You sent troops to ride across our broken bodies. We went through fire and flood. But in the end, you brought us into wealth and great abundance.


book: Ps
contenido:
That is why I am bringing you these fat male goats, rams, and calves. The smoke of their sacrifice shall rise before you.


book: Ps
contenido:
How glad the nations will be, singing for joy because you are their King and will give true justice to their people!


book: Ps
contenido:
For the earth has yielded abundant harvests. God, even our own God, will bless us. And peoples from remotest lands will worship him.


book: Ps
contenido:
Drive them off like smoke before the wind; melt them like wax in fire! So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.


book: Ps
contenido:
Sing praises to the Lord! Raise your voice in song to him who rides upon the clouds! Jehovah is his name—oh, rejoice in his presence.


book: Ps
contenido:
He gives families to the lonely, and releases prisoners from jail, singing with joy! But for rebels there is famine and distress.


book: Ps
contenido:
You sent abundant rain upon your land, O God, to refresh it in its weariness! There your people lived, for you gave them this home when they were destitute.


book: Ps
contenido:
The Lord speaks. The enemy flees. The women at home cry out the happy news: “The armies that came to destroy us have fled!” Now all the women of Israel are dividing the booty. See them sparkle with jewels of silver and gold, covered all over as wings cover doves!


book: Ps
contenido:
O mighty mountains in Bashan! O splendid many-peaked ranges! Well may you look with envy at Mount Zion, the mount where God has chosen to live forever.


book: Ps
contenido:
Surrounded by unnumbered chariots, the Lord moves on from Mount Sinai and comes to his holy Temple high upon Mount Zion.


book: Ps
contenido:
He ascends the heights, leading many captives in his train. He receives gifts for men, even those who once were rebels. God will live among us here.


book: Ps
contenido:
The Lord says, “Come,” to all his people’s enemies; they are hiding on Mount Hermon’s highest slopes and deep within the sea!


book: Ps
contenido:
The little tribe of Benjamin leads the way. The princes and elders of Judah, and the princes of Zebulun and Naphtali are right behind.


book: Ps
contenido:
What awe we feel, kneeling here before him in the sanctuary. The God of Israel gives strength and mighty power to his people. Blessed be God!


book: Ps
contenido:
Save me, O my God. The floods have risen. Deeper and deeper I sink in the mire; the waters rise around me.


book: Ps
contenido:
I have wept until I am exhausted; my throat is dry and hoarse; my eyes are swollen with weeping, waiting for my God to act.


book: Ps
contenido:
I cannot even count all those who hate me without cause. They are influential men, these who plot to kill me though I am innocent. They demand that I be punished for what I didn’t do.


book: Ps
contenido:
O Lord God of the armies of heaven, don’t let me be a stumbling block to those who trust in you. O God of Israel, don’t let me cause them to be confused,


book: Ps
contenido:
My zeal for God and his work burns hot within me. And because I advocate your cause, your enemies insult me even as they insult you.


book: Ps
contenido:
But I keep right on praying to you, Lord. For now is the time—you are bending down to hear! You are ready with a plentiful supply of love and kindness. Now answer my prayer and rescue me as you promised.


book: Ps
contenido:
Pull me out of this mire. Don’t let me sink in. Rescue me from those who hate me, and from these deep waters I am in.


book: Ps
contenido:
O Jehovah, answer my prayers, for your loving-kindness is wonderful; your mercy is so plentiful, so tender and so kind.


book: Ps
contenido:
You know how they talk about me, and how they so shamefully dishonor me. You see them all and know what each has said.


book: Ps
contenido:
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!


book: Ps
contenido:
Let these men be blotted from the list of the living; do not give them the joys of life with the righteous.


book: Ps
contenido:
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.


book: Ps
contenido:
For God will save Jerusalem; he rebuilds the cities of Judah. His people shall live in them and not be dispossessed.


book: Ps
contenido:
They are after my life and delight in hurting me. Confuse them! Shame them! Stop them! Don’t let them keep on mocking me!


book: Ps
contenido:
But fill the followers of God with joy. Let those who love your salvation exclaim, “What a wonderful God he is!”


book: Ps
contenido:
Save me from my enemies, for you are just! Rescue me! Bend down your ear and listen to my plea and save me.


book: Ps
contenido:
Be to me a great protecting Rock, where I am always welcome, safe from all attacks. For you have issued the order to save me.


book: Ps
contenido:
Yes, you have been with me from birth and have helped me constantly—no wonder I am always praising you!


book: Ps
contenido:
I cannot count the times when you have faithfully rescued me from danger. I will tell everyone how good you are, and of your constant, daily care.


book: Ps
contenido:
O God, you have helped me from my earliest childhood—and I have constantly testified to others of the wonderful things you do.


book: Ps
contenido:
And now that I am old and gray, don’t forsake me. Give me time to tell this new generation (and their children too) about all your mighty miracles.


book: Ps
contenido:
Your power and goodness, Lord, reach to the highest heavens. You have done such wonderful things. Where is there another God like you?


book: Ps
contenido:
You have let me sink down deep in desperate problems. But you will bring me back to life again, up from the depths of the earth.


book: Ps
contenido:
I will praise you with music, telling of your faithfulness to all your promises, O Holy One of Israel.


book: Ps
contenido:
I will talk to others all day long about your justice and your goodness. For all who tried to hurt me have been disgraced and dishonored.


book: Ps
contenido:
May the poor and needy revere you constantly, as long as sun and moon continue in the skies! Yes, forever!


book: Ps
contenido:
May the reign of this son of mine be as gentle and fruitful as the springtime rains upon the grass—like showers that water the earth!


book: Ps
contenido:
Kings along the Mediterranean coast—the kings of Tarshish and the islands—and those from Sheba and from Seba—all will bring their gifts.


book: Ps
contenido:
He will take care of the helpless and poor when they cry to him; for they have no one else to defend them.


book: Ps
contenido:
And he shall live; and to him will be given the gold of Sheba, and there will be constant praise for him. His people* will bless him all day long.


book: Ps
contenido:
Bless us with abundant crops throughout the land, even on the highland plains; may there be fruit like that of Lebanon; may the cities be as full of people as the fields are of grass.


book: Ps
contenido:
His name will be honored forever; it will continue as the sun; and all will be blessed in him; all nations will praise him.


book: Ps
contenido:
But as for me, I came so close to the edge of the cliff! My feet were slipping and I was almost gone.


book: Ps
contenido:
“Look at these men of arrogance; they never have to lift a finger—theirs is a life of ease; and all the time their riches multiply.”


book: Ps
contenido:
Then one day I went into God’s sanctuary to meditate and thought about the future of these evil men.


book: Ps
contenido:
What a slippery path they are on—suddenly God will send them sliding over the edge of the cliff and down to their destruction:


book: Ps
contenido:
Their present life is only a dream! They will awaken to the truth as one awakens from a dream of things that never really were!


book: Ps
contenido:
You will keep on guiding me all my life with your wisdom and counsel, and afterwards receive me into the glories of heaven!


book: Ps
contenido:
My health fails; my spirits droop, yet God remains! He is the strength of my heart; he is mine forever!


book: Ps
contenido:
But as for me, I get as close to him as I can! I have chosen him, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful ways he rescues me.


book: Ps
contenido:
O God, why have you cast us away forever? Why is your anger hot against us—the sheep of your own pasture?


book: Ps
contenido:
Remember that we are your people—the ones you chose in ancient times from slavery and made the choicest of your possessions. You chose Jerusalem as your home on earth!


book: Ps
contenido:
Everything lies in shambles like a forest chopped to the ground. They came with their axes and sledgehammers and smashed and chopped the carved paneling;


book: Ps
contenido:
“Let’s wipe out every trace of God,” they said, and went through the entire country burning down the assembly places where we worshiped you.


book: Ps
contenido:
There is nothing left to show that we are your people. The prophets are gone, and who can say when it all will end? How long, O God, will you allow our enemies to dishonor your name? Will you let them get away with this forever?


book: Ps
contenido:
You divided the Red Sea with your strength; you crushed the sea god’s heads! You gave him to the desert tribes to eat!


book: Ps
contenido:
At your command the springs burst forth to give your people water; and then you dried a path for them across the ever-flowing Jordan.


book: Ps
contenido:
O Lord, save me! Protect your turtledove from the hawks. Save your beloved people from these beasts.


book: Ps
contenido:
O Lord, don’t let your downtrodden people be constantly insulted. Give cause for these poor and needy ones to praise your name!


book: Ps
contenido:
Arise, O God, and state your case against our enemies. Remember the insults these rebels have hurled against you all day long.


book: Ps
contenido:
Though the earth shakes and all its people live in turmoil, yet its pillars are firm, for I have set them in place!”


book: Ps
contenido:
For promotion and power come from nowhere on earth, but only from God. He promotes one and deposes another.


book: Ps
contenido:
In Jehovah’s hand there is a cup of pale and sparkling wine. It is his judgment, poured out upon the wicked of the earth. They must drain that cup to the dregs.


book: Ps
contenido:
“I will cut off the strength of evil men,” says the Lord, “and increase the power of good men in their place.”


book: Ps
contenido:
The mightiest of our enemies are conquered. They lie before us in the sleep of death; not one can lift a hand against us.


book: Ps
contenido:
Fulfill all your vows that you have made to Jehovah your God. Let everyone bring him presents. He should be reverenced and feared,


book: Ps
contenido:
I am in deep trouble and I need his help so much. All night long I pray, lifting my hands to heaven, pleading. There can be no joy for me until he acts.


book: Ps
contenido:
Then my nights were filled with joyous songs. I search my soul and meditate upon the difference now.


book: Ps
contenido:
The clouds poured down their rain, the thunder rolled and crackled in the sky. Your lightning flashed.


book: Ps
contenido:
There was thunder in the whirlwind; the lightning lighted up the world! The earth trembled and shook.


book: Ps
contenido:
I will reveal these truths to you so that you can describe these glorious deeds of Jehovah to your children and tell them about the mighty miracles he did.


book: Ps
contenido:
so that they in turn could teach their children too. Thus his laws pass down from generation to generation.


book: Ps
contenido:
In this way each generation has been able to obey his laws and to set its hope anew on God and not forget his glorious miracles.


book: Ps
contenido:
Thus they did not need to be as their fathers were—stubborn, rebellious, unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God.


book: Ps
contenido:
For he divided the sea before them and led them through! The water stood banked up along both sides of them!


book: Ps
contenido:
He split open the rocks in the wilderness to give them plenty of water, as though gushing from a spring.


book: Ps
contenido:
They even spoke against God himself. “Why can’t he give us decent food as well as water?” they grumbled.


book: Ps
contenido:
Then at last, when he had ruined them, they walked awhile behind him; how earnestly they turned around and followed him!


book: Ps
contenido:
Yet he was merciful and forgave their sins and didn’t destroy them all. Many and many a time he held back his anger.


book: Ps
contenido:
Again and again they turned away and tempted God to kill them, and limited the Holy One of Israel from giving them his blessings.


book: Ps
contenido:
Their cattle died in the fields, mortally wounded by huge hailstones from heaven. Their sheep were killed by lightning.


book: Ps
contenido:
He loosed on them the fierceness of his anger, sending sorrow and trouble. He dispatched against them a band of destroying angels.


book: Ps
contenido:
He gave free course to his anger and did not spare the Egyptians’ lives, but handed them over to plagues and sickness.


book: Ps
contenido:
Then he killed the eldest son in each Egyptian family—he who was the beginning of its strength and joy.


book: Ps
contenido:
He kept them safe, so they were not afraid. But the sea closed in upon their enemies and overwhelmed them.


book: Ps
contenido:
He drove out the nations occupying the land and gave each tribe of Israel its apportioned place as its home.


book: Ps
contenido:
Yet though he did all this for them, they still rebelled against the God above all gods and refused to follow his commands.


book: Ps
contenido:
They turned back from entering the Promised Land and disobeyed as their fathers had. Like a crooked arrow, they missed the target of God’s will.


book: Ps
contenido:
Their young men were killed by fire, and their girls died before they were old enough to sing their wedding songs.


book: Ps
contenido:
and from following the ewes with lambs; God presented David to his people as their shepherd, and he cared for them with a true heart and skillful hands.


book: Ps
contenido:
O God, your land has been conquered by the heathen nations. Your Temple is defiled, and Jerusalem is a heap of ruins.


book: Ps
contenido:
The enemy has butchered the entire population of Jerusalem; blood has flowed like water. No one is left even to bury them.


book: Ps
contenido:
O Jehovah, how long will you be angry with us? Forever? Will your jealousy burn till every hope is gone?


book: Ps
contenido:
Pour out your wrath upon the godless nations—not on us—on kingdoms that refuse to pray, that will not call upon your name!


book: Ps
contenido:
Oh, do not hold us guilty for our former sins! Let your tenderhearted mercies meet our needs, for we are brought low to the dust.


book: Ps
contenido:
Help us, God of our salvation! Help us for the honor of your name. Oh, save us and forgive our sins.


book: Ps
contenido:
Why should the heathen nations be allowed to scoff, “Where is their God?” Publicly avenge this slaughter of your people!


book: Ps
contenido:
Listen to the sighing of the prisoners and those condemned to die. Demonstrate the greatness of your power by saving them.


book: Ps
contenido:
Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will thank you forever and forever, praising your greatness from generation to generation.


book: Ps
contenido:
O Shepherd of Israel who leads Israel like a flock; O God enthroned above the Guardian Angels, bend down your ear and listen as I plead. Display your power and radiant glory.


book: Ps
contenido:
Turn us again to yourself, O God of Hosts. Look down on us in joy and love; only then shall we be saved.


book: Ps
contenido:
You brought us from Egypt as though we were a tender vine and drove away the heathen from your land and planted us.


book: Ps
contenido:
Come back, we beg of you, O God of the armies of heaven, and bless us. Look down from heaven and see our plight and care for this your vine!


book: Ps
contenido:
Turn us again to yourself, O God of the armies of heaven. Look down on us, your face aglow with joy and love—only then shall we be saved.


book: Ps
contenido:
Sound the trumpet! Come to the joyous celebrations at full moon, new moon, and all the other holidays.


book: Ps
contenido:
He gave them as reminders of his war against Egypt where we were slaves on foreign soil.
I heard an unknown voice that said,


book: Ps
contenido:
He said, “You cried to me in trouble, and I saved you; I answered from Mount Sinai where the thunder hides. I tested your faith at Meribah, when you complained there was no water.


book: Ps
contenido:
For it was I, Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. Only test me! Open your mouth wide and see if I won’t fill it. You will receive every blessing you can use!


book: Ps
contenido:
How long will you judges refuse to listen to the evidence? How long will you shower special favors on the wicked?


book: Ps
contenido:
But you are so foolish and so ignorant! Because you are in darkness, all the foundations of society are shaken to the core.


book: Ps
contenido:
Don’t you hear the tumult and commotion of your enemies? Don’t you see what they are doing, these proud men who hate the Lord?


book: Ps
contenido:
“Come,” they say, “and let us wipe out Israel as a nation—we will destroy the very memory of her existence.”


book: Ps
contenido:
This was their unanimous decision at their summit conference—they signed a treaty to ally themselves against Almighty God—


book: Ps
contenido:
Make their mighty nobles die as Oreb did, and Zeeb; let all their princes die like Zebah and Zalmunna,*


book: Ps
contenido:
until they learn that you alone, Jehovah, are the God above all gods in supreme charge of all the earth.


book: Ps
contenido:
Even the sparrows and swallows are welcome to come and nest among your altars and there have their young, O Lord of heaven’s armies, my King and my God!


book: Ps
contenido:
When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of springs where pools of blessing and refreshment collect after rains!


book: Ps
contenido:
A single day spent in your Temple is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a doorman of the Temple of my God than live in palaces of wickedness.


book: Ps
contenido:
For Jehovah God is our Light and our Protector. He gives us grace and glory. No good thing will he withhold from those who walk along his paths.


book: Ps
contenido:
I am listening carefully to all the Lord is saying—for he speaks peace to his people, his saints, if they will only stop their sinning.


book: Ps
contenido:
Protect me from death, for I try to follow all your laws. Save me, for I am serving you and trusting you.


book: Ps
contenido:
All the nations—and you made each one—will come and bow before you, Lord, and praise your great and holy name.


book: Ps
contenido:
Tell me where you want me to go and I will go there. May every fiber of my being unite in reverence to your name.


book: Ps
contenido:
But you are merciful and gentle, Lord, slow in getting angry, full of constant loving-kindness and of truth;


book: Ps
contenido:
Send me a sign of your favor. When those who hate me see it, they will lose face because you help and comfort me.


book: Ps
contenido:
Nowadays when I mention among my friends the names of Egypt and Babylonia, Philistia and Tyre, or even distant Ethiopia, someone boasts that he was born in one or another of those countries.


book: Ps
contenido:
But someday the highest honor will be to be a native of Jerusalem! For the God above all gods will personally bless this city.


book: Ps
contenido:
When he registers her citizens, he will place a check mark beside the names of those who were born here.


book: Ps
contenido:
My eyes grow dim with weeping. Each day I beg your help; O Lord, I reach my pleading hands to you for mercy.


book: Ps
contenido:
Soon it will be too late! Of what use are your miracles when I am in the grave? How can I praise you then?


book: Ps
contenido:
Can the darkness speak of your miracles? Can anyone in the Land of Forgetfulness talk about your help?


book: Ps
contenido:
O Jehovah, why have you thrown my life away? Why are you turning your face from me and looking the other way?


book: Ps
contenido:
Forever and ever I will sing about the tender kindness of the Lord! Young and old shall hear about your blessings.


book: Ps
contenido:
The Lord God says, “I have made a solemn agreement with my chosen servant David. I have taken an oath to establish his descendants as kings forever on his throne, from now until eternity!”


book: Ps
contenido:
All heaven shall praise your miracles, O Lord; myriads of angels will praise you for your faithfulness.


book: Ps
contenido:
The highest of angelic powers stand in dread and awe of him. Who is as revered as he by those surrounding him?


book: Ps
contenido:
O Jehovah, Commander of the heavenly armies, where is there any other Mighty One like you? Faithfulness is your very character.


book: Ps
contenido:
You created north and south! Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon rejoice to be signed by your name as their maker!


book: Ps
contenido:
Your throne is founded on two strong pillars—the one is Justice and the other Righteousness. Mercy and Truth walk before you as your attendants. Blessed are those who hear the joyful blast of the trumpet, for they shall walk in the light of your presence.


book: Ps
contenido:
In a vision you spoke to your prophet and said, “I have chosen a splendid young man from the common people to be the king—


book: Ps
contenido:
I will protect and bless him constantly and surround him with my love; he will be great because of me.


book: Ps
contenido:
For I have sworn to David (and a holy God can never lie) that his dynasty will go on forever, and his throne will continue to the end of time.


book: Ps
contenido:
O Jehovah, how long will this go on? Will you hide yourself from me forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire?


book: Ps
contenido:
Oh, remember how short you have made man’s lifespan. Is it an empty, futile life you give the sons of men?


book: Ps
contenido:
Lord, where is the love you used to have for me? Where is your kindness that you promised to David with a faithful pledge?


book: Ps
contenido:
Before the mountains were created, before the earth was formed, you are God without beginning or end.


book: Ps
contenido:
We glide along the tides of time as swiftly as a racing river and vanish as quickly as a dream. We are like grass that is green in the morning but mowed down and withered before the evening shadows fall.


book: Ps
contenido:
No wonder the years are long and heavy here beneath your wrath. All our days are filled with sighing.


book: Ps
contenido:
Seventy years are given us! And some may even live to eighty. But even the best of these years are often empty and filled with pain; soon they disappear, and we are gone.


book: Ps
contenido:
Satisfy us in our earliest youth with your loving-kindness, giving us constant joy to the end of our lives.


book: Ps
contenido:
This I declare, that he alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I am trusting him.


book: Ps
contenido:
Though a thousand fall at my side, though ten thousand are dying around me, the evil will not touch me.


book: Ps
contenido:
For the Lord says, “Because he loves me, I will rescue him; I will make him great because he trusts in my name.


book: Ps
contenido:
A song to sing on the Lord’s Day.
It is good to say thank you to the Lord, to sing praises to the God who is above all gods.


book: Ps
contenido:
Every morning tell him, “Thank you for your kindness,” and every evening rejoice in all his faithfulness.


book: Ps
contenido:
This honors the Lord and exhibits his faithful care. He is my shelter. There is nothing but goodness in him!


book: Ps
contenido:
Lord God, to whom vengeance belongs, let your glory shine out. Arise and judge the earth; sentence the proud to the penalties they deserve.


book: Ps
contenido:
They murder widows, immigrants, and orphans, for “The Lord isn’t looking,” they say, “and besides, he doesn’t care.”


book: Ps
contenido:
He punishes the nations—won’t he also punish you? He knows everything—doesn’t he also know what you are doing?


book: Ps
contenido:
so he helps us by punishing us. This makes us follow his paths and gives us respite from our enemies while God traps them and destroys them.


book: Ps
contenido:
Lord, when doubts fill my mind, when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer.


book: Ps
contenido:
Will you permit a corrupt government to rule under your protection—a government permitting wrong to defeat right?


book: Ps
contenido:
Do you approve of those who condemn the innocent to death? No! The Lord my God is my fortress—the mighty Rock where I can hide.


book: Ps
contenido:
God has made the sins of evil men to boomerang upon them! He will destroy them by their own plans. Jehovah our God will cut them off.


book: Ps
contenido:
for he is our God. We are his sheep, and he is our Shepherd. Oh, that you would hear him calling you today and come to him!


book: Ps
contenido:
For there your fathers doubted me, though they had seen so many of my miracles before. My patience was severely tried by their complaints.


book: Ps
contenido:
“For forty years I watched them in disgust,” the Lord God says. “They were a nation whose thoughts and heart were far away from me. They refused to accept my laws.


book: Ps
contenido:
Therefore, in mighty wrath I swore that they would never enter the Promised Land, the place of rest I planned for them.”


book: Ps
contenido:
For the Lord is great beyond description and greatly to be praised. Worship only him among the gods!


book: Ps
contenido:
Tell the nations that Jehovah reigns! He rules the world. His power can never be overthrown. He will judge all nations fairly.


book: Ps
contenido:
Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice; let the vastness of the roaring seas demonstrate his glory.


book: Ps
contenido:
Praise him for the growing fields, for they display his greatness. Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise.


book: Ps
contenido:
Let those who worship idols be disgraced—all who brag about their worthless gods—for every god must bow to him!


book: Ps
contenido:
Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah have heard of your justice, Lord, and are glad that you reign in majesty over the entire earth and are far greater than these other gods.


book: Ps
contenido:
The Lord loves those who hate evil; he protects the lives of his people and rescues them from the wicked.


book: Ps
contenido:
Sing a new song to the Lord telling about his mighty deeds! For he has won a mighty victory by his power and holiness.


book: Ps
contenido:
He has announced this victory and revealed it to every nation by fulfilling his promise to be kind to Israel. The whole earth has seen God’s salvation of his people.


book: Ps
contenido:
Let the sea in all its vastness roar with praise! Let the earth and all those living on it shout, “Glory to the Lord.”


book: Ps
contenido:
Let the waves clap their hands in glee and the hills sing out their songs of joy before the Lord, for he is coming to judge the world with perfect justice.


book: Ps
contenido:
Jehovah is King! Let the nations tremble! He is enthroned between the Guardian Angels. Let the whole earth shake.


book: Ps
contenido:
This mighty King is determined to give justice. Fairness is the touchstone of everything he does. He gives justice throughout Israel.


book: Ps
contenido:
O Jehovah our God! You answered them and forgave their sins, yet punished them when they went wrong.


book: Ps
contenido:
Try to realize what this means—the Lord is God! He made us—we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.


book: Ps
contenido:
Go through his open gates with great thanksgiving; enter his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name.


book: Ps
contenido:
For the Lord is always good. He is always loving and kind, and his faithfulness goes on and on to each succeeding generation.


book: Ps
contenido:
I will try to walk a blameless path, but how I need your help, especially in my own home, where I long to act as I should.


book: Ps
contenido:
Help me to refuse the low and vulgar things; help me to abhor all crooked deals of every kind, to have no part in them.


book: Ps
contenido:
I will not tolerate anyone who secretly slanders his neighbors; I will not permit conceit and pride.


book: Ps
contenido:
I will make the godly of the land my heroes and invite them to my home. Only those who are truly good shall be my servants.


book: Ps
contenido:
for my days disappear like smoke. My health is broken, and my heart is sick; it is trampled like grass and is withered. My food is tasteless, and I have lost my appetite.


book: Ps
contenido:
I eat ashes instead of bread. My tears run down into my drink because of your anger against me, because of your wrath. For you have rejected me and thrown me out.


book: Ps
contenido:
I know that you will come and have mercy on Jerusalem—and now is the time to pity her—the time you promised help.


book: Ps
contenido:
For your people love every stone in her walls and feel sympathy for every grain of dust in her streets.


book: Ps
contenido:
I am recording this so that future generations will also praise the Lord for all that he has done. And a people that shall be created shall praise the Lord.


book: Ps
contenido:
so that multitudes would stream to the Temple in Jerusalem to praise him, and his praises were sung throughout the city; and many rulers throughout the earth came to worship him.


book: Ps
contenido:
But I cried to him, “O God, you live forever and forever! Don’t let me die halfway through my years!


book: Ps
contenido:
They shall perish, but you go on forever. They will grow old like worn-out clothing, and you will change them like a man putting on a new shirt and throwing away the old one!


book: Ps
contenido:
He is merciful and tender toward those who don’t deserve it; he is slow to get angry and full of kindness and love.


book: Ps
contenido:
for his mercy toward those who fear and honor him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.


book: Ps
contenido:
But the loving-kindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting to those who reverence him; his salvation is to children’s children of those who are faithful to his covenant and remember to obey him!


book: Ps
contenido:
Bless the Lord, you mighty angels of his who carry out his orders, listening for each of his commands.


book: Ps
contenido:
I bless the Lord: O Lord my God, how great you are! You are robed with honor and with majesty and light! You stretched out the starry curtain of the heavens,


book: Ps
contenido:
and hollowed out the surface of the earth to form the seas. The clouds are his chariots. He rides upon the wings of the wind.


book: Ps
contenido:
You spoke, and at the sound of your shout the water collected into its vast ocean beds, and mountains rose and valleys sank to the levels you decreed.


book: Ps
contenido:
The tender grass grows up at his command to feed the cattle, and there are fruit trees, vegetables, and grain for man to cultivate,


book: Ps
contenido:
High in the mountains are pastures for the wild goats, and rock badgers burrow in among the rocks and find protection there.


book: Ps
contenido:
O Lord, what a variety you have made! And in wisdom you have made them all! The earth is full of your riches.


book: Ps
contenido:
You supply it, and they gather it. You open wide your hand to feed them, and they are satisfied with all your bountiful provision.


book: Ps
contenido:
But if you turn away from them, then all is lost. And when you gather up their breath, they die and turn again to dust.


book: Ps
contenido:
Think of the mighty deeds he did for us, his chosen ones—descendants of God’s servant Abraham, and of Jacob. Remember how he destroyed our enemies.


book: Ps
contenido:
Though a thousand generations pass he never forgets his promise, his covenant with Abraham and Isaac


book: Ps
contenido:
and confirmed with Jacob. This is his never-ending treaty with the people of Israel: “I will give you the land of Canaan as your inheritance.”


book: Ps
contenido:
but through it all he would not let one thing be done to them apart from his decision. He destroyed many a king who tried!


book: Ps
contenido:
In the years that followed, the people of Israel multiplied explosively until they were a greater nation than their rulers.


book: Ps
contenido:
When Moses spoke, the flies and other insects swarmed in vast clouds from one end of Egypt to the other.


book: Ps
contenido:
and brought his people safely out from Egypt, loaded with silver and gold; there were no sick and feeble folk among them then.


book: Ps
contenido:
He spread out a cloud above them to shield them from the burning sun and gave them a pillar of flame at night to give them light.


book: Ps
contenido:
He gave them the lands of the Gentiles, complete with their growing crops; they ate what others planted.


book: Ps
contenido:
Let me share in your chosen ones’ prosperity and rejoice in all their joys, and receive the glory you give to them.


book: Ps
contenido:
They weren’t impressed by the wonder of your miracles in Egypt and soon forgot your many acts of kindness to them. Instead they rebelled against you at the Red Sea.


book: Ps
contenido:
Even so you saved them—to defend the honor of your name and demonstrate your power to all the world.


book: Ps
contenido:
You commanded the Red Sea to divide, forming a dry road across its bottom. Yes, as dry as any desert!


book: Ps
contenido:
So the Lord declared he would destroy them. But Moses, his chosen one, stepped into the breach between the people and their God and begged him to turn from his wrath and not destroy them.


book: Ps
contenido:
They refused to enter the Promised Land, for they wouldn’t believe his solemn oath to care for them.


book: Ps
contenido:
They even sacrificed their little children to the demons—the idols of Canaan—shedding innocent blood and polluting the land with murder.


book: Ps
contenido:
That is why he let the heathen nations crush them. They were ruled by those who hated them and oppressed by their enemies.


book: Ps
contenido:
Again and again he delivered them from their slavery, but they continued to rebel against him and were finally destroyed by their sin.


book: Ps
contenido:
O Lord God, save us! Regather us from the nations so we can thank your holy name and rejoice and praise you.


book: Ps
contenido:
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen!” Hallelujah!


book: Ps
contenido:
Oh, that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness, and for all of his wonderful deeds!


book: Ps
contenido:
Oh, that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness and for all of his wonderful deeds!


book: Ps
contenido:
For your loving-kindness is great beyond measure, high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches the skies.


book: Ps
contenido:
God has given sacred promises; no wonder I exult! He has promised to give us all the land of Shechem and also Succoth Valley.


book: Ps
contenido:
“Gilead is mine to give to you,” he says, “and Manasseh as well; the land of Ephraim is the helmet on my head. Judah is my scepter.


book: Ps
contenido:
May his children become fatherless and his wife a widow; may they be evicted from the ruins of their home.


book: Ps
contenido:
Let no one be kind to him; let no one pity his fatherless children. May they die. May his family name be blotted out in a single generation.


book: Ps
contenido:
For he refused all kindness to others, and persecuted those in need, and hounded brokenhearted ones to death.


book: Ps
contenido:
Cursing is as much a part of him as his clothing, or as the water he drinks, or the rich food he eats.


book: Ps
contenido:
But as for me, O Lord, deal with me as your child, as one who bears your name! Because you are so kind, O Lord, deliver me.


book: Ps
contenido:
I am slipping down the hill to death; I am shaken off from life as easily as a man brushes a grasshopper from his arm.


book: Ps
contenido:
Then let them curse me if they like—I won’t mind that if you are blessing me! For then all their efforts to destroy me will fail, and I shall go right on rejoicing!


book: Ps
contenido:
Jehovah said to my Lord the Messiah, “Rule as my regent—I will subdue your enemies and make them bow low before you.”


book: Ps
contenido:
In that day of your power your people shall come to you willingly, dressed in holy altar robes. And your strength shall be renewed day by day like morning dew.


book: Ps
contenido:
Hallelujah! I want to express publicly before his people my heartfelt thanks to God for his mighty miracles. All who are thankful should ponder them with me.


book: Ps
contenido:
He has shown his great power to his people by giving them the land of Israel, though it was the home of many nations living there.


book: Ps
contenido:
He has paid a full ransom for his people; now they are always free to come to Jehovah (what a holy, awe-inspiring name that is).


book: Ps
contenido:
How can men be wise? The only way to begin is by reverence for God. For growth in wisdom comes from obeying his laws. Praise his name forever.


book: Ps
contenido:
Praise the Lord! For all who fear God and trust in him are blessed beyond expression. Yes, happy is the man who delights in doing his commands.


book: Ps
contenido:
Such a man will not be overthrown by evil circumstances. God’s constant care of him will make a deep impression on all who see it.


book: Ps
contenido:
He does not fear bad news, nor live in dread of what may happen. For he is settled in his mind that Jehovah will take care of him.


book: Ps
contenido:
He gives generously to those in need. His deeds will never be forgotten. He shall have influence and honor.


book: Ps
contenido:
Evil-minded men will be infuriated when they see all this; they will gnash their teeth in anger and slink away, their hopes thwarted.


book: Ps
contenido:
He gives children to the childless wife, so that she becomes a happy mother.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord.


book: Ps
contenido:
The Red Sea saw them coming and quickly broke apart before them. The Jordan River opened up a path for them to cross.


book: Ps
contenido:
What’s wrong, Red Sea, that made you cut yourself in two? What happened, Jordan River, to your waters? Why were they held back?


book: Ps
contenido:
Jehovah is constantly thinking about us, and he will surely bless us. He will bless the people of Israel and the priests of Aaron,


book: Ps
contenido:
Here in the courts of the Temple in Jerusalem, before all the people, I will pay everything I vowed to the Lord. Praise the Lord.


book: Ps
contenido:
They swarm around me like bees; they blaze against me like a roaring flame. Yet beneath his flag I shall destroy them.


book: Ps
contenido:
Songs of joy at the news of our rescue are sung in the homes of the godly. The strong arm of the Lord has done glorious things!


book: Ps
contenido:
Jehovah God is our light. I present to him my sacrifice upon the altar, for you are my God, and I shall give you this thanks and this praise.


book: Ps
contenido:
I have thought much about your words and stored them in my heart so that they would hold me back from sin.


book: Ps
contenido:
Keep me far from every wrong; help me, undeserving as I am, to obey your laws, for I have chosen to do right.


book: Ps
contenido:
I cling to your commands and follow them as closely as I can. Lord, don’t let me make a mess of things.


book: Ps
contenido:
I long to obey them! Therefore in fairness renew my life, for this was your promise—yes, Lord, to save me! Now spare me by your kindness and your love. Then I will have an answer for those who taunt me, for I trust your promises.


book: Ps
contenido:
Therefore I will keep on obeying you forever and forever, free within the limits of your laws. I will speak to kings about their value, and they will listen with interest and respect.


book: Ps
contenido:
Never forget your promises to me your servant, for they are my only hope. They give me strength in all my troubles; how they refresh and revive me!


book: Ps
contenido:
For these laws of yours have been my source of joy and singing through all these years of my earthly pilgrimage.


book: Ps
contenido:
I thought about the wrong direction in which I was headed, and turned around and came running back to you.


book: Ps
contenido:
The punishment you gave me was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws. They are more valuable to me than millions in silver and gold!


book: Ps
contenido:
I know, O Lord, that your decisions are right and that your punishment was right and did me good. Now let your loving-kindness comfort me, just as you promised. Surround me with your tender mercies that I may live. For your law is my delight.


book: Ps
contenido:
Let the proud be disgraced, for they have cut me down with all their lies. But I will concentrate my thoughts upon your laws.


book: Ps
contenido:
I am shriveled like a wineskin in the smoke, exhausted with waiting. But still I cling to your laws and obey them.


book: Ps
contenido:
These proud men who hate your truth and laws have dug deep pits for me to fall in. Their lies have brought me into deep trouble. Help me, for you love only truth.


book: Ps
contenido:
Your faithfulness extends to every generation, like the earth you created; it endures by your decree, for everything serves your plans.


book: Ps
contenido:
And since only your rules can give me wisdom and understanding, no wonder I hate every false teaching.


book: Ps
contenido:
I am close to death at the hands of my enemies; oh, give me back my life again, just as you promised me.


book: Ps
contenido:
Lord, see how much I really love your demands. Now give me back my life and health because you are so kind.


book: Ps
contenido:
I have wandered away like a lost sheep; come and find me, for I have not turned away from your commandments.


book: Ps
contenido:
My troubles pile high among these haters of the Lord, these men of Meshech and Kedar. I am tired of being here among these men who hate peace.


book: Ps
contenido:
Look! There are the judges holding court beside the city gates, deciding all the people’s arguments.


book: Ps
contenido:
We look to Jehovah our God for his mercy and kindness just as a servant keeps his eyes upon his master or a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.


book: Ps
contenido:
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy. For we have had our fill of contempt and of the scoffing of the rich and proud.


book: Ps
contenido:
If the Lord had not been on our side (let all Israel admit it), if the Lord had not been on our side,


book: Ps
contenido:
We have escaped with our lives as a bird from a hunter’s snare. The snare is broken and we are free!


book: Ps
contenido:
Just as the mountains surround and protect Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds and protects his people.


book: Ps
contenido:
How we laughed and sang for joy. And the other nations said, “What amazing things the Lord has done for them.”


book: Ps
contenido:
Unless the Lord builds a house, the builders’ work is useless. Unless the Lord protects a city, sentries do no good.


book: Ps
contenido:
It is senseless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, fearing you will starve to death; for God wants his loved ones to get their proper rest.


book: Ps
contenido:
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them. That man shall have the help he needs when arguing with his enemies.


book: Ps
contenido:
Your wife shall be contented in your home. And look at all those children! There they sit around the dinner table as vigorous and healthy as young olive trees.


book: Ps
contenido:
and faced with never-ending discrimination—but not destroyed! My enemies have never been able to finish me off!


book: Ps
contenido:
Though my back is cut to ribbons with their whips, the Lord is good. For he has snapped the chains that evil men had bound me with.


book: Ps
contenido:
May they be as grass in shallow soil, turning sere and yellow when half grown, ignored by the reaper, despised by the binder.


book: Ps
contenido:
And may those passing by refuse to bless them by saying, “Jehovah’s blessings be upon you; we bless you in Jehovah’s name.”


book: Ps
contenido:
Lord, if you keep in mind our sins, then who can ever get an answer to his prayers? But you forgive! What an awesome thing this is!


book: Ps
contenido:
Lord, I am not proud and haughty. I don’t think myself better than others. I don’t pretend to “know it all.”


book: Ps
contenido:
I am quiet now before the Lord, just as a child who is weaned from the breast. Yes, my begging has been stilled.


book: Ps
contenido:
I couldn’t rest, I couldn’t sleep, thinking how I ought to build a permanent home for the Ark of the Lord, a Temple for the Mighty One of Israel. Then I vowed that I would do it; I made a solemn promise to the Lord.


book: Ps
contenido:
But now it will be settled in the Temple, in God’s permanent home here on earth. That is where we will go to worship him.


book: Ps
contenido:
For you promised me that my son would sit on my throne and succeed me. And surely you will never go back on a promise!


book: Ps
contenido:
You also promised that if my descendants will obey the terms of your contract with me, then the dynasty of David shall never end.


book: Ps
contenido:
For harmony is as precious as the fragrant anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head and ran down onto his beard and onto the border of his robe.


book: Ps
contenido:
Harmony is as refreshing as the dew on Mount Hermon, on the mountains of Israel. And God has pronounced this eternal blessing on Jerusalem, even life forevermore.


book: Ps
contenido:
He makes mists rise throughout the earth; he sends the lightning to bring down the rain and sends the winds from his treasuries.


book: Ps
contenido:
O Levite priests, bless the Lord Jehovah! Oh, bless his name, all of you who trust and reverence him.


book: Ps
contenido:
Praise the God who smote the firstborn of Egypt, for his loving-kindness to Israel continues forever.


book: Ps
contenido:
He brought them out with mighty power and upraised fist to strike their enemies, for his loving-kindness to Israel* continues forever.


book: Ps
contenido:
Praise the Lord who opened the Red Sea to make a path before them, for his loving-kindness continues forever,


book: Ps
contenido:
Praise him who saved his people from the power of mighty kings, for his loving-kindness continues forever,


book: Ps
contenido:
and killed famous kings who were their enemies, for his loving-kindness to Israel* continues forever:


book: Ps
contenido:
God gave the land of these kings to Israel as a gift forever, for his loving-kindness to Israel* continues forever;


book: Ps
contenido:
for how can we sing? Yet our captors, our tormentors, demand that we sing for them the happy songs of Zion!


book: Ps
contenido:
If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill upon the harp. If I fail to love her more than my highest joy, let me never sing again.


book: Ps
contenido:
O Jehovah, do not forget what these Edomites did on that day when the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem. “Raze her to the ground!” they yelled.


book: Ps
contenido:
O Babylon, evil beast, you shall be destroyed. Blessed is the man who destroys you as you have destroyed us.


book: Ps
contenido:
I face your Temple as I worship, giving thanks to you for all your loving-kindness and your faithfulness, for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.


book: Ps
contenido:
Though I am surrounded by troubles, you will bring me safely through them. You will clench your fist against my angry enemies! Your power will save me.


book: Ps
contenido:
The Lord will work out his plans for my life—for your loving-kindness, Lord, continues forever. Don’t abandon me—for you made me.


book: Ps
contenido:
You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am.


book: Ps
contenido:
For even darkness cannot hide from God; to you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are both alike to you.


book: Ps
contenido:
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it.


book: Ps
contenido:
You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book!


book: Ps
contenido:
How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly! I can’t even count how many times a day your thoughts turn toward me. And when I waken in the morning, you are still thinking of me!


book: Ps
contenido:
Point out anything you find in me that makes you sad, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.


book: Ps
contenido:
These proud men have set a trap to catch me, a noose to yank me up and leave me dangling in the air; they wait in ambush with a net to throw over and hold me helpless in its meshes.


book: Ps
contenido:
O Jehovah, my Lord and Savior, my God and my shield—hear me as I pray! Don’t let these wicked men succeed; don’t let them prosper and be proud.


book: Ps
contenido:
Let burning coals fall down upon their heads, or throw them into the fire or into deep pits from which they can’t escape.


book: Ps
contenido:
Take away my lust for evil things; don’t let me want to be with sinners, doing what they do, sharing their delicacies.


book: Ps
contenido:
Let the godly smite me! It will be a kindness! If they reprove me, it is medicine! Don’t let me refuse it. But I am in constant prayer against the wicked and their deeds.


book: Ps
contenido:
When their leaders are condemned, and their bones are strewn across the ground, then these men will finally listen to me and know that I am trying to help them.


book: Ps
contenido:
For I am overwhelmed and desperate, and you alone know which way I ought to turn to miss the traps my enemies have set for me.


book: Ps
contenido:
(There’s one—just over there to the right!) No one gives me a passing thought. No one will help me; no one cares a bit what happens to me.


book: Ps
contenido:
Then I prayed to Jehovah. “Lord,” I pled, “you are my only place of refuge. Only you can keep me safe.


book: Ps
contenido:
My enemies chased and caught me. They have knocked me to the ground. They force me to live in the darkness like those in the grave.


book: Ps
contenido:
Come quickly, Lord, and answer me, for my depression deepens; don’t turn away from me or I shall die.


book: Ps
contenido:
Let me see your kindness to me in the morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for my prayer is sincere.


book: Ps
contenido:
Lord, saving me will bring glory to your name. Bring me out of all this trouble because you are true to your promises.


book: Ps
contenido:
And because you are loving and kind to me, cut off all my enemies and destroy those who are trying to harm me; for I am your servant.


book: Ps
contenido:
He is always kind and loving to me; he is my fortress, my tower of strength and safety, my deliverer. He stands before me as a shield. He subdues my people under me.


book: Ps
contenido:
For you grant victory to kings! You are the one who will rescue your servant David from the fatal sword.


book: Ps
contenido:
Here is my description of a truly happy land where Jehovah is God:
Sons vigorous and tall as growing plants.
Daughters of graceful beauty like the pillars of a palace wall.
Barns full to the brim with crops of every kind.
Sheep by the thousands out in our fields.
Oxen loaded down with produce.
No enemy attacking the walls, but peace everywhere.
No crime in our streets.
Yes, happy are those whose God is Jehovah.


book: Ps
contenido:
He fulfills the desires of those who reverence and trust him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them.


book: Ps
contenido:
for every man must die. His breathing stops, life ends, and in a moment all he planned for himself is ended.


book: Ps
contenido:
the God who made both earth and heaven, the seas and everything in them. He is the God who keeps every promise,


book: Ps
contenido:
and opens the eyes of the blind; he lifts the burdens from those bent down beneath their loads. For the Lord loves good men.


book: Ps
contenido:
He protects the immigrants and cares for the orphans and widows. But he turns topsy-turvy the plans of the wicked.


book: Ps
contenido:
The Lord will reign forever. O Jerusalem, your God is King in every generation! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!


book: Ps
contenido:
Hallelujah! Yes, praise the Lord! How good it is to sing his praises! How delightful, and how right!


book: Ps
contenido:
He covers the heavens with clouds, sends down the showers, and makes the green grass grow in mountain pastures.


book: Ps
contenido:
something he has not done with any other nation; they have not known his commands.
Hallelujah! Yes, praise the Lord!


book: Ps
contenido:
all praise the Lord together. For he alone is worthy. His glory is far greater than all of earth and heaven.


book: Ps
contenido:
He has made his people strong, honoring his godly ones—the people of Israel, the people closest to him.
Hallelujah! Yes, praise the Lord!


book: Ps
contenido:
For Jehovah enjoys his people; he will save the humble. Let his people rejoice in this honor. Let them sing for joy as they lie upon their beds.


book: Ps
contenido:
Hallelujah! Yes, praise the Lord!
Praise him in his Temple and in the heavens he made with mighty power.


book: Prov
contenido:
“I want to make the simpleminded wise!” he said. “I want to warn young men about some problems they will face.


book: Prov
contenido:
I want those already wise to become wiser and become leaders by exploring the depths of meaning in these nuggets of truth.”


book: Prov
contenido:
How does a man become wise? The first step is to trust and reverence the Lord!
Only fools refuse to be taught. Listen to your father and mother. What you learn from them will stand you in good stead; it will gain you many honors.


book: Prov
contenido:
She calls out to the crowds along Main Street, and to the judges in their courts, and to everyone in all the land:


book: Prov
contenido:
“You simpletons!” she cries. “How long will you go on being fools? How long will you scoff at wisdom and fight the facts?


book: Prov
contenido:
then I will not answer your cry for help. It will be too late though you search for me ever so anxiously.


book: Prov
contenido:
That is why you must eat the bitter fruit of having your own way and experience the full terrors of the pathway you have chosen.


book: Prov
contenido:
Yes, if you want better insight and discernment, and are searching for them as you would for lost money or hidden treasure, then wisdom will be given you and knowledge of God himself; you will soon learn the importance of reverence for the Lord and of trusting him.


book: Prov
contenido:
He grants good sense to the godly—his saints. He is their shield, protecting them and guarding their pathway.


book: Prov
contenido:
You will be given the sense to stay away from evil men who want you to be their partners in crime—men who turn from God’s ways to walk down dark and evil paths


book: Prov
contenido:
Only wisdom from the Lord can save a man from the flattery of prostitutes; these girls have abandoned their husbands and flouted the laws of God.


book: Prov
contenido:
My son, never forget the things I’ve taught you. If you want a long and satisfying life, closely follow my instructions.


book: Prov
contenido:
If you want favor with both God and man, and a reputation for good judgment and common sense, then trust the Lord completely; don’t ever trust yourself.


book: Prov
contenido:
Don’t be conceited, sure of your own wisdom. Instead, trust and reverence the Lord, and turn your back on evil; when you do that, then you will be given renewed health and vitality.


book: Prov
contenido:
Honor the Lord by giving him the first part of all your income, and he will fill your barns with wheat and barley and overflow your wine vats with the finest wines.


book: Prov
contenido:
Young man, do not resent it when God chastens and corrects you, for his punishment is proof of his love. Just as a father punishes a son he delights in to make him better, so the Lord corrects you.


book: Prov
contenido:
The man who knows right from wrong and has good judgment and common sense is happier than the man who is immensely rich! For such wisdom is far more valuable than precious jewels. Nothing else compares with it.


book: Prov
contenido:
With them on guard you can sleep without fear; you need not be afraid of disaster or the plots of wicked men, for the Lord is with you; he protects you.


book: Prov
contenido:
Young men, listen to me as you would to your father. Listen, and grow wise, for I speak the truth—don’t turn away.


book: Prov
contenido:
For I, too, was once a son, tenderly loved by my mother as an only child, and the companion of my father.


book: Prov
contenido:
He told me never to forget his words. “If you follow them,” he said, “you will have a long and happy life.


book: Prov
contenido:
Learn to be wise,” he said, “and develop good judgment and common sense! I cannot overemphasize this point.”


book: Prov
contenido:
Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do! And with your wisdom, develop common sense and good judgment.


book: Prov
contenido:
If you exalt wisdom, she will exalt you. Hold her fast, and she will lead you to great honor; she will place a beautiful crown upon your head.


book: Prov
contenido:
for evil men can’t sleep until they’ve done their evil deed for the day. They can’t rest unless they cause someone to stumble and fall.


book: Prov
contenido:
But the good man walks along in the ever-brightening light of God’s favor; the dawn gives way to morning splendor,


book: Prov
contenido:
For she does not know the path to life. She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn’t even realize where it leads.


book: Prov
contenido:
lest you fall to her temptation and lose your honor, and give the remainder of your life to the cruel and merciless;


book: Prov
contenido:
He shall die because he will not listen to the truth; he has let himself be led away into incredible folly.


book: Prov
contenido:
Son, if you endorse a note for someone you hardly know, guaranteeing his debt, you are in serious trouble.


book: Prov
contenido:
Quick! Get out of it if you possibly can! Swallow your pride; don’t let embarrassment stand in the way. Go and beg to have your name erased.


book: Prov
contenido:
If you can get out of this trap you have saved yourself like a deer that escapes from a hunter or a bird from the net.


book: Prov
contenido:
And as you sleep, poverty creeps upon you like a robber and destroys you; want attacks you in full armor.


book: Prov
contenido:
Let me describe for you a worthless and a wicked man; first, he is a constant liar; he signals his true intentions to his friends with eyes and feet and fingers.


book: Prov
contenido:
For there are six things the Lord hates—no, seven: haughtiness, lying, murdering, plotting evil, eagerness to do wrong, a false witness, sowing discord among brothers.


book: Prov
contenido:
Every day and all night long their counsel will lead you and save you from harm; when you wake up in the morning, let their instructions guide you into the new day.


book: Prov
contenido:
For their advice is a beam of light directed into the dark corners of your mind to warn you of danger and to give you a good life.


book: Prov
contenido:
Their counsel will keep you far away from prostitutes, with all their flatteries, and unfaithful wives of other men.


book: Prov
contenido:
So it is with the man who commits adultery with another’s wife. He shall not go unpunished for this sin.


book: Prov
contenido:
But even so, he is fined seven times as much as he stole, though it may mean selling everything in his house to pay it back.


book: Prov
contenido:
for the woman’s husband will be furious in his jealousy, and he will have no mercy on you in his day of vengeance.


book: Prov
contenido:
She was the brash, coarse type, seen often in the streets and markets, soliciting at every corner for men to be her lovers.


book: Prov
contenido:
She put her arms around him and kissed him, and with a saucy look she said, “I was just coming to look for you and here you are!


book: Prov
contenido:
Come home with me, and I’ll fix you a wonderful dinner, and after that—well, my bed is spread with lovely, colored sheets of finest linen imported from Egypt, perfumed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.


book: Prov
contenido:
So she seduced him with her pretty speech, her coaxing and her wheedling, until he yielded to her. He couldn’t resist her flattery.


book: Prov
contenido:
waiting to be killed with an arrow through its heart. He was as a bird flying into a snare, not knowing the fate awaiting it there.


book: Prov
contenido:
don’t let your desires get out of hand; don’t let yourself think about her. Don’t go near her; stay away from where she walks, lest she tempt you and seduce you.


book: Prov
contenido:
Can’t you hear the voice of wisdom? She is standing at the city gates and at every fork in the road, and at the door of every house. Listen to what she says:


book: Prov
contenido:
“Listen, men!” she calls. “How foolish and naive you are! Let me give you understanding. O foolish ones, let me show you common sense!


book: Prov
contenido:
Listen to me! For I have important information for you. Everything I say is right and true, for I hate lies and every kind of deception.


book: Prov
contenido:
Wisdom and good judgment live together, for wisdom knows where to discover knowledge and understanding.


book: Prov
contenido:
If anyone respects and fears God, he will hate evil. For wisdom hates pride, arrogance, corruption, and deceit of every kind.


book: Prov
contenido:
“I, Wisdom, give good advice and common sense. Because of my strength, kings reign in power, and rulers make just laws.


book: Prov
contenido:
I lived before the oceans were created, before the springs bubbled forth their waters onto the earth,


book: Prov
contenido:
“I was there when he established the heavens and formed the great springs in the depths of the oceans. I was there when he set the limits of the seas and gave them his instructions not to spread beyond their boundaries. I was there when he made the blueprint for the earth and oceans.


book: Prov
contenido:
Happy is the man who is so anxious to be with me that he watches for me daily at my gates, or waits for me outside my home!


book: Prov
contenido:
But the one who misses me has injured himself irreparably. Those who refuse me show that they love death.”


book: Prov
contenido:
and sent out her maidens inviting all to come. She calls from the busiest intersections in the city,


book: Prov
contenido:
If you rebuke a mocker, you will only get a smart retort; yes, he will snarl at you. So don’t bother with him; he will only hate you for trying to help him. But a wise man, when rebuked, will love you all the more.


book: Prov
contenido:
For the reverence and fear of God are basic to all wisdom. Knowing God results in every other kind of understanding.


book: Prov
contenido:
“I, Wisdom, will make the hours of your day more profitable and the years of your life more fruitful.”


book: Prov
contenido:
The Lord will not let a good man starve to death, nor will he let the wicked man’s riches continue forever.


book: Prov
contenido:
A wise youth makes hay while the sun shines, but what a shame to see a lad who sleeps away his hour of opportunity.


book: Prov
contenido:
We all have happy memories of good men gone to their reward, but the names of wicked men stink after them.


book: Prov
contenido:
A wise man holds his tongue. Only a fool blurts out everything he knows; that only leads to sorrow and trouble.


book: Prov
contenido:
Disaster strikes like a cyclone and the wicked are whirled away. But the good man has a strong anchor.


book: Prov
contenido:
A lazy fellow is a pain to his employers—like smoke in their eyes or vinegar that sets the teeth on edge.


book: Prov
contenido:
The good influence of godly citizens causes a city to prosper, but the moral decay of the wicked drives it downhill.


book: Prov
contenido:
You can be very sure the evil man will not go unpunished forever. And you can also be very sure God will rescue the children of the godly.


book: Prov
contenido:
It is possible to give away and become richer! It is also possible to hold on too tightly and lose everything. Yes, the liberal man shall be rich! By watering others, he waters himself.


book: Prov
contenido:
People curse the man who holds his grain for higher prices, but they bless the man who sells it to them in their time of need.


book: Prov
contenido:
The fool who provokes his family to anger and resentment will finally have nothing worthwhile left. He shall be the servant of a wiser man.


book: Prov
contenido:
A worthy wife is her husband’s joy and crown; the other kind corrodes his strength and tears down everything he does.


book: Prov
contenido:
A good man is concerned for the welfare of his animals, but even the kindness of godless men is cruel.


book: Prov
contenido:
A lazy man won’t even dress the game he gets while hunting, but the diligent man makes good use of everything he finds.


book: Prov
contenido:
A man’s goodness helps him all through life, while evil men are being destroyed by their wickedness.


book: Prov
contenido:
The advice of a wise man refreshes like water from a mountain spring. Those accepting it become aware of the pitfalls on ahead.


book: Prov
contenido:
If you refuse criticism, you will end in poverty and disgrace; if you accept criticism, you are on the road to fame.


book: Prov
contenido:
It is pleasant to see plans develop. That is why fools refuse to give them up even when they are wrong.


book: Prov
contenido:
When a good man dies, he leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren; but when a sinner dies, his wealth is stored up for the godly.


book: Prov
contenido:
If you refuse to discipline your son, it proves you don’t love him; for if you love him, you will be prompt to punish him.


book: Prov
contenido:
A mocker never finds the wisdom he claims he is looking for, yet it comes easily to the man with common sense.


book: Prov
contenido:
Even his own neighbors despise the poor man, while the rich have many “friends.” But to despise the poor is to sin. Blessed are those who help them.


book: Prov
contenido:
Those who plot evil shall wander away and be lost, but those who plan good shall be granted mercy and quietness.


book: Prov
contenido:
A witness who tells the truth saves good men from being sentenced to death, but a false witness is a traitor.


book: Prov
contenido:
Wisdom is enshrined in the hearts of men of common sense, but it must shout loudly before fools will hear it.


book: Prov
contenido:
The Lord despises the deeds of the wicked but loves those who try to be good. If they stop trying, the Lord will punish them; if they rebel against that punishment, they will die.


book: Prov
contenido:
Everyone enjoys giving good advice, and how wonderful it is to be able to say the right thing at the right time!


book: Prov
contenido:
If you profit from constructive criticism, you will be elected to the wise men’s hall of fame. But to reject criticism is to harm yourself and your own best interests.


book: Prov
contenido:
It is better to be slow-tempered than famous; it is better to have self-control than to control an army.


book: Prov
contenido:
Mocking the poor is mocking the God who made them. He will punish those who rejoice at others’ misfortunes.


book: Prov
contenido:
The man of few words and settled mind is wise; therefore, even a fool is thought to be wise when he is silent. It pays him to keep his mouth shut.


book: Prov
contenido:
It is harder to win back the friendship of an offended brother than to capture a fortified city. His anger shuts you out like iron bars.


book: Prov
contenido:
There are “friends” who pretend to be friends, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.


book: Prov
contenido:
A poor man’s own brothers turn away from him in embarrassment; how much more his friends! He calls after them, but they are gone.


book: Prov
contenido:
The king’s anger is as dangerous as a lion’s. But his approval is as refreshing as the dew on grass.


book: Prov
contenido:
A short-tempered man must bear his own penalty; you can’t do much to help him. If you try once, you must try a dozen times!


book: Prov
contenido:
Punish a mocker and others will learn from his example. Reprove a wise man, and he will be the wiser.


book: Prov
contenido:
Wine gives false courage; hard liquor leads to brawls; what fools men are to let it master them, making them reel drunkenly down the street!


book: Prov
contenido:
The character of even a child can be known by the way he acts—whether what he does is pure and right.


book: Prov
contenido:
“Utterly worthless!” says the buyer as he haggles over the price. But afterwards he brags about his bargain!


book: Prov
contenido:
Some men enjoy cheating, but the cake they buy with such ill-gotten gain will turn to gravel in their mouths.


book: Prov
contenido:
Just as water is turned into irrigation ditches, so the Lord directs the king’s thoughts. He turns them wherever he wants to.


book: Prov
contenido:
God, the Righteous One, knows what is going on in the homes of the wicked and will bring the wicked to judgment.


book: Prov
contenido:
The lazy man longs for many things, but his hands refuse to work. He is greedy to get, while the godly love to give!


book: Prov
contenido:
If you must choose, take a good name rather than great riches; for to be held in loving esteem is better than silver and gold.


book: Prov
contenido:
A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.


book: Prov
contenido:
The lazy man is full of excuses. “I can’t go to work!” he says. “If I go outside, I might meet a lion in the street and be killed!”


book: Prov
contenido:
Listen to this wise advice; follow it closely, for it will do you good, and you can pass it on to others: Trust in the Lord.


book: Prov
contenido:
Don’t rob the poor and sick! For the Lord is their defender. If you injure them, he will punish you.


book: Prov
contenido:
Unless you have the extra cash on hand, don’t countersign a note. Why risk everything you own? They’ll even take your bed!


book: Prov
contenido:
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.


book: Prov
contenido:
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!


book: Prov
contenido:
Don’t associate with evil men; don’t long for their favors and gifts. Their kindness is a trick; they want to use you as their pawn. The delicious food they serve will turn sour in your stomach, and you will vomit it and have to take back your words of appreciation for their “kindness.”


book: Prov
contenido:
Don’t steal the land of defenseless orphans by moving their ancient boundary marks, for their Redeemer is strong; he himself will accuse you.


book: Prov
contenido:
Don’t fail to correct your children; discipline won’t hurt them! They won’t die if you use a stick on them! Punishment will keep them out of hell.


book: Prov
contenido:
My son, how I will rejoice if you become a man of common sense. Yes, my heart will thrill to your thoughtful, wise words.


book: Prov
contenido:
Don’t envy evil men but continue to reverence the Lord all the time, for surely you have a wonderful future ahead of you. There is hope for you yet!


book: Prov
contenido:
O my son, be wise and stay in God’s paths; don’t carouse with drunkards and gluttons, for they are on their way to poverty. And remember that too much sleep clothes a man with rags.


book: Prov
contenido:
O my son, trust my advice—stay away from prostitutes. For a prostitute is a deep and narrow grave. Like a robber, she waits for her victims as one after another become unfaithful to their wives.


book: Prov
contenido:
Whose heart is filled with anguish and sorrow? Who is always fighting and quarreling? Who is the man with bloodshot eyes and many wounds? It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new mixtures.


book: Prov
contenido:
You will see hallucinations and have delirium tremens, and you will say foolish, silly things that would embarrass you no end when sober.


book: Prov
contenido:
And afterwards you will say, “I didn’t even know it when they beat me up. . . . Let’s go and have another drink!”


book: Prov
contenido:
Any enterprise is built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts.


book: Prov
contenido:
Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; don’t stand back and let them die. Don’t try to disclaim responsibility by saying you didn’t know about it. For God, who knows all hearts, knows yours, and he knows you knew! And he will reward everyone according to his deeds.


book: Prov
contenido:
My son, honey whets the appetite and so does wisdom! When you enjoy becoming wise, there is hope for you! A bright future lies ahead!


book: Prov
contenido:
O evil man, leave the upright man alone and quit trying to cheat him out of his rights. Don’t you know that this good man, though you trip him up seven times, will each time rise again? But one calamity is enough to lay you low.


book: Prov
contenido:
Don’t envy the wicked. Don’t covet his riches. For the evil man has no future; his light will be snuffed out.


book: Prov
contenido:
My son, watch your step before the Lord and the king, and don’t associate with radicals. For you will go down with them to sudden disaster, and who knows where it all will end?


book: Prov
contenido:
Don’t testify spitefully against an innocent neighbor. Why lie about him? Don’t say, “Now I can pay him back for all his meanness to me!”


book: Prov
contenido:
I walked by the field of a certain lazy fellow and saw that it was overgrown with thorns; it was covered with weeds, and its walls were broken down.


book: Prov
contenido:
Then, as I looked, I learned this lesson:
“A little extra sleep,
A little more slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest”


book: Prov
contenido:
It is God’s privilege to conceal things, and the king’s privilege to discover and invent. You cannot understand the height of heaven, the size of the earth, or all that goes on in the king’s mind!


book: Prov
contenido:
When you remove dross from silver, you have sterling ready for the silversmith. When you remove corrupt men from the king’s court, his reign will be just and fair.


book: Prov
contenido:
Don’t demand an audience with the king as though you were some powerful prince. It is better to wait for an invitation rather than to be sent back to the end of the line, publicly disgraced!


book: Prov
contenido:
Don’t be hotheaded and rush to court! You may start something you can’t finish and go down before your neighbor in shameful defeat. So discuss the matter with him privately. Don’t tell anyone else, lest he accuse you of slander and you can’t withdraw what you said.


book: Prov
contenido:
One who doesn’t give the gift he promised is like a cloud blowing over a desert without dropping any rain.


book: Prov
contenido:
Telling lies about someone is as harmful as hitting him with an ax, or wounding him with a sword, or shooting him with a sharp arrow.


book: Prov
contenido:
Putting confidence in an unreliable man is like chewing with a sore tooth, or trying to run on a broken foot.


book: Prov
contenido:
Being happy-go-lucky around a person whose heart is heavy is as bad as stealing his jacket in cold weather or rubbing salt in his wounds.


book: Prov
contenido:
If your enemy is hungry, give him food! If he is thirsty, give him something to drink! This will make him feel ashamed of himself, and God will reward you.


book: Prov
contenido:
It is better to live in a corner of an attic than in a beautiful home with a cranky, quarrelsome woman.


book: Prov
contenido:
Just as it is harmful to eat too much honey, so also it is bad for men to think about all the honors they deserve!


book: Prov
contenido:
An undeserved curse has no effect. Its intended victim will be no more harmed by it than by a sparrow or swallow flitting through the sky.


book: Prov
contenido:
When arguing with a rebel, don’t use foolish arguments as he does, or you will become as foolish as he is! Prick his conceit with silly replies!


book: Prov
contenido:
A rebel will misapply an illustration so that its point will no more be felt than a thorn in the hand of a drunkard.


book: Prov
contenido:
Yanking a dog’s ears is no more foolish than interfering in an argument that isn’t any of your business.


book: Prov
contenido:
A man who is caught lying to his neighbor and says, “I was just fooling,” is like a madman throwing around firebrands, arrows, and death!


book: Prov
contenido:
A man with hate in his heart may sound pleasant enough, but don’t believe him; for he is cursing you in his heart. Though he pretends to be so kind, his hatred will finally come to light for all to see.


book: Prov
contenido:
The man who sets a trap for others will get caught in it himself. Roll a boulder down on someone, and it will roll back and crush you.


book: Prov
contenido:
Never abandon a friend—either yours or your father’s. Then you won’t need to go to a distant relative for help in your time of need.


book: Prov
contenido:
A sensible man watches for problems ahead and prepares to meet them. The simpleton never looks and suffers the consequences.


book: Prov
contenido:
You can no more stop her complaints than you can stop the wind or hold onto anything with greasy hands.


book: Prov
contenido:
A workman may eat from the orchard he tends; anyone should be rewarded who protects another’s interests.


book: Prov
contenido:
A mirror reflects a man’s face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses.


book: Prov
contenido:
The purity of silver and gold can be tested in a crucible, but a man is tested by his reaction to men’s praise.


book: Prov
contenido:
Riches can disappear fast. And the king’s crown doesn’t stay in his family forever—so watch your business interests closely. Know the state of your flocks and your herds;


book: Prov
contenido:
then there will be lambs’ wool enough for clothing and goats’ milk enough for food for all your household after the hay is harvested, and the new crop appears, and the mountain grasses are gathered in.


book: Prov
contenido:
When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily; but with honest, sensible leaders there is stability.


book: Prov
contenido:
When a poor man oppresses those even poorer, he is like an unexpected flood sweeping away their last hope.


book: Prov
contenido:
Evil men don’t understand the importance of justice, but those who follow the Lord are much concerned about it.


book: Prov
contenido:
Young men who are wise obey the law; a son who is a member of a lawless gang is a shame to his father.


book: Prov
contenido:
A curse on those who lead astray the godly. But men who encourage the upright to do good shall be given a worthwhile reward.


book: Prov
contenido:
A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance.


book: Prov
contenido:
Only a stupid prince will oppress his people, but a king will have a long reign if he hates dishonesty and bribes.


book: Prov
contenido:
The man who wants to do right will get a rich reward. But the man who wants to get rich quick will quickly fail.


book: Prov
contenido:
Giving preferred treatment to rich people is a clear case of selling one’s soul for a piece of bread.


book: Prov
contenido:
If you give to the poor, your needs will be supplied! But a curse upon those who close their eyes to poverty.


book: Prov
contenido:
The man who is often reproved but refuses to accept criticism will suddenly be broken and never have another chance.


book: Prov
contenido:
Where there is ignorance of God, crime runs wild; but what a wonderful thing it is for a nation to know and keep his laws.


book: Prov
contenido:
A man who assists a thief must really hate himself! For he knows the consequence but does it anyway.


book: Prov
contenido:
Who else but God goes back and forth to heaven? Who else holds the wind in his fists and wraps up the oceans in his cloak? Who but God has created the world? If there is any other, what is his name—and his Son’s name—if you know it?


book: Prov
contenido:
First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs!


book: Prov
contenido:
For if I grow rich, I may become content without God. And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.


book: Prov
contenido:
There are those who curse their father and mother and feel themselves faultless despite their many sins.


book: Prov
contenido:
They are proud beyond description, arrogant, disdainful. They devour the poor with teeth as sharp as knives!


book: Prov
contenido:
There are two things never satisfied, like a leech forever craving more: no, three things! no, four! Hell, the barren womb, a barren desert, fire.


book: Prov
contenido:
A man who mocks his father and despises his mother shall have his eye plucked out by ravens and eaten by vultures.


book: Prov
contenido:
There are three things too wonderful for me to understand—no, four!
How an eagle glides through the sky.
How a serpent crawls upon a rock.
How a ship finds its way across the heaving ocean.
The growth of love between a man and a girl.


book: Prov
contenido:
There are three things that make the earth tremble—no, four it cannot stand:
A slave who becomes a king.
A rebel who prospers.
A bitter woman when she finally marries.
A servant girl who marries the husband of her mistress.


book: Prov
contenido:
There are four things that are small but unusually wise:
Ants: they aren’t strong, but store up food for the winter.
Cliff badgers: delicate little animals who protect themselves by living among the rocks.
The locusts: though they have no leader, they stay together in swarms.
The lizards: they are easy to catch and kill, yet are found even in king’s palaces!


book: Prov
contenido:
There are three stately monarchs in the earth—no, four:
The lion, king of the animals. He won’t turn aside for anyone.
The peacock.
The male goat.
A king as he leads his army.


book: Prov
contenido:
If you have been a fool by being proud or plotting evil, don’t brag about it—cover your mouth with your hand in shame.


book: Prov
contenido:
As the churning of cream yields butter, and a blow to the nose causes bleeding, so anger causes quarrels.


book: Prov
contenido:
For if they drink, they may forget their duties and be unable to give justice to those who are oppressed.


book: Prov
contenido:
Hard liquor is for sick men at the brink of death, and wine for those in deep depression. Let them drink to forget their poverty and misery.


book: Prov
contenido:
She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plans the day’s work for her servant girls.


book: Prov
contenido:
She also upholsters with finest tapestry; her own clothing is beautifully made—a purple gown of pure linen.


book: Prov
contenido:
Charm can be deceptive and beauty doesn’t last, but a woman who fears and reverences God shall be greatly praised.


book: Prov
contenido:
Praise her for the many fine things she does. These good deeds of hers shall bring her honor and recognition from people of importance.


book: Eccl
contenido:
For what does a man get for all his hard work?
Generations come and go, but it makes no difference. The sun rises and sets and hurries around to rise again. The wind blows south and north, here and there, twisting back and forth, getting nowhere.* The rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full, and the water returns again to the rivers and flows again to the sea . . .


book: Eccl
contenido:
everything is unutterably weary and tiresome. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied; no matter how much we hear, we are not content.
History merely repeats itself. Nothing is truly new; it has all been done or said before. What can you point to that is new? How do you know it didn’t exist long ages ago? We don’t remember what happened in those former times, and in the future generations no one will remember what we have done back here.


book: Eccl
contenido:
I, the Preacher, was king of Israel, living in Jerusalem. And I applied myself to search for understanding about everything in the universe. I discovered that the lot of man, which God has dealt to him, is not a happy one. It is all foolishness, chasing the wind. What is wrong cannot be righted; it is water over the dam; and there is no use thinking of what might have been.


book: Eccl
contenido:
I said to myself, “Look, I am better educated than any of the kings before me in Jerusalem. I have greater wisdom and knowledge.” So I worked hard to be wise instead of foolish—but now I realize that even this was like chasing the wind. For the more my wisdom, the more my grief; to increase knowledge only increases distress.


book: Eccl
contenido:
I said to myself, “Come now, be merry; enjoy yourself to the full.” But I found that this, too, was futile. For it is silly to be laughing all the time; what good does it do?


book: Eccl
contenido:
So after a lot of thinking, I decided to try the road of drink, while still holding steadily to my course of seeking wisdom.
Next I changed my course again and followed the path of folly, so that I could experience the only happiness most men have throughout their lives.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Then I tried to find fulfillment by inaugurating a great public works program: homes, vineyards, gardens, parks, and orchards for myself, and reservoirs to hold the water to irrigate my plantations.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Next I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born within my household. I also bred great herds and flocks, more than any of the kings before me. I collected silver and gold as taxes from many kings and provinces.
In the cultural arts, I organized men’s and women’s choirs and orchestras.
And then there were my many beautiful concubines.


book: Eccl
contenido:
So I became greater than any of the kings in Jerusalem before me, and with it all I remained clear-eyed, so that I could evaluate all these things.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Anything I wanted I took and did not restrain myself from any joy. I even found great pleasure in hard work. This pleasure was, indeed, my only reward for all my labors.


book: Eccl
contenido:
But as I looked at everything I had tried, it was all so useless, a chasing of the wind, and there was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Now I began a study of the comparative virtues of wisdom and folly, and anyone else would come to the same conclusion I did—


book: Eccl
contenido:
that wisdom is of more value than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness; for the wise man sees, while the fool is blind. And yet I noticed that there was one thing that happened to wise and foolish alike—


book: Eccl
contenido:
just as the fool will die, so will I. So of what value is all my wisdom? Then I realized that even wisdom is futile.


book: Eccl
contenido:
And who can tell whether my son will be a wise man or a fool? And yet all I have will be given to him—how discouraging!


book: Eccl
contenido:
So I turned in despair from hard work as the answer to my search for satisfaction. For though I spend my life searching for wisdom, knowledge, and skill, I must leave all of it to someone who hasn’t done a day’s work in his life; he inherits all my efforts, free of charge. This is not only foolish but unfair. So what does a man get for all his hard work? Days full of sorrow and grief, and restless, bitter nights. It is all utterly ridiculous.


book: Eccl
contenido:
So I decided that there was nothing better for a man to do than to enjoy his food and drink and his job. Then I realized that even this pleasure is from the hand of God. For who can eat or enjoy apart from him? For God gives those who please him wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away from him and gives it to those who please him. So here, too, we see an example of foolishly chasing the wind.


book: Eccl
contenido:
I have thought about this in connection with all the various kinds of work God has given to mankind.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Everything is appropriate in its own time. But though God has planted eternity in the hearts of men, even so, many cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.


book: Eccl
contenido:
So I conclude that, first, there is nothing better for a man than to be happy and to enjoy himself as long as he can;


book: Eccl
contenido:
and second, that he should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of his labors, for these are gifts from God.


book: Eccl
contenido:
And I know this, that whatever God does is final—nothing can be added or taken from it; God’s purpose in this is that man should fear the all-powerful God.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Whatever is has been long ago; and whatever is going to be has been before; God brings to pass again what was in the distant past and disappeared.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Moreover, I notice that throughout the earth justice is giving way to crime, and even the police courts are corrupt.


book: Eccl
contenido:
And then I realized that God is letting the world go on its sinful way so that he can test mankind, and so that men themselves will see that they are no better than beasts.


book: Eccl
contenido:
For men and animals both breathe the same air, and both die. So mankind has no real advantage over the beasts; what an absurdity!


book: Eccl
contenido:
For who can prove that the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of animals goes downward into dust?


book: Eccl
contenido:
So I saw that there is nothing better for men than that they should be happy in their work, for that is what they are here for, and no one can bring them back to life to enjoy what will be in the future, so let them enjoy it now.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Next I observed all the oppression and sadness throughout the earth—the tears of the oppressed, and no one helping them, while on the side of their oppressors were powerful allies.


book: Eccl
contenido:
And most fortunate of all are those who have never been born and have never seen all the evil and crime throughout the earth.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Then I observed that the basic motive for success is the driving force of envy and jealousy! But this, too, is foolishness, chasing the wind.


book: Eccl
contenido:
The fool won’t work and almost starves but feels that it is better to be lazy and barely get by, than to work hard, when in the long run it is all so futile.


book: Eccl
contenido:
This is the case of a man who is quite alone, without a son or brother, yet he works hard to keep gaining more riches. And to whom will he leave it all, and why is he giving up so much now? It is all so pointless and depressing.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Also, on a cold night, two under the same blanket gain warmth from each other, but how can one be warm alone?


book: Eccl
contenido:
And one standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer; three is even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.


book: Eccl
contenido:
He can become the leader of millions of people and be very popular. But, then, the younger generation grows up around him and rejects him! So again, it is all foolishness, chasing the wind.


book: Eccl
contenido:
As you enter the Temple, keep your ears open and your mouth shut! Don’t be a fool who doesn’t even realize it is sinful to make rash promises to God, for he is in heaven and you are only here on earth, so let your words be few. Just as being too busy gives you nightmares, so being a fool makes you a blabbermouth.


book: Eccl
contenido:
So when you talk to God and vow to him that you will do something, don’t delay in doing it, for God has no pleasure in fools. Keep your promise to him.


book: Eccl
contenido:
In that case, your mouth is making you sin. Don’t try to defend yourself by telling the messenger from God that it was all a mistake to make the vow. That would make God very angry; and he might* destroy your prosperity. Dreaming instead of doing is foolishness, and there is ruin in a flood of empty words; fear God instead.


book: Eccl
contenido:
If you see some poor man being oppressed by the rich, with miscarriage of justice anywhere throughout the land, don’t be surprised! For every official is under orders from higher up, and the higher officials look up to their superiors. And so the matter is lost in red tape and bureaucracy.


book: Eccl
contenido:
And over them all is the king. Oh, for a king who is devoted to his country! Only he can bring order from this chaos.


book: Eccl
contenido:
He who loves money shall never have enough. The foolishness of thinking that wealth brings happiness!


book: Eccl
contenido:
The more you have, the more you spend, right up to the limits of your income. So what is the advantage of wealth—except perhaps to watch it as it runs through your fingers!


book: Eccl
contenido:
The man who works hard sleeps well whether he eats little or much, but the rich must worry and suffer insomnia.


book: Eccl
contenido:
There is another serious problem I have seen everywhere—savings are put into risky investments that turn sour, and soon there is nothing left to pass on to one’s son.


book: Eccl
contenido:
This, as I said, is a very serious problem, for all his hard work has been for nothing; he has been working for the wind. It is all swept away.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Well, one thing, at least, is good: It is for a man to eat well, drink a good glass of wine, accept his position in life, and enjoy his work whatever his job may be, for however long the Lord may let him live.


book: Eccl
contenido:
And, of course, it is very good if a man has received wealth from the Lord and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and to accept your lot in life—that is indeed a gift from God. The person who does that will not need to look back with sorrow on his past, for God gives him joy.


book: Eccl
contenido:
God has given to some men very great wealth and honor so that they can have everything they want, but he doesn’t give them the health to enjoy it, and they die and others get it all! This is absurd, a hollow mockery, and a serious fault.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Even if a man has a hundred sons and as many daughters and lives to be very old, but leaves so little money at his death that his children can’t even give him a decent burial—I say that he would be better off born dead.


book: Eccl
contenido:
never seeing the sun or even knowing its existence, yet that is better than to be an old, unhappy man.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Wise men and fools alike spend their lives scratching for food and never seem to get enough. Both have the same problem, yet the poor man who is wise lives a far better life.


book: Eccl
contenido:
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush; mere dreaming of nice things is foolish; it’s chasing the wind.


book: Eccl
contenido:
All things are decided by fate; it was known long ago what each man would be. So there’s no use arguing with God about your destiny.


book: Eccl
contenido:
In these few days of our empty lifetimes, who can say how one’s days can best be spent? Who can know what will prove best for the future after he is gone? For who knows the future?


book: Eccl
contenido:
A good reputation is more valuable than the most expensive perfume.
The day one dies is better than the day he is born!


book: Eccl
contenido:
It is better to spend your time at funerals than at festivals. For you are going to die, and it is a good thing to think about it while there is still time.


book: Eccl
contenido:
See the way God does things and fall into line. Don’t fight the facts of nature. Who can straighten what he has made crooked?


book: Eccl
contenido:
Enjoy prosperity whenever you can, and when hard times strike, realize that God gives one as well as the other—so that everyone will realize that nothing is certain in this life.


book: Eccl
contenido:
In this silly life I have seen everything, including the fact that some of the good die young and some of the wicked live on and on. So don’t be too good or too wise! Why destroy yourself? On the other hand, don’t be too wicked either—don’t be a fool! Why should you die before your time?


book: Eccl
contenido:
Don’t eavesdrop! You may hear your servant cursing you! For you know how often you yourself curse others!


book: Eccl
contenido:
I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and the reason for things . . . to prove to myself the wickedness of folly and that foolishness is madness.


book: Eccl
contenido:
A prostitute is more bitter than death. May it please God that you escape from her, but sinners don’t evade her snares.


book: Eccl
contenido:
This is my conclusion, says the Preacher. Step by step I came to this result after researching in every direction: One tenth of one percent of the men I interviewed could be said to be wise, but not one woman!


book: Eccl
contenido:
And I found that though God has made men upright, each has turned away to follow his own downward road.


book: Eccl
contenido:
How wonderful to be wise, to understand things, to be able to analyze them and interpret them. Wisdom lights up a man’s face, softening its hardness.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Obey the king as you have vowed to do. Don’t always be trying to get out of doing your duty, even when it’s unpleasant. For the king punishes those who disobey.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Those who obey him will not be punished. The wise man will find a time and a way to do what he says.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Yes, there is a time and a way for everything, though man’s trouble lies heavy upon him; for how can he avoid what he doesn’t know is going to happen?


book: Eccl
contenido:
No one can hold back his spirit from departing; no one has the power to prevent his day of death, for there is no discharge from that obligation and that dark battle. Certainly a man’s wickedness is not going to help him then.


book: Eccl
contenido:
I have thought deeply about all that goes on here in the world, where people have the power of injuring each other. I have seen wicked men buried, and as their friends returned from the cemetery, having forgotten all the dead man’s evil deeds, these men were praised in the very city where they had committed their many crimes! How odd!


book: Eccl
contenido:
But though a man sins a hundred times and still lives, I know very well that those who fear God will be better off,


book: Eccl
contenido:
unlike the wicked, who will not live long, good lives—their days shall pass away as quickly as shadows because they don’t fear God.


book: Eccl
contenido:
There is a strange thing happening here upon the earth: Providence seems to treat some good men as though they were wicked, and some wicked men as though they were good. This is all very vexing and troublesome!


book: Eccl
contenido:
Then I decided to spend my time having fun because I felt that there was nothing better in all the earth than that a man should eat, drink, and be merry, with the hope that this happiness would stick with him in all the hard work that God gives to mankind everywhere.


book: Eccl
contenido:
In my search for wisdom I observed all that was going on everywhere across the earth—ceaseless activity, day and night. (Of course, only God can see everything, and even the wisest man who says he knows everything, doesn’t!)


book: Eccl
contenido:
This, too, I carefully explored—that godly and wise men are in God’s will; no one knows whether he will favor them or not. All is chance!


book: Eccl
contenido:
The same providence confronts everyone, whether good or bad, religious or irreligious, profane or godly. It seems so unfair that one fate comes to all. That is why men are not more careful to be good but instead choose their own mad course, for they have no hope—there is nothing but death ahead anyway.


book: Eccl
contenido:
For the living at least know that they will die! But the dead know nothing ; they don’t even have their memories.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Whatever they did in their lifetimes—loving, hating, envying—is long gone, and they have no part in anything here on earth anymore.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Live happily with the woman you love through the fleeting days of life, for the wife God gives you is your best reward down here for all your earthly toil.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Whatever you do, do well, for in death, where you are going, there is no working or planning, or knowing, or understanding.*


book: Eccl
contenido:
Again I looked throughout the earth and saw that the swiftest person does not always win the race, nor the strongest man the battle, and that wise men are often poor, and skillful men are not necessarily famous; but it is all by chance, by happening to be at the right place at the right time.


book: Eccl
contenido:
A man never knows when he is going to run into bad luck. He is like a fish caught in a net, or a bird caught in a snare.


book: Eccl
contenido:
There was a small city with only a few people living in it, and a great king came with his army and besieged it.


book: Eccl
contenido:
There was in the city a wise man, very poor, and he knew what to do to save the city, and so it was rescued. But afterwards no one thought any more about him.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Then I realized that though wisdom is better than strength, nevertheless, if the wise man is poor, he will be despised, and what he says will not be appreciated.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Dead flies will cause even a bottle of perfume to stink! Yes, a small mistake can outweigh much wisdom and honor.


book: Eccl
contenido:
There is another evil I have seen as I have watched the world go by, a sad situation concerning kings and rulers:


book: Eccl
contenido:
For I have seen foolish men given great authority and rich men not given their rightful place of dignity!


book: Eccl
contenido:
Dig a well—and fall into it! Demolish an old wall—and be bitten by a snake! When working in a quarry, stones will fall and crush you! There is risk in each stroke of your ax!


book: Eccl
contenido:
It is pleasant to listen to wise words, but a fool’s speech brings him to ruin. Since he begins with a foolish premise, his conclusion is sheer madness.


book: Eccl
contenido:
A fool knows all about the future and tells everyone in detail! But who can really know what is going to happen?


book: Eccl
contenido:
Woe to the land whose king is a child and whose leaders are already drunk in the morning. Happy the land whose king is a nobleman and whose leaders work hard before they feast and drink, and then only to strengthen themselves for the tasks ahead!


book: Eccl
contenido:
Never curse the king, not even in your thoughts, nor the rich man, either; for a little bird will tell them what you’ve said.


book: Eccl
contenido:
When the clouds are heavy, the rains come down; when a tree falls, whether south or north, the die is cast, for there it lies.


book: Eccl
contenido:
God’s ways are as mysterious as the pathway of the wind and as the manner in which a human spirit is infused into the little body of a baby while it is yet in its mother’s womb.


book: Eccl
contenido:
If a person lives to be very old, let him rejoice in every day of life, but let him also remember that eternity is far longer and that everything down here is futile in comparison.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Young man, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it! Do all you want to; take in everything, but realize that you must account to God for everything you do.


book: Eccl
contenido:
So banish grief and pain, but remember that youth, with a whole life before it, can make serious mistakes.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Don’t let the excitement of being young cause you to forget about your Creator. Honor him in your youth before the evil years come—when you’ll no longer enjoy living.


book: Eccl
contenido:
It will be too late then to try to remember him when the sun and light and moon and stars are dim to your old eyes, and there is no silver lining left among your clouds.


book: Eccl
contenido:
For there will come a time when your limbs will tremble with age, your strong legs will become weak, and your teeth will be too few to do their work, and there will be blindness too.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Then let your lips be tightly closed while eating when your teeth are gone! And you will waken at dawn with the first note of the birds; but you yourself will be deaf and tuneless, with quavering voice.


book: Eccl
contenido:
You will be afraid of heights and of falling—a white-haired, withered old man, dragging himself along: without sexual desire, standing at death’s door, and nearing his everlasting home as the mourners go along the streets.


book: Eccl
contenido:
Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young—before the silver cord of life snaps and the gold bowl is broken; before the pitcher is broken at the fountain and the wheel is broken at the cistern;


book: Eccl
contenido:
But then, because the Preacher was wise, he went on teaching the people all he knew; and he collected proverbs and classified them.


book: Eccl
contenido:
For the Preacher was not only a wise man but a good teacher; he not only taught what he knew to the people, but taught them in an interesting manner.


book: Eccl
contenido:
The wise man’s words are like goads that spur to action. They nail down important truths. Students are wise who master what their teachers tell them.


book: Eccl
contenido:
But, my son, be warned: there is no end of opinions ready to be expressed. Studying them can go on forever and become very exhausting!


book: Eccl
contenido:
Here is my final conclusion: fear God and obey his commandments, for this is the entire duty of man.


book: Song
contenido:
Take me with you; come, let’s run!”
The Girl: “The king has brought me into his palace. How happy we will be! Your love is better than wine. No wonder all the young girls love you!”
The Girl:


book: Song
contenido:
“I am dark but beautiful, O girls of Jerusalem, tanned as the dark tents of Kedar.”
King Solomon: “But lovely as the silken tents of Solomon!”
The Girl:


book: Song
contenido:
“Don’t look down on me, you city girls, just because my complexion is so dark—the sun has tanned me. My brothers were angry with me and sent me out into the sun* to tend the vineyards, but see what it has done to me!”*
The Girl:


book: Song
contenido:
“Tell me, O one I love, where are you leading your flock today? Where will you be at noon? For I will come and join you there instead of wandering like a vagabond among the flocks of your companions.”
King Solomon:


book: Song
contenido:
“If you don’t know, O most beautiful woman in all the world, follow the trail of my flock to the shepherds’ tents, and there feed your sheep and their lambs.


book: Song
contenido:
How lovely your cheeks are, with your hair falling down upon them! How stately your neck with that long string of jewels.


book: Song
contenido:
“My lover is an apple tree, the finest in the orchard as compared with any of the other youths. I am seated in his much-desired shade and his fruit is lovely to eat.


book: Song
contenido:
O girls of Jerusalem, I adjure you by the gazelles and deer in the park, that you do not awaken my lover. Let him sleep!”
The Girl:


book: Song
contenido:
My beloved is like a gazelle or young deer. Look, there he is behind the wall, now looking in at the windows.


book: Song
contenido:
The leaves are coming out, and the grapevines are in blossom. How delicious they smell! Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.’


book: Song
contenido:
“My dove is hiding behind some rocks, behind an outcrop of the cliff. Call to me and let me hear your lovely voice and see your handsome face.


book: Song
contenido:
Before the dawn comes and the shadows flee away, come to me, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.”


book: Song
contenido:
The Girl: “One night my lover was missing from my bed. I got up to look for him but couldn’t find him.


book: Song
contenido:
It was only a little while afterwards that I found him and held him and would not let him go until I had brought him into my childhood home, into my mother’s old bedroom.


book: Song
contenido:
I adjure you, O women of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and deer of the park, not to awake my lover. Let him sleep.”
The Young Women of Jerusalem:


book: Song
contenido:
“Who is this sweeping in from the deserts like a cloud of smoke along the ground, smelling of myrrh and frankincense and every other spice that can be bought?


book: Song
contenido:
They are all skilled swordsmen and experienced bodyguards. Each one has his sword upon his thigh to defend his king against any onslaught in the night.


book: Song
contenido:
Its posts are silver, its canopy gold, the seat is purple; and the back is inlaid with these words: ‘With love from the girls of Jerusalem!’”
The Girl:


book: Song
contenido:
“Go out and see King Solomon, O young women of Zion; see the crown with which his mother crowned him on his wedding day, his day of gladness.”


book: Song
contenido:
King Solomon: “How beautiful you are, my love, how beautiful! Your eyes are those of doves. Your hair falls across your face like flocks of goats that frisk across the slopes of Gilead.


book: Song
contenido:
Your teeth are white as sheep’s wool, newly shorn and washed; perfectly matched, without one missing.


book: Song
contenido:
Your lips are like a thread of scarlet—and how beautiful your mouth. Your cheeks are matched loveliness behind your locks.*


book: Song
contenido:
Until the morning dawns and the shadows flee away, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense.


book: Song
contenido:
“Come with me from Lebanon, my bride. We will look down from the summit of the mountain, from the top of Mount Hermon, where the lions have their dens and panthers prowl.


book: Song
contenido:
You have ravished my heart, my lovely one, my bride; I am overcome by one glance of your eyes, by a single bead of your necklace.


book: Song
contenido:
How sweet is your love, my darling, my bride. How much better it is than mere wine. The perfume of your love is more fragrant than all the richest spices.


book: Song
contenido:
Your lips, my dear, are made of honey. Yes, honey and cream are under your tongue, and the scent of your garments is like the scent of the mountains and cedars of Lebanon.


book: Song
contenido:
“My darling bride is like a private garden, a spring that no one else can have, a fountain of my own.


book: Song
contenido:
You are like a lovely orchard bearing precious fruit, with the rarest of perfumes; nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, and perfume from every other incense tree, as well as myrrh and aloes, and every other lovely spice.


book: Song
contenido:
You are a garden fountain, a well of living water, refreshing as the streams from the Lebanon mountains.”
The Girl:


book: Song
contenido:
“Come, north wind, awaken; come, south wind, blow upon my garden and waft its lovely perfume to my beloved. Let him come into his garden and eat its choicest fruits.”


book: Song
contenido:
King Solomon: “I am here in my garden, my darling, my bride! I gather my myrrh with my spices and eat my honeycomb with my honey. I drink my wine with my milk.”
The Young Women of Jerusalem: “Oh, lover and beloved, eat and drink! Yes, drink deeply!”
The Girl:


book: Song
contenido:
“One night as I was sleeping, my heart awakened in a dream. I heard the voice of my beloved; he was knocking at my bedroom door. ‘Open to me, my darling, my lover, my lovely dove,’ he said, ‘for I have been out in the night and am covered with dew.’


book: Song
contenido:
“But I said, ‘I have disrobed. Shall I get dressed again? I have washed my feet, and should I get them soiled?’


book: Song
contenido:
I jumped up to open it, and my hands dripped with perfume, my fingers with lovely myrrh as I pulled back the bolt.


book: Song
contenido:
I opened to my beloved, but he was gone. My heart stopped. I searched for him but couldn’t find him anywhere. I called to him, but there was no reply.


book: Song
contenido:
I adjure you, O women of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved one, tell him that I am sick with love.”
The Young Women of Jerusalem:


book: Song
contenido:
“O woman of rare beauty, what is it about your loved one that is better than any other, that you command us this?”
The Girl:


book: Song
contenido:
His cheeks are like sweetly scented beds of spices. His lips are perfumed lilies, his breath like myrrh.


book: Song
contenido:
His legs are as pillars of marble set in sockets of finest gold, like cedars of Lebanon; none can rival him.


book: Song
contenido:
His mouth is altogether sweet, lovable in every way. Such, O women of Jerusalem, is my beloved, my friend.”


book: Song
contenido:
The Young Women of Jerusalem: “O rarest of beautiful women, where has your loved one gone? We will help you find him.”
The Girl:


book: Song
contenido:
“O my beloved, you are as beautiful as the lovely land of Tirzah, yes, beautiful as Jerusalem, and how you capture my heart.


book: Song
contenido:
Look the other way, for your eyes have overcome me! Your hair, as it falls across your face, is like a flock of goats frisking down the slopes of Gilead.


book: Song
contenido:
I have sixty other wives, all queens, and eighty concubines, and unnumbered virgins available to me;


book: Song
contenido:
but you, my dove, my perfect one, are the only one among them all, without an equal! The women of Jerusalem were delighted when they saw you, and even the queens and concubines praise you.


book: Song
contenido:
‘Who is this,’ they ask, ‘arising as the dawn, fair as the moon, pure as the sun, so utterly captivating?’”
The Girl:


book: Song
contenido:
“I went down into the orchard of nuts and out to the valley to see the springtime there, to see whether the grapevines were budding or the pomegranates were blossoming yet.


book: Song
contenido:
Before I realized it, I was stricken with terrible homesickness and wanted to be back among my own people.”
The Young Women of Jerusalem:


book: Song
contenido:
“Return, return to us, O maid of Shulam. Come back, come back, that we may see you once again.”
The Girl: “Why should you seek a mere Shulammite?”
King Solomon: “Because you dance so beautifully.”


book: Song
contenido:
King Solomon: “How beautiful your tripping feet, O queenly maiden. Your rounded thighs are like jewels, the work of the most skilled of craftsmen.


book: Song
contenido:
Your navel is lovely as a goblet filled with wine. Your waist is like a heap of wheat set about with lilies.


book: Song
contenido:
Your neck is stately as an ivory tower, your eyes as limpid pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim. Your nose is shapely like the tower of Lebanon overlooking Damascus.


book: Song
contenido:
“As Mount Carmel crowns the mountains, so your hair is your crown. The king is held captive in your queenly tresses.


book: Song
contenido:
I said, I will climb up into the palm tree and take hold of its branches. Now may your breasts be like grape clusters, the scent of your breath like apples,


book: Song
contenido:
and your kisses as exciting as the best of wine, smooth and sweet, causing the lips of those who are asleep to speak.”
The Girl:


book: Song
contenido:
Let us get up early and go out to the vineyards and see whether the vines have budded, whether the blossoms have opened, and whether the pomegranates are in flower. And there I will give you my love.


book: Song
contenido:
There the mandrakes give forth their fragrance, and the rarest fruits are at our doors, the new as well as old, for I have stored them up for my beloved.”


book: Song
contenido:
The Girl: “Oh, if only you were my brother; then I could kiss you no matter who was watching, and no one would laugh at me.


book: Song
contenido:
I would bring you to my childhood home, and there you would teach me. I would give you spiced wine to drink, sweet pomegranate wine.


book: Song
contenido:
I adjure you, O women of Jerusalem, not to awaken him until he pleases.”
The Young Women of Jerusalem:


book: Song
contenido:
“Who is this coming up from the desert, leaning on her beloved?”
King Solomon: “Under the apple tree where your mother gave birth to you in her travail, there I awakened your love.”
The Girl:


book: Song
contenido:
“Seal me in your heart with permanent betrothal, for love is strong as death, and jealousy is as cruel as Sheol. It flashes fire, the very flame of Jehovah.


book: Song
contenido:
Many waters cannot quench the flame of love, neither can the floods drown it. If a man tried to buy it with everything he owned, he couldn’t do it.”
The Girl’s Brothers:


book: Song
contenido:
“We have a little sister too young for breasts. What shall we do if someone asks to marry her?”
King Solomon:


book: Song
contenido:
“If she has no breasts, we will build upon her a battlement of silver, and if she is a door, we will enclose her with cedar boards.”*
The Girl:


book: Song
contenido:
Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon, which he rented out to some farmers there, the rent being one thousand pieces of silver from each.


book: Song
contenido:
But as for my own vineyard, you, O Solomon, shall have my thousand pieces of silver, and I will give two hundred pieces to those who care for it.


book: Song
contenido:
O my beloved, living in the gardens, how wonderful that your companions may listen to your voice; let me hear it too.


book: Isa
contenido:
These are the messages that came to Isaiah, son of Amoz, in the visions he saw during the reigns of King Uzziah, King Jotham, King Ahaz, and King Hezekiah—all kings of Judah. In these messages God showed him what was going to happen to Judah and Jerusalem in the days ahead.


book: Isa
contenido:
Listen, O heaven and earth, to what the Lord is saying:
The children I raised and cared for so long and tenderly have turned against me.


book: Isa
contenido:
Even the animals—the donkey and the ox—know their owner and appreciate his care for them, but not my people Israel. No matter what I do for them, they still don’t care.


book: Isa
contenido:
Oh, what a sinful nation they are! They walk bent-backed beneath their load of guilt. Their fathers before them were evil too. Born to be bad, they have turned their backs upon the Lord and have despised the Holy One of Israel. They have cut themselves off from his help.


book: Isa
contenido:
Oh, my people, haven’t you had enough of punishment? Why will you force me to whip you again and again? Must you forever rebel? From head to foot you are sick and weak and faint, covered with bruises and welts and infected wounds, unanointed and unbound.


book: Isa
contenido:
Your country lies in ruins; your cities are burned; while you watch, foreigners are destroying and plundering everything they see.


book: Isa
contenido:
You stand there helpless and abandoned like a watchman’s shanty in the field when the harvesttime is over—or when the crop is stripped and robbed.


book: Isa
contenido:
If the Lord Almighty had not stepped in to save a few of us, we would have been wiped out as Sodom and Gomorrah were.


book: Isa
contenido:
An apt comparison! Listen, you leaders of Israel, you men of Sodom and Gomorrah, as I call you now. Listen to the Lord. Hear what he is telling you!


book: Isa
contenido:
I am sick of your sacrifices. Don’t bring me any more of them. I don’t want your fat rams; I don’t want to see the blood from your offerings.


book: Isa
contenido:
Who wants your sacrifices when you have no sorrow for your sins? The incense you bring me is a stench in my nostrils. Your holy celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath, and your special days for fasting—even your most pious meetings—all are frauds! I want nothing more to do with them.


book: Isa
contenido:
From now on, when you pray with your hands stretched out to heaven, I won’t look or listen. Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear, for your hands are those of murderers; they are covered with the blood of your innocent victims.


book: Isa
contenido:
Oh, wash yourselves! Be clean! Let me no longer see you doing all these wicked things; quit your evil ways.


book: Isa
contenido:
Come, let’s talk this over, says the Lord; no matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can take it out and make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you white as wool!


book: Isa
contenido:
But if you keep on turning your backs and refusing to listen to me, you will be killed by your enemies; I, the Lord, have spoken.


book: Isa
contenido:
Jerusalem, once a faithful wife! And now a prostitute! Running after other gods! Once “The City of Fair Play,” but now a gang of murderers.


book: Isa
contenido:
Once like sterling silver; now mixed with worthless alloy! Once so pure, but now diluted like watered-down wine!


book: Isa
contenido:
Your leaders are rebels, companions of thieves; all of them take bribes and won’t defend the widows and orphans.


book: Isa
contenido:
And afterwards I will give you good judges and wise counselors like those you used to have. Then your city shall again be called “The City of Justice” and “The Faithful Town.”


book: Isa
contenido:
Shame will cover you, and you will blush to think of all those times you sacrificed to idols in your groves of “sacred” oaks.


book: Isa
contenido:
The strongest among you will disappear like burning straw; your evil deeds are the spark that sets the straw on fire, and no one will be able to put it out.


book: Isa
contenido:
In the last days Jerusalem and the Temple of the Lord will become the world’s greatest attraction, and people from many lands will flow there to worship the Lord.


book: Isa
contenido:
“Come,” everyone will say, “let us go up the mountain of the Lord, to the Temple of the God of Israel; there he will teach us his laws, and we will obey them.” For in those days the world will be ruled from Jerusalem.


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord will settle international disputes; all the nations will convert their weapons of war into implements of peace. Then at the last all wars will stop and all military training will end.


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord has rejected you because you welcome foreigners from the East who practice magic and communicate with evil spirits, as the Philistines do.


book: Isa
contenido:
All the glory of mankind will bow low; the pride of men will lie in the dust, and the Lord alone will be exalted.


book: Isa
contenido:
When the Lord stands up from his throne to shake up the earth, his enemies will crawl with fear into the holes in the rocks and into the caves because of the glory of his majesty.


book: Isa
contenido:
and crawl into the caverns to hide among the jagged rocks at the tops of the cliffs, to try to get away from the terror of the Lord and the glory of his majesty when he rises to terrify the earth.


book: Isa
contenido:
And the worst sort of anarchy will prevail—everyone stepping on someone else, neighbors fighting neighbors, youths revolting against authority, criminals sneering at honorable men.


book: Isa
contenido:
In those days a man will say to his brother, “You have some extra clothing, so you be our king and take care of this mess.”


book: Isa
contenido:
“No!” he will reply. “I cannot be of any help! I have no extra food or clothes. Don’t get me involved!”


book: Isa
contenido:
Israel’s civil government will be in utter ruin because the Jews have spoken out against their Lord and will not worship him; they offend his glory.


book: Isa
contenido:
The very look on their faces gives them away and shows their guilt. And they boast that their sin is equal to the sin of Sodom; they are not even ashamed. What a catastrophe! They have doomed themselves.


book: Isa
contenido:
But say to the wicked, “Your doom is sure. You too shall get your just deserts. Your well-earned punishment is on the way.”


book: Isa
contenido:
O my people! Can’t you see what fools your rulers are? Weak as women! Foolish as little children playing king. True leaders? No, misleaders! Leading you down the garden path to destruction.


book: Isa
contenido:
First to feel his wrath will be the elders and the princes, for they have defrauded the poor. They have filled their barns with grain extorted from the helpless peasants.


book: Isa
contenido:
Next he will judge the haughty Jewish women, who mince along, noses in the air, tinkling bracelets on their ankles, with wanton eyes that rove among the crowds to catch the glances of the men.


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord will send a plague of scabs to ornament their heads! He will expose their nakedness for all to see.


book: Isa
contenido:
No longer shall they tinkle with self-assurance as they walk. For the Lord will strip away their artful beauty and their ornaments,


book: Isa
contenido:
Instead of smelling of sweet perfume, they’ll stink; for sashes they’ll use ropes; their well-set hair will all fall out; they’ll wear sacks instead of robes.
All their beauty will be gone; all that will be left to them is shame and disgrace.


book: Isa
contenido:
At that time so few men will be left alive that seven women will fight over each of them and say, “Let us all marry you! We will furnish our own food and clothing; only let us be called by your name so that we won’t be mocked as old maids.”


book: Isa
contenido:
Those whose names are written down to escape the destruction of Jerusalem will be washed and rinsed of all their moral filth by the horrors and the fire. They will be God’s holy people. And the land will produce for them its lushest bounty and its richest fruit.


book: Isa
contenido:
Then the Lord will provide shade on all Jerusalem—over every home and all its public grounds—a canopy of smoke and cloud throughout the day, and clouds of fire at night, covering the Glorious Land,


book: Isa
contenido:
Now I will sing a song about his vineyard to the one I love. My Beloved has a vineyard on a very fertile hill.


book: Isa
contenido:
He plowed it and took out all the rocks and planted his vineyard with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower and cut a winepress in the rocks. Then he waited for the harvest, but the grapes that grew were wild and sour and not at all the sweet ones he expected.


book: Isa
contenido:
I won’t prune it or hoe it, but let it be overgrown with briars and thorns. I will command the clouds not to rain on it anymore.


book: Isa
contenido:
I have given you the story of God’s people. They are the vineyard that I spoke about. Israel and Judah are his pleasant acreage! He expected them to yield a crop of justice, but found bloodshed instead. He expected righteousness, but the cries of deep oppression met his ears.


book: Isa
contenido:
You buy up property so others have no place to live. Your homes are built on great estates so you can be alone in the midst of the earth!


book: Isa
contenido:
But the Lord Almighty has sworn your awful fate—with my own ears I heard him say, “Many a beautiful home will lie deserted, their owners killed or gone.


book: Isa
contenido:
An acre of vineyard will not produce a gallon of juice! Ten bushels of seed will yield a one-bushel crop!”


book: Isa
contenido:
Woe to you who get up early in the morning to go on long drinking bouts that last till late at night—woe to you drunken bums.


book: Isa
contenido:
You furnish lovely music at your grand parties; the orchestras are superb! But for the Lord you have no thought or care.


book: Isa
contenido:
Therefore I will send you into exile far away because you neither know nor care that I have done so much for you. Your great and honored men will starve, and the common people will die of thirst.


book: Isa
contenido:
Hell is licking its chops in anticipation of this delicious morsel, Jerusalem. Her great and small shall be swallowed up, and all her drunken throngs.


book: Isa
contenido:
They even mock the Holy One of Israel and dare the Lord to punish them. “Hurry up and punish us, O Lord,” they say. “We want to see what you can do!”


book: Isa
contenido:
They say that what is right is wrong and what is wrong is right; that black is white and white is black; bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.


book: Isa
contenido:
Therefore God will deal with them and burn them. They will disappear like straw on fire. Their roots will rot and their flowers wither, for they have thrown away the laws of God and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.


book: Isa
contenido:
That is why the anger of the Lord is hot against his people; that is why he has reached out his hand to smash them. The hills will tremble, and the rotting bodies of his people will be thrown as refuse in the streets. But even so, his anger is not ended; his hand is heavy on them still.


book: Isa
contenido:
He will send a signal to the nations far away, whistling to those at the ends of the earth, and they will come racing toward Jerusalem.


book: Isa
contenido:
They never weary, never stumble, never stop; their belts are tight, their bootstraps strong; they run without stopping for rest or for sleep.


book: Isa
contenido:
Their arrows are sharp; their bows are bent; sparks fly from their horses’ hoofs, and the wheels of their chariots spin like the wind.


book: Isa
contenido:
They roar like lions and pounce upon the prey. They seize my people and carry them off into captivity with none to rescue them.


book: Isa
contenido:
They growl over their victims like the roaring of the sea. Over all Israel lies a pall of darkness and sorrow, and the heavens are black.


book: Isa
contenido:
The year King Uzziah died I saw the Lord! He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the Temple was filled with his glory.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
In a great antiphonal chorus they sang, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is filled with his glory.”


book: Isa
contenido:
Such singing it was! It shook the Temple to its foundations, and suddenly the entire sanctuary was filled with smoke.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.”


book: Isa
contenido:
Then one of the mighty angels flew over to the altar and with a pair of tongs picked out a burning coal.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.”


book: Isa
contenido:
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.”


book: Isa
contenido:
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.’


book: Isa
contenido:
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.”


book: Isa
contenido:
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,


book: Isa
contenido:
and they are all taken away as slaves to other countries far away, and all the land of Israel lies deserted!


book: Isa
contenido:
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.”


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
Tell him to quit worrying. Tell him he needn’t be frightened by the fierce anger of those two has-beens, Rezin and Pekah.


book: Isa
contenido:
‘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.’


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.”


book: Isa
contenido:
“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.”


book: Isa
contenido:
Then Isaiah said: O House of David, you aren’t satisfied to exhaust my patience; you exhaust the Lord’s as well!


book: Isa
contenido:
All right then, the Lord himself will choose the sign—a child shall be born to a virgin! And she shall call him Immanuel (meaning, “God is with us”).


book: Isa
contenido:
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.*


book: Isa
contenido:
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!


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.*


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
Again 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.’”


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.”


book: Isa
contenido:
“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,


book: Isa
contenido:
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.”


book: Isa
contenido:
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.*


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
Don’t fear anything except the Lord of the armies of heaven! If you fear him, you need fear nothing else.


book: Isa
contenido:
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!


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.”


book: Isa
contenido:
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?


book: Isa
contenido:
“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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
Wherever they look there will be trouble and anguish and dark despair. And they will be thrust out into the darkness.”


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.”


book: Isa
contenido:
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!


book: Isa
contenido:
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!


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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!


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
so that there is no justice for the poor, the widows, and orphans. Yes, it is true that they even rob the widows and fatherless children.


book: Isa
contenido:
Oh, what will you do when I visit you in that day when I send desolation upon you from a distant land? To whom will you turn then for your help? Where will your treasures be safe?


book: Isa
contenido:
I will not help you; you will stumble along as prisoners or lie among the slain. And even then my anger will not be satisfied, but my fist will still be poised to strike you.


book: Isa
contenido:
Assyria is the whip of my anger; his military strength is my weapon upon this godless nation, doomed and damned; he will enslave them and plunder them and trample them like dirt beneath his feet.


book: Isa
contenido:
But the king of Assyria will not know that it is I who sent him. He will merely think he is attacking my people as part of his plan to conquer the world.


book: Isa
contenido:
“We will destroy Calno just as we did Carchemish,” he will say, “and Hamath will go down before us as Arpad did; and we will destroy Samaria just as we did Damascus.


book: Isa
contenido:
Yes, we have finished off many a kingdom whose idols were far greater than those in Jerusalem and Samaria,


book: Isa
contenido:
After the Lord has used the king of Assyria to accomplish his purpose, then he will turn upon the Assyrians and punish them too—for they are proud and haughty men.


book: Isa
contenido:
They boast, “We in our own power and wisdom have won these wars. We are great and wise. By our own strength we broke down the walls and destroyed the people and carried off their treasures.


book: Isa
contenido:
In our greatness we have robbed their nests of riches and gathered up kingdoms as a farmer gathers eggs, and no one can move a finger or open his mouth to peep against us!”


book: Isa
contenido:
But the Lord says, “Shall the ax boast greater power than the man who uses it? Is the saw greater than the man who saws? Can a rod strike unless a hand is moving it? Can a cane walk by itself?”


book: Isa
contenido:
Because of all your evil boasting, O king of Assyria, the Lord of Hosts will send a plague among your proud troops and strike them down.


book: Isa
contenido:
God, the Light and Holy One of Israel, will be the fire and flame that will destroy them. In a single night he will burn those thorns and briars, the Assyrians who destroyed the land of Israel.


book: Isa
contenido:
Assyria’s vast army is like a glorious forest, yet it will be destroyed. The Lord will destroy them, soul and body, as when a sick man wastes away.


book: Isa
contenido:
Then at last those left in Israel and in Judah will trust the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, instead of fearing the Assyrians.


book: Isa
contenido:
But though Israel be now as many as the sands along the shore, yet only a few of them will be left to return at that time; God has rightly decided to destroy his people.


book: Isa
contenido:
Therefore the Lord God says, “O my people in Jerusalem, don’t be afraid of the Assyrians when they oppress you just as the Egyptians did long ago.


book: Isa
contenido:
It will not last very long; in a little while my anger against you will end, and then it will rise against them to destroy them.”


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord Almighty will send his angel to slay them in a mighty slaughter like the time when Gideon triumphed over Midian at the rock of Oreb or the time God drowned the Egyptian armies in the sea.


book: Isa
contenido:
On that day God will end the bondage of his people. He will break the yoke of slavery off their necks and destroy it as decreed.


book: Isa
contenido:
Look, the mighty armies of Assyria are coming! Now they are at Aiath, now at Migron; they are storing some of their equipment at Michmash and crossing over the pass; they are staying overnight at Geba. Fear strikes the city of Ramah; all the people of Gibeah—the city of Saul—are running for their lives.


book: Isa
contenido:
Well may you scream in terror, O people of Gallim. Shout out a warning to Laish, for the mighty army comes. O poor Anathoth, what a fate is yours!


book: Isa
contenido:
But the enemy stops at Nob for the remainder of that day. He shakes his fist at Jerusalem on Mount Zion.


book: Isa
contenido:
Then, look, look! The Lord, the Lord of the armies of heaven, is chopping down the mighty tree! He is destroying all of that vast army, great and small alike, both officers and men.


book: Isa
contenido:
He, the Mighty One, will cut down the enemy as a woodsman’s ax cuts down the forest trees in Lebanon.


book: Isa
contenido:
The royal line of David will be cut off, chopped down like a tree; but from the stump will grow a Shoot—yes, a new Branch* from the old root.


book: Isa
contenido:
And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, and might; the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.


book: Isa
contenido:
His delight will be obedience to the Lord. He will not judge by appearance, false evidence, or hearsay,


book: Isa
contenido:
In that day the wolf and the lamb will lie down together, and the leopard and goats will be at peace. Calves and fat cattle will be safe among lions, and a little child shall lead them all.


book: Isa
contenido:
The cows will graze among bears; cubs and calves will lie down together, and lions will eat grass like the cows.


book: Isa
contenido:
Babies will crawl safely among poisonous snakes, and a little child who puts his hand in a nest of deadly adders will pull it out unharmed.


book: Isa
contenido:
Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so shall the earth be full of the knowledge of the Lord.


book: Isa
contenido:
In that day he who created the royal dynasty of David will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, for the land where he lives will be a glorious place.


book: Isa
contenido:
At that time the Lord will bring back a remnant of his people for the second time, returning them to the land of Israel from Assyria, Upper and Lower Egypt, Ethiopia, Elam, Babylonia, Hamath, and all the distant coastal lands.


book: Isa
contenido:
He will raise a flag among the nations for them to rally to; he will gather the scattered Israelites from the ends of the earth.


book: Isa
contenido:
Then at last the jealousy between Israel and Judah will end; they will not fight each other anymore.


book: Isa
contenido:
Together they will fly against the nations possessing their land on the east and on the west, uniting forces to destroy them, and they will occupy the nations of Edom and Moab and Ammon.


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord will dry a path through the Red Sea and wave his hand over the Euphrates,* sending a mighty wind to divide it into seven streams that can easily be crossed.


book: Isa
contenido:
He will make a highway from Assyria for the remnant there, just as he did for all of Israel long ago when they returned from Egypt.


book: Isa
contenido:
See, God has come to save me! I will trust and not be afraid, for the Lord is my strength and song; he is my salvation.


book: Isa
contenido:
In that wonderful day you will say, “Thank the Lord! Praise his name! Tell the world about his wondrous love. How mighty he is!”


book: Isa
contenido:
Let all the people of Jerusalem shout his praise with joy. For great and mighty is the Holy One of Israel, who lives among you.


book: Isa
contenido:
See the flags waving as their enemy attacks. Shout to them, O Israel, and wave them on as they march against Babylon to destroy the palaces of the rich and mighty.


book: Isa
contenido:
I, the Lord, have set apart these armies for this task; I have called those rejoicing in their strength to do this work, to satisfy my anger.


book: Isa
contenido:
Hear the tumult on the mountains! Listen as the armies march! It is the tumult and the shout of many nations. The Lord Almighty has brought them here,


book: Isa
contenido:
from countries far away. They are his weapons against you, O Babylon. They carry his anger with them and will destroy your whole land.


book: Isa
contenido:
and are afraid. Fear grips you with terrible pangs, like those of a woman in labor. You look at one another, helpless, as the flames of the burning city reflect upon your pallid faces.


book: Isa
contenido:
For see, the day of the Lord is coming, the terrible day of his wrath and fierce anger. The land shall be destroyed and all the sinners with it.


book: Isa
contenido:
And I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sin; I will crush the arrogance of the proud man and the haughtiness of the rich.


book: Isa
contenido:
Few will live when I have finished up my work.
Men will be as scarce as gold—of greater value than the gold of Ophir.


book: Isa
contenido:
For I will shake the heavens in my wrath and fierce anger, and the earth will move from its place in the skies.


book: Isa
contenido:
The armies of Babylon will run until exhausted, fleeing back to their own land like deer chased by dogs, wandering like sheep deserted by their shepherd.


book: Isa
contenido:
Their little children will be dashed to death against the pavement right before their eyes; their homes will be sacked and their wives raped by the attacking hordes.


book: Isa
contenido:
The attacking armies will have no mercy on the young people of Babylon or the babies or the children.


book: Isa
contenido:
And so Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, the flower of Chaldean culture, will be as utterly destroyed as Sodom and Gomorrah were when God sent fire from heaven;


book: Isa
contenido:
Babylon will never rise again. Generation after generation will come and go, but the land will never again be lived in. The nomads will not even camp there. The shepherds won’t let their sheep stay overnight.


book: Isa
contenido:
The wild animals of the desert will make it their home. The houses will be haunted by howling creatures. Ostriches will live there, and the demons will come there to dance.


book: Isa
contenido:
Hyenas and jackals will den within the palaces. Babylon’s days are numbered; her time of doom will soon be here.


book: Isa
contenido:
But the Lord will have mercy on the Israelis; they are still his special ones. He will bring them back to settle once again in the land of Israel. And many nationalities will come and join them there and be their loyal allies.


book: Isa
contenido:
The nations of the world will help them to return, and those coming to live in their land will serve them. Those enslaving Israel will be enslaved—Israel shall rule her enemies!


book: Isa
contenido:
In that wonderful day when the Lord gives his people rest from sorrow and fear, from slavery and chains,


book: Isa
contenido:
you will jeer at the king of Babylon and say, “You bully, you! At last you have what was coming to you!


book: Isa
contenido:
You persecuted my people with unceasing blows of rage and held the nations in your angry grip. You were unrestrained in tyranny.


book: Isa
contenido:
Even the trees of the woods—the fir trees and cedars of Lebanon—sing out this joyous song: “Your power is broken; no one will bother us now; at last we have peace.”


book: Isa
contenido:
The denizens of hell crowd to meet you as you enter their domain. World leaders and earth’s mightiest kings, long dead, are there to see you.


book: Isa
contenido:
Your might and power are gone; they are buried with you. All the pleasant music in your palace has ceased; now maggots are your sheet, worms your blanket!


book: Isa
contenido:
How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground—mighty though you were against the nations of the world.


book: Isa
contenido:
For you said to yourself, “I will ascend to heaven and rule the angels. I will take the highest throne. I will preside on the Mount of Assembly far away in the north.*


book: Isa
contenido:
Everyone there will stare at you and ask, “Can this be the one who shook the earth and the kingdoms of the world?


book: Isa
contenido:
Can this be the one who destroyed the world and made it into a shambles, who demolished its greatest cities and had no mercy on his prisoners?”


book: Isa
contenido:
but your body is thrown out like a broken branch; it lies in an open grave, covered with the dead bodies of those slain in battle. It lies as a carcass in the road, trampled and mangled by horses’ hoofs.


book: Isa
contenido:
No monument will be given you, for you have destroyed your nation and slain your people. Your son will not succeed you as the king.


book: Isa
contenido:
Slay the children of this sinner. Do not let them rise and conquer the land nor rebuild the cities of the world.


book: Isa
contenido:
I, myself, have risen against him, says the Lord of heaven’s armies, and will cut off his children and his children’s children from ever sitting on his throne.


book: Isa
contenido:
I will make Babylon into a desolate land of porcupines, full of swamps and marshes. I will sweep the land with the broom of destruction, says the Lord of the armies of heaven.


book: Isa
contenido:
I have decided to break the Assyrian army when they are in Israel and to crush them on my mountains; my people shall no longer be their slaves.


book: Isa
contenido:
This is my plan for the whole earth—I will do it by my mighty power that reaches everywhere around the world.


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord, the God of battle, has spoken—who can change his plans? When his hand moves, who can stop him?


book: Isa
contenido:
Don’t rejoice, Philistines, that the king who smote you is dead. That rod is broken, yes; but his son will be a greater scourge to you than his father ever was! From the snake will be born an adder, a fiery serpent to destroy you!


book: Isa
contenido:
I will shepherd the poor of my people; they shall graze in my pasture! The needy shall lie down in peace. But as for you—I will wipe you out with famine and the sword.


book: Isa
contenido:
Weep, Philistine cities—you are doomed. All your nation is doomed. For a perfectly trained army is coming down from the north against you.


book: Isa
contenido:
What then shall we tell the reporters? Tell them that the Lord has founded Jerusalem and is determined that the poor of his people will find a refuge within her walls.


book: Isa
contenido:
Your people in Dibon go mourning to their temples to weep for the fate of Nebo and Medeba; they shave their heads in sorrow and cut off their beards.


book: Isa
contenido:
The cries from the cities of Heshbon and Elealeh are heard far away, even in Jahaz. The bravest warriors of Moab cry in utter terror.


book: Isa
contenido:
My heart weeps for Moab! His people flee to Zoar and Eglath. Weeping, they climb the upward road to Luhith, and their crying will be heard all along the road to Horonaim.


book: Isa
contenido:
The desperate refugees take only the possessions they can carry and flee across the Brook of Willows.


book: Isa
contenido:
The stream near Dibon will run red with blood, but I am not through with Dibon yet! Lions will hunt down the survivors, both those who escape and those who remain.


book: Isa
contenido:
The ambassadors, who accompany the gift to Jerusalem plead for advice and help. “Give us sanctuary. Protect us. Do not turn us over to our foes.


book: Isa
contenido:
Let our outcasts stay among you; hide them from our enemies! God will reward you for your kindness to us. If you let Moab’s fugitives settle among you, then when the terror is past, God will establish David’s throne forever, and on that throne he will place a just and righteous King.”


book: Isa
contenido:
Is this proud Moab, concerning which we heard so much? His arrogance and insolence are all gone now!


book: Isa
contenido:
and for the abandoned farms of Heshbon and the vineyards at Sibmah. The enemy warlords have cut down the best of the grapevines; their armies spread out as far as Jazer in the deserts, and even down to the sea.


book: Isa
contenido:
So I wail and lament for Jazer and the vineyards of Sibmah. My tears shall flow for Heshbon and Elealeh, for destruction has come upon their summer fruits and harvests.


book: Isa
contenido:
Gone now is the gladness, gone the joy of harvest. The happy singing in the vineyards will be heard no more; the treading out of the grapes in the winepresses has ceased forever. I have ended all their harvest joys.


book: Isa
contenido:
The people of Moab will pray in anguish to their idols at the tops of the hills, but it will do no good; they will cry to their gods in their idol temples, but none will come to save them.


book: Isa
contenido:
All this concerning Moab has been said before; but now the Lord says that within three years, without fail, the glory of Moab shall be ended, and few of all its people will be left alive.


book: Isa
contenido:
This is God’s message to Damascus, capital of Syria:
Look, Damascus is gone! It is no longer a city—it has become a heap of ruins!


book: Isa
contenido:
The cities of Aroer are deserted. Sheep pasture there, lying quiet and unafraid, with no one to chase them away.


book: Isa
contenido:
The strength of Israel and the power of Damascus will end, and the remnant of Syria shall be destroyed. For as Israel’s glory departed, so theirs, too, will disappear, declares the Lord Almighty.


book: Isa
contenido:
Oh, a very few of her people will be left, just as a few stray olives are left on the trees when the harvest is ended, two or three in the highest branches, four or five out on the tips of the limbs. That is how it will be in Damascus and Israel—stripped bare of people except for a few of the poor who remain.


book: Isa
contenido:
They will no longer ask their idols for help in that day, neither will they worship what their hands have made! They will no longer have respect for the images of Ashtaroth and the sun idols.


book: Isa
contenido:
Their largest cities will be as deserted as the distant wooded hills and mountaintops and become like the abandoned cities of the Amorites, deserted when the Israelites approached (so long ago).


book: Isa
contenido:
Why? Because you have turned from the God who can save you—the Rock who can hide you; therefore, even though you plant a wonderful, rare crop of greatest value,


book: Isa
contenido:
and though it grows so well that it will blossom on the very morning that you plant it, yet you will never harvest it—your only harvest will be a pile of grief and incurable pain.


book: Isa
contenido:
But though they roar like breakers rolling upon a beach, God will silence them. They will flee, scattered like chaff by the wind, like whirling dust before a storm.


book: Isa
contenido:
In the evening Israel waits in terror, but by dawn her enemies are dead. This is the just reward of those who plunder and destroy the people of God.


book: Isa
contenido:
Land that sends ambassadors in fast boats down the Nile! Let swift messengers return to you, O strong and supple nation feared far and wide, a conquering, destroying nation whose land the upper Nile divides. And this is the message sent to you:


book: Isa
contenido:
When I raise my battle flag upon the mountain, let all the world take notice! When I blow the trumpet, listen!


book: Isa
contenido:
For the Lord has told me this: Let your mighty army now advance against the land of Israel. God will watch quietly from his Temple in Jerusalem—serene as on a pleasant summer day or a lovely autumn morning during harvesttime.


book: Isa
contenido:
But before you have begun the attack, and while your plans are ripening like grapes, he will cut you off as though with pruning shears. He will snip the spreading tendrils.


book: Isa
contenido:
Your mighty army will be left dead on the field for the mountain birds and wild animals to eat; the vultures will tear bodies all summer, and the wild animals will gnaw bones all winter.


book: Isa
contenido:
But the time will come when that strong and mighty nation, a terror to all both far and near, that conquering, destroying nation whose land the rivers divide, will bring gifts to the Lord Almighty in Jerusalem, where he has placed his name.


book: Isa
contenido:
This is God’s message concerning Egypt:
Look, the Lord is coming against Egypt, riding on a swift cloud; the idols of Egypt tremble; the hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear.


book: Isa
contenido:
I will set them to fighting against each other—brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, province against province.


book: Isa
contenido:
Her wise counselors are all at their wits’ end to know what to do; they plead with their idols for wisdom and call upon mediums, wizards, and witches to show them what to do.


book: Isa
contenido:
And the waters of the Nile will fail to rise and flood the fields; the ditches will be parched and dry,


book: Isa
contenido:
All green things along the riverbank will wither and blow away. All crops will perish; everything will die.


book: Isa
contenido:
The fishermen will weep for lack of work; those who fish with hooks and those who use the nets will all be unemployed.


book: Isa
contenido:
What fools the counselors of Zoan are! Their best counsel to the king of Egypt is utterly stupid and wrong. Will they still boast of their wisdom? Will they dare tell Pharaoh about the long line of wise men they have come from?


book: Isa
contenido:
What has happened to your “wise counselors,” O Pharaoh? Where has their wisdom gone? If they are wise, let them tell you what the Lord is going to do to Egypt.


book: Isa
contenido:
The “wise men” from Zoan are also fools, and those from Memphis are utterly deluded. They are the best you can find, but they have ruined Egypt with their foolish counsel.


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord has sent a spirit of foolishness on them, so that all their suggestions are wrong; they make Egypt stagger like a sick drunkard.


book: Isa
contenido:
In that day the Egyptians will be as weak as women, cowering in fear beneath the upraised fist of God.


book: Isa
contenido:
Just to speak the name of Israel will strike deep terror in their hearts, for the Lord Almighty has laid his plans against them.


book: Isa
contenido:
At that time five of the cities of Egypt will follow the Lord Almighty and will begin to speak the Hebrew language. One of these will be Heliopolis, “The City of the Sun.”


book: Isa
contenido:
And there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt in those days and a monument to the Lord at its border.


book: Isa
contenido:
This will be for a sign of loyalty to the Lord Almighty; then when they cry to the Lord for help against those who oppress them, he will send them a savior—and he shall deliver them.


book: Isa
contenido:
In that day the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians. Yes, they will know the Lord and give their sacrifices and offerings to him; they will make promises to God and keep them.


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord will smite Egypt and then restore her! For the Egyptians will turn to the Lord and he will listen to their plea and heal them.


book: Isa
contenido:
In that day Egypt and Iraq will be connected by a highway, and the Egyptians and the Iraqis will move freely back and forth between their lands, and they shall worship the same God.


book: Isa
contenido:
For the Lord will bless Egypt and Iraq because of their friendship with Israel. He will say, “Blessed be Egypt, my people; blessed be Iraq, the land I have made; blessed be Israel, my inheritance!”


book: Isa
contenido:
In the year when Sargon, king of Assyria, sent the commander-in-chief of his army against the Philistine city of Ashdod and captured it,


book: Isa
contenido:
the Lord told Isaiah, the son of Amoz, to take off his clothing, including his shoes, and to walk around naked and barefoot. And Isaiah did as he was told.


book: Isa
contenido:
Then the Lord said, My servant Isaiah, who has been walking naked and barefoot for the last three years, is a symbol of the terrible troubles I will bring upon Egypt and Ethiopia.


book: Isa
contenido:
For the king of Assyria will take away the Egyptians and Ethiopians as prisoners, making them walk naked and barefoot, both young and old, their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.


book: Isa
contenido:
Then how dismayed the Philistines will be, who counted on “Ethiopia’s power” and their “glorious ally,” Egypt! And they will say, “If this can happen to Egypt, what chance have we?”


book: Isa
contenido:
This is God’s message concerning Babylon:
Disaster is roaring down upon you from the terrible desert, like a whirlwind sweeping from the Negeb.


book: Isa
contenido:
I see an awesome vision: oh, the horror of it all! God is telling me what he is going to do. I see you plundered and destroyed. Elamites and Medes will take part in the siege. Babylon will fall, and the groaning of all the nations she enslaved will end.


book: Isa
contenido:
My stomach constricts and burns with pain; sharp pangs of horror are upon me, like the pangs of a woman giving birth to a child. I faint when I hear what God is planning; I am terrified, blinded with dismay.


book: Isa
contenido:
My mind reels; my heart races; I am gripped by awful fear. All rest at night—so pleasant once—is gone; I lie awake, trembling.


book: Isa
contenido:
Look! They are preparing a great banquet! They load the tables with food; they pull up their chairs to eat. . . . Quick, quick, grab your shields and prepare for battle! You are being attacked!*


book: Isa
contenido:
Meanwhile (in my vision) the Lord had told me, “Put a watchman on the city wall to shout out what he sees. When he sees riders in pairs on donkeys and camels,* tell him, ‘This is it!’”


book: Isa
contenido:
So I put the watchman on the wall, and at last he shouted, “Sir, day after day and night after night I have been here at my post. Now at last—look! Here come riders in pairs!”
Then I heard a voice shout out, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the idols of Babylon lie broken on the ground.”


book: Isa
contenido:
O my people, threshed and winnowed, I have told you all that the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, has said.


book: Isa
contenido:
This is God’s message to Edom:
Someone from among you keeps calling, calling to me: “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? How much time is left?”


book: Isa
contenido:
The watchman replies, “Your judgment day is dawning now. Turn again to God, so that I can give you better news. Seek for him, then come and ask again!”


book: Isa
contenido:
This is God’s message concerning Arabia:
O caravans from Dedan, you will hide in the deserts of Arabia.


book: Isa
contenido:
“But a long year from now,” says the Lord, “the great power of their enemy,* the mighty tribe of Kedar, will end.


book: Isa
contenido:
This is God’s message concerning Jerusalem:
What is happening? Where is everyone going? Why are they running to the rooftops? What are they looking at?


book: Isa
contenido:
The whole city is in terrible uproar. What’s the trouble in this busy, happy city? Bodies! Lying everywhere, slain by plague* and not by sword.


book: Isa
contenido:
All your leaders flee; they surrender without resistance. The people slip away but they are captured too.


book: Isa
contenido:
Leave me alone to weep. Don’t try to comfort me—let me cry for my people as I watch them being destroyed.


book: Isa
contenido:
Oh, what a day of crushing trouble! What a day of confusion and terror from the Lord God of heaven’s armies! The walls of Jerusalem are breached, and the cry of death echoes from the mountainsides.


book: Isa
contenido:
Elamites are the archers; Syrians drive the chariots; the men of Kir hold up the shields. They fill your choicest valleys and crowd against your gates.


book: Isa
contenido:
You inspect the walls of Jerusalem to see what needs repair! You check over the houses and tear some down for stone for fixing walls. Between the city walls, you build a reservoir for water from the lower pool! But all your feverish plans will not avail, for you never ask for help from God, who lets this come upon you. He is the one who planned it long ago.


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord God called you to repent, to weep and mourn, to shave your heads in sorrow for your sins, and to wear clothes made of sackcloth to show your remorse.


book: Isa
contenido:
But instead, you sing and dance and play, and feast and drink. “Let us eat, drink, and be merry,” you say: “What’s the difference, for tomorrow we die.”


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord Almighty has revealed to me that this sin will never be forgiven you until the day you die.


book: Isa
contenido:
Furthermore, the same Lord God of the armies of heaven has told me this: Go and say to Shebna, the palace administrator: “And who do you think you are, building this beautiful sepulchre in the rock for yourself?


book: Isa
contenido:
For the Lord who allowed you to be clothed so gorgeously will hurl you away, sending you into captivity, O strong man!


book: Isa
contenido:
He will wad you up in his hands like a ball and toss you away into a distant, barren land; there you will die, O glorious one—you who disgrace your nation!


book: Isa
contenido:
He shall have your uniform and title and authority, and he will be a father to the people of Jerusalem and all Judah.


book: Isa
contenido:
I will give him responsibility over all my people; whatever he says will be done; none will be able to stop him.


book: Isa
contenido:
I will make of him a strong and steady peg to support my people; they will load him with responsibility, and he will be an honor to his family name.”


book: Isa
contenido:
But the Lord will pull out that other peg that seems to be so firmly fastened to the wall! It will come out and fall to the ground, and everything it supports will fall with it, for the Lord has spoken.


book: Isa
contenido:
This is God’s message to Tyre:
Weep, O ships of Tyre, returning home from distant lands! Weep for your harbor, for it is gone! The rumors that you heard in Cyprus are all true.


book: Isa
contenido:
Deathly silence is everywhere. Stillness reigns where once your hustling port was full of ships from Sidon, bringing merchandise from far across the ocean, from Egypt and along the Nile. You were the merchandise mart of the world.


book: Isa
contenido:
This silent ruin is all that’s left of your once joyous land. What a history was yours! Think of all the colonists you sent to distant lands!


book: Isa
contenido:
The Commander of the armies of heaven has done it to destroy your pride and show his contempt for all the greatness of mankind.


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord holds out his hand over the seas; he shakes the kingdoms of the earth; he has spoken out against this great merchant city, to destroy its strength.


book: Isa
contenido:
He says, “Never again, O dishonored virgin, daughter of Sidon, will you rejoice, will you be strong. Even if you flee to Cyprus, you will find no rest.”


book: Isa
contenido:
It will be the Babylonians, not the Assyrians, who consign Tyre to the wild beasts. They will lay siege to it, raze its palaces, and make it a heap of ruins.


book: Isa
contenido:
For seventy years Tyre will be forgotten. Then, in the days of another king, the city will come back to life again; she will sing sweet songs as a harlot sings who, long absent from her lovers, walks the streets to look for them again and is remembered.


book: Isa
contenido:
Yes, after seventy years, the Lord will revive Tyre, but she will be no different than she was before; she will return again to all her evil ways around the world.


book: Isa
contenido:
Yet the distant time will come when her businesses will give their profits to the Lord! They will not be hoarded but used for good food and fine clothes for the priests of the Lord!


book: Isa
contenido:
Look! The Lord is overturning the land of Judah and making it a vast wasteland of destruction. See how he is emptying out all its people and scattering them over the face of the earth.


book: Isa
contenido:
Priests and people, servants and masters, slave girls and mistresses, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, bankers and debtors—none will be spared.


book: Isa
contenido:
The land suffers for the sins of its people. The earth languishes, the crops wither, the skies refuse their rain. The land is defiled by crime; the people have twisted the laws of God and broken his everlasting commands.


book: Isa
contenido:
Therefore the curse of God is upon them; they are left desolate, destroyed by the drought. Few will be left alive.


book: Isa
contenido:
All the joys of life will go: the grape harvest will fail, the wine will be gone, the merrymakers will sigh and mourn.


book: Isa
contenido:
Mobs form in the streets, crying for wine; joy has reached its lowest ebb; gladness has been banished from the land.


book: Isa
contenido:
and those in the east will respond with praise. Hear them singing to the Lord from the ends of the earth, singing glory to the Righteous One!
But my heart is heavy with grief, for evil still prevails and treachery is everywhere.


book: Isa
contenido:
When you flee in terror, you will fall into a pit, and if you escape from the pit, you will step into a trap, for destruction falls from the heavens upon you; the world is shaken beneath you.


book: Isa
contenido:
The world staggers like a drunkard; it shakes like a tent in a storm. It falls and will not rise again, for the sins of the earth are very great.


book: Isa
contenido:
On that day the Lord will punish the fallen angels in the heavens and the proud rulers of the nations on earth.


book: Isa
contenido:
They will be rounded up like prisoners and imprisoned in a dungeon until they are tried and condemned.


book: Isa
contenido:
Then the Lord of heaven’s armies will mount his throne in Zion and rule gloriously in Jerusalem, in the sight of all the elders of his people. Such glory there will be that all the brightness of the sun and moon will seem to fade away.


book: Isa
contenido:
O Lord, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God; you do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them, just as you said!


book: Isa
contenido:
You turn mighty cities into heaps of ruins. The strongest forts are turned to rubble. Beautiful palaces in distant lands disappear and will never be rebuilt.


book: Isa
contenido:
Therefore strong nations will shake with fear before you; ruthless nations will obey and glorify your name.


book: Isa
contenido:
But to the poor, O Lord, you are a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, a shelter from merciless men who are like a driving rain that melts down an earthen wall.


book: Isa
contenido:
Here on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, the Lord Almighty will spread a wondrous feast for everyone around the world—a delicious feast of good food, with clear, well-aged wine and choice beef.


book: Isa
contenido:
he will swallow up death forever. The Lord God will wipe away all tears and take away forever all insults and mockery against his land and people. The Lord has spoken—he will surely do it!


book: Isa
contenido:
In that day the people will proclaim, “This is our God in whom we trust, for whom we waited. Now at last he is here.” What a day of rejoicing!


book: Isa
contenido:
For the Lord’s good hand will rest upon Jerusalem, and Moab will be crushed as straw beneath his feet and left to rot.


book: Isa
contenido:
God will push them down just as a swimmer pushes down the water with his hands. He will end their pride and all their evil works.


book: Isa
contenido:
Listen to them singing! In that day the whole land of Judah will sing this song:
“Our city is strong! We are surrounded by the walls of his salvation!”


book: Isa
contenido:
But for good men the path is not uphill and rough! God does not give them a rough and treacherous path, but smooths the road before them.


book: Isa
contenido:
All night long I search for you; earnestly I seek for God; for only when you come in judgment on the earth to punish it will people turn away from wickedness and do what is right.


book: Isa
contenido:
Your kindness to the wicked doesn’t make them good; they keep on doing wrong and take no notice of your majesty.


book: Isa
contenido:
They do not listen when you threaten; they will not look to see your upraised fist. Show them how much you love your people. Perhaps then they will be ashamed! Yes, let them be burned up by the fire reserved for your enemies.


book: Isa
contenido:
Those we served before are dead and gone; never again will they return. You came against them and destroyed them, and they are long forgotten.


book: Isa
contenido:
Lord, in their distress they sought for you. When your punishment was on them, they poured forth a whispered prayer.


book: Isa
contenido:
How we missed your presence, Lord! We suffered as a woman giving birth who cries and writhes in pain.


book: Isa
contenido:
Yet we have this assurance: Those who belong to God shall live again. Their bodies shall rise again! Those who dwell in the dust shall awake and sing for joy! For God’s light of life will fall like dew upon them!


book: Isa
contenido:
Go home, my people, and lock the doors! Hide for a little while until the Lord’s wrath against your enemies has passed.


book: Isa
contenido:
Look! The Lord is coming from the heavens to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will no longer hide the murderers. The guilty will be found.


book: Isa
contenido:
In that day the Lord will take his terrible, swift sword and punish leviathan, the swiftly moving serpent, the coiling, writhing serpent, the dragon of the sea.


book: Isa
contenido:
Israel is my vineyard; I, the Lord, will tend the fruitful vines; every day I’ll water them, and day and night I’ll watch to keep all enemies away.


book: Isa
contenido:
My anger against Israel* is gone. If I find thorns and briars bothering her, I will burn them up, unless these enemies of mine surrender and beg for peace and my protection.


book: Isa
contenido:
The time will come when Israel will take root and bud and blossom and fill the whole earth with her fruit!


book: Isa
contenido:
Has God punished Israel as much as he has punished her enemies? No, for he has devastated her enemies, while he has punished Israel but a little, exiling her far from her own land as though blown away in a storm from the east.


book: Isa
contenido:
And why did God do it? It was to purge away her sins, to rid her of all her idol altars and her idols. They will never be worshiped again.


book: Isa
contenido:
Her walled cities will be silent and empty, houses abandoned, streets grown up with grass, cows grazing through the city munching on twigs and branches.


book: Isa
contenido:
My people are like the dead branches of a tree, broken off and used to burn beneath the pots. They are a foolish nation, a witless, stupid people, for they turn away from God. Therefore, he who made them will not have pity on them or show them his mercy.


book: Isa
contenido:
Yet the time will come when the Lord will gather them together one by one like hand-picked grain, selecting them here and there from his great threshing floor that reaches all the way from the Euphrates River to the Egyptian boundary.


book: Isa
contenido:
In that day the great trumpet will be blown, and many about to perish among their enemies, Assyria and Egypt, will be rescued and brought back to Jerusalem to worship the Lord in his holy mountain.


book: Isa
contenido:
Woe to the city of Samaria, surrounded by her rich valley—Samaria, the pride and delight of the drunkards of Israel! Woe to her fading beauty, the crowning glory of a nation of men lying drunk in the streets!


book: Isa
contenido:
For the Lord will send a mighty army (the Assyrians) against you; like a mighty hailstorm he will burst upon you and dash you to the ground.


book: Isa
contenido:
The proud city of Samaria—yes, the joy and delight of the drunkards of Israel—will be hurled to the ground and trampled beneath the enemies’ feet.


book: Isa
contenido:
Once glorious, her fading beauty surrounded by a fertile valley will suddenly be gone, greedily snatched away as an early fig is hungrily snatched and gobbled up!


book: Isa
contenido:
Then at last the Lord Almighty himself will be their crowning glory, the diadem of beauty to his people who are left.


book: Isa
contenido:
He will give a longing for justice to your judges and great courage to your soldiers who are battling to the last before your gates.


book: Isa
contenido:
But Jerusalem is now led by drunks! Her priests and prophets reel and stagger, making stupid errors and mistakes.


book: Isa
contenido:
“Who does Isaiah think he is,” the people say, “to speak to us like this! Are we little children, barely old enough to talk?


book: Isa
contenido:
But they won’t listen; the only language they can understand is punishment! So God will punish them by sending against them foreigners who speak strange gibberish! Only then will they listen to him!


book: Isa
contenido:
They could have rest in their own land if they would obey him, if they were kind and good. He told them that, but they wouldn’t listen to him.


book: Isa
contenido:
So the Lord will spell it out for them again, repeating it over and over in simple words whenever he can; yet over this simple, straightforward message they will stumble and fall and be broken, trapped and captured.


book: Isa
contenido:
You have struck a bargain with death, you say, and sold yourselves to the devil in exchange for his protection against the Assyrians. “They can never touch us,” you say, “for we are under the care of one who will deceive and fool them.”


book: Isa
contenido:
But the Lord God says, “See, I am placing a Foundation Stone in Zion—a firm, tested, precious Cornerstone that is safe to build on. He who believes need never run away again.


book: Isa
contenido:
I will take the line and plummet of justice to check the foundation wall you built; it looks so fine, but it is so weak a storm of hail will knock it down! The enemy will come like a flood and sweep it away, and you will be drowned.


book: Isa
contenido:
I will cancel your agreement of compromise with death and the devil, so when the terrible enemy floods in, you will be trampled into the ground.


book: Isa
contenido:
Again and again that flood will come and carry you off, until at last the unmixed horror of the truth of my warnings will finally dawn on you.”


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord will come suddenly and in anger, as at Mount Perazim and Gibeon, to do a strange, unusual thing—to destroy his own people!


book: Isa
contenido:
So scoff no more, lest your punishment be made even greater, for the Lord God has plainly told me that he is determined to crush you.


book: Isa
contenido:
Listen to me, listen as I plead: Does a farmer always plow and never sow? Is he forever harrowing the soil and never planting it?


book: Isa
contenido:
He doesn’t thresh all grains the same. A sledge is never used on dill, but it is beaten with a stick. A threshing wheel is never rolled on cummin, but it is beaten softly with a flail.


book: Isa
contenido:
but I will send heavy judgment upon you, and there will be weeping and sorrow. For Jerusalem shall become as her name “Ariel” means—an altar covered with blood.


book: Isa
contenido:
I will be your enemy. I will surround Jerusalem and lay siege against it, and build forts around it to destroy it.


book: Isa
contenido:
In an instant, I, the Lord of Hosts, will come upon them with thunder, earthquake, whirlwind, and fire.


book: Isa
contenido:
As a hungry man dreams of eating but is still hungry, and as a thirsty man dreams of drinking but is still faint from thirst when he wakes up, so your enemies will dream of victorious conquest, but all to no avail.


book: Isa
contenido:
You are amazed, incredulous? You don’t believe it? Then go ahead and be blind if you must! You are stupid—and not from drinking, either! Stagger, and not from wine!


book: Isa
contenido:
For the Lord has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep. He has closed the eyes of your prophets and seers,


book: Isa
contenido:
so all of these future events are a sealed book to them. When you give it to one who can read, he says, “I can’t, for it’s sealed.”


book: Isa
contenido:
And so the Lord says, “Since these people say they are mine but they do not obey me, and since their worship amounts to mere words learned by rote,


book: Isa
contenido:
therefore I will take awesome vengeance on these hypocrites and make their wisest counselors as fools.”


book: Isa
contenido:
Woe to those who try to hide their plans from God, who try to keep him in the dark concerning what they do! “God can’t see us,” they say to themselves. “He doesn’t know what is going on!”


book: Isa
contenido:
How stupid can they be! Isn’t he, the Potter, greater than you, the jars he makes? Will you say to him, “He didn’t make us”? Does a machine call its inventor dumb?


book: Isa
contenido:
Soon—and it will not be very long—the wilderness of Lebanon will be a fruitful field again, a lush and fertile forest.


book: Isa
contenido:
In that day the deaf will hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the blind will see my plans.


book: Isa
contenido:
The meek will be filled with fresh joy from the Lord, and the poor shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.


book: Isa
contenido:
the violent man who fights at the drop of a hat, the man who waits in hiding to beat up the judge who sentenced him, and the men who use any excuse to be unfair.


book: Isa
contenido:
That is why the Lord who redeemed Abraham says: “My people will no longer pale with fear or be ashamed.


book: Isa
contenido:
For when they see the surging birthrate and the expanding economy, then they will fear and rejoice in my name; they will praise the Holy One of Israel and stand in awe of him.


book: Isa
contenido:
Woe to my rebellious children, says the Lord; you ask advice from everyone but me and decide to do what I don’t want you to do. You yoke yourselves with unbelievers, thus piling up your sins.


book: Isa
contenido:
For without consulting me you have gone down to Egypt to find aid and have put your trust in Pharaoh for his protection.


book: Isa
contenido:
But in trusting Pharaoh, you will be disappointed, humiliated and disgraced, for he can’t deliver on his promises to save you.


book: Isa
contenido:
See them moving slowly across the terrible desert to Egypt—donkeys and camels laden down with treasure to pay for Egypt’s aid. On through the badlands they go, where lions and swift venomous snakes live—and Egypt will give you nothing in return!


book: Isa
contenido:
Now go and write down this word of mine concerning Egypt, so that it will stand until the end of time, forever and forever, as an indictment of Israel’s unbelief.


book: Isa
contenido:
For if you don’t write it, they will claim I never warned them. “Oh no,” they’ll say, “you never told us that!”
For they are stubborn rebels.


book: Isa
contenido:
They tell my prophets, “Shut up—we don’t want any more of your reports!” Or they say, “Don’t tell us the truth; tell us nice things; tell us lies. Forget all this gloom; we’ve heard more than enough about your ‘Holy One of Israel’ and all he says.”


book: Isa
contenido:
This is the reply of the Holy One of Israel:
Because you despise what I tell you and trust instead in frauds and lies and won’t repent,


book: Isa
contenido:
therefore calamity will come upon you suddenly, as upon a bulging wall that bursts and falls; in one moment it comes crashing down.


book: Isa
contenido:
God will smash you like a broken dish; he will not act sparingly. Not a piece will be left large enough to use for carrying coals from the hearth, or a little water from the well.


book: Isa
contenido:
For the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, says: Only in returning to me and waiting for me will you be saved; in quietness and confidence is your strength; but you’ll have none of this.


book: Isa
contenido:
“No,” you say. “We will get our help from Egypt; they will give us swift horses for riding to battle.” But the only swiftness you are going to see is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you!


book: Isa
contenido:
One of them will chase a thousand of you! Five of them will scatter you until not two of you are left together. You will be like lonely trees on the distant mountaintops.


book: Isa
contenido:
Yet the Lord still waits for you to come to him so he can show you his love; he will conquer you to bless you, just as he said. For the Lord is faithful to his promises. Blessed are all those who wait for him to help them.


book: Isa
contenido:
O my people in Jerusalem, you shall weep no more, for he will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. He will answer you.


book: Isa
contenido:
Though he give you the bread of adversity and water of affliction, yet he will be with you to teach you—with your own eyes you will see your Teacher.


book: Isa
contenido:
And if you leave God’s paths and go astray, you will hear a voice behind you say, “No, this is the way; walk here.”


book: Isa
contenido:
And you will destroy all your silver idols and gold images and cast them out like filthy things you hate to touch. “Ugh!” you’ll say to them. “Be gone!”


book: Isa
contenido:
Then God will bless you with rain at planting time and with wonderful harvests and with ample pastures for your cows.


book: Isa
contenido:
In that day when God steps in to destroy your enemies, he will give you streams of water flowing down each mountain and every hill.


book: Isa
contenido:
The moon will be as bright as the sun, and the sunlight brighter than seven days! So it will be when the Lord begins to heal his people and to cure the wounds he gave them.


book: Isa
contenido:
See, the Lord comes from afar, aflame with wrath, surrounded by thick rising smoke. His lips are filled with fury; his words consume like fire.


book: Isa
contenido:
His wrath pours out like floods upon them all, to sweep them all away. He will sift out the proud nations and bridle them and lead them off to their doom.


book: Isa
contenido:
But the people of God will sing a song of solemn joy, like songs in the night when holy feasts are held; his people will have gladness of heart, as when a flutist leads a pilgrim band to Jerusalem to the mountain of the Lord, the Rock of Israel.


book: Isa
contenido:
And the Lord shall cause his majestic voice to be heard and shall crush down his mighty arm upon his enemies with angry indignation and devouring flames, with tornados, terrible storms, and huge hailstones.


book: Isa
contenido:
The funeral pyre has long been ready, prepared for Molech, the Assyrian god; it is piled high with wood. The breath of the Lord, like fire from a volcano, will set it all on fire.


book: Isa
contenido:
Woe to those who run to Egypt for help, trusting their mighty cavalry and chariots instead of looking to the Holy One of Israel and consulting him.


book: Isa
contenido:
In his wisdom, he will send great evil on his people and will not change his mind. He will rise against them for the evil they have done and crush their allies too.


book: Isa
contenido:
For these Egyptians are mere men, not God! Their horses are puny flesh, not mighty spirits! When the Lord clenches his fist against them, they will stumble and fall among those they are trying to help. All will fail together.


book: Isa
contenido:
But the Lord has told me this: When a lion, even a young one, kills a sheep, he pays no attention to the shepherd’s shouts and noise. He goes right on and eats. In such manner the Lord will come and fight upon Mount Zion. He will not be frightened away! He, the Lord Almighty, will hover over Jerusalem as birds hover round their nests, and he will defend the city and deliver it.


book: Isa
contenido:
I know the glorious day will come when every one of you will throw away his gold idols and silver images—which in your sinfulness you have made.


book: Isa
contenido:
The Assyrians will be destroyed, but not by swords of men. The “sword of God” will smite them. They will panic and flee, and the strong young Assyrians will be taken away as slaves.


book: Isa
contenido:
Even their generals will quake with terror and flee when they see the battle flags of Israel, says the Lord. For the flame of God burns brightly in Jerusalem.


book: Isa
contenido:
He will shelter Israel from the storm and wind. He will refresh her as a river in the desert and as the cooling shadow of a mighty rock within a hot and weary land.


book: Isa
contenido:
Even the hotheads among them will be full of sense and understanding, and those who stammer in uncertainty will speak out plainly.


book: Isa
contenido:
In those days the ungodly, the atheists, will not be heroes! Wealthy cheaters will not be spoken of as generous, outstanding men!


book: Isa
contenido:
Everyone will recognize an evil man when he sees him, and hypocrites will fool no one at all. Their lies about God and their cheating of the hungry will be plain for all to see.


book: Isa
contenido:
The smooth tricks of evil men will be exposed, as will all the lies they use to oppress the poor in the courts.


book: Isa
contenido:
In a short time—in just a little more than a year—suddenly you’ll care, O careless ones. For the crops of fruit will fail; the harvest will not take place.


book: Isa
contenido:
Tremble, O women of ease; throw off your unconcern. Strip off your pretty clothes—wear sackcloth for your grief.


book: Isa
contenido:
Beat your breasts in sorrow for those bountiful farms of yours that will soon be gone, and for those fruitful vines of other years.


book: Isa
contenido:
Palaces and mansions will all be deserted, the crowded cities empty. Wild herds of donkeys and goats will graze upon the mountains where the watchtowers are,


book: Isa
contenido:
until at last the Spirit is poured down on us from heaven. Then once again enormous crops will come.


book: Isa
contenido:
And God will greatly bless his people. Wherever they plant, bountiful crops will spring up, and their flocks and herds will graze in green pastures.


book: Isa
contenido:
Woe to you, Assyrians, who have destroyed everything around you but have never felt destruction for yourselves. You expect others to respect their promises to you, while you betray them! Now you, too, will be betrayed and destroyed.


book: Isa
contenido:
But to us, O Lord, be merciful, for we have waited for you. Be our strength each day and our salvation in the time of trouble.


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord is very great and lives in heaven. He will make Jerusalem the home of justice and goodness and righteousness.


book: Isa
contenido:
An abundance of salvation is stored up for Judah in a safe place, along with wisdom and knowledge and reverence for God.


book: Isa
contenido:
But now your ambassadors weep in bitter disappointment, for Assyria has refused their cry for peace.


book: Isa
contenido:
Your roads lie in ruins; travelers detour on back roads. The Assyrians have broken their peace pact and care nothing for the promises they made in the presence of witnesses—they have no respect for anyone.


book: Isa
contenido:
All the land of Israel is in trouble; Lebanon has been destroyed; Sharon has become a wilderness; Bashan and Carmel are plundered.


book: Isa
contenido:
You Assyrians will gain nothing by all your efforts. Your own breath will turn to fire and kill you.


book: Isa
contenido:
The sinners among my people shake with fear. “Which one of us,” they cry, “can live here in the presence of this all-consuming, everlasting fire?”


book: Isa
contenido:
I will tell you who can live here: All who are honest and fair, who reject making profit by fraud, who hold back their hands from taking bribes, who refuse to listen to those who plot murder, who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong.


book: Isa
contenido:
Such as these shall dwell on high. The rocks of the mountains will be their fortress of safety; food will be supplied to them, and they will have all the water they need.


book: Isa
contenido:
Your mind will think back to this time of terror when the Assyrian officers outside your walls are counting your towers and estimating how much they will get from your fallen city.


book: Isa
contenido:
But soon they will all be gone. These fierce, violent people with a strange, jabbering language you can’t understand will disappear.


book: Isa
contenido:
The enemies’ sails hang loose on broken masts with useless tackle. Their treasure will be divided by the people of God; even the lame will win their share.


book: Isa
contenido:
The people of Israel will no longer say, “We are sick and helpless,” for the Lord will forgive them their sins and bless them.


book: Isa
contenido:
For the Lord is enraged against the nations; his fury is against their armies. He will utterly destroy them and deliver them to slaughter.


book: Isa
contenido:
Their dead will be left unburied, and the stench of rotting bodies will fill the land; the mountains will flow with their blood.


book: Isa
contenido:
At that time the heavens above will melt away and disappear just like a rolled-up scroll, and the stars will fall as leaves, as ripe fruit from the trees.


book: Isa
contenido:
And when my sword has finished its work in the heavens, then watch, for it will fall upon Edom, the people I have doomed.


book: Isa
contenido:
The sword of the Lord is sated with blood; it is gorged with flesh as though used for slaying lambs and goats for sacrifice. For the Lord will slay a great sacrifice in Edom and make a mighty slaughter there.


book: Isa
contenido:
The strongest will perish, young boys and veterans too. The land will be soaked with blood, and the soil made rich with fat.


book: Isa
contenido:
This judgment on Edom will never end. Its smoke will rise up forever. The land will lie deserted from generation to generation; no one will live there anymore.


book: Isa
contenido:
There the hawks and porcupines will live, and owls and ravens. For God will observe that land and find it worthy of destruction. He will test its nobles and find them worthy of death.


book: Isa
contenido:
Thorns will overrun the palaces, nettles will grow in its forts, and it will become the haunt of jackals and a home for ostriches.


book: Isa
contenido:
The wild animals of the desert will mingle there with wolves and hyenas. Their howls will fill the night. There the night-monsters will scream at each other, and the demons will come there to rest.


book: Isa
contenido:
There the owl will make her nest and lay her eggs; she will hatch her young and nestle them beneath her wings, and the kites will come, each one with its mate.


book: Isa
contenido:
Search the book of the Lord and see all that he will do; not one detail will he miss; not one kite will be there without a mate, for the Lord has said it, and his Spirit will make it all come true.


book: Isa
contenido:
He has surveyed and subdivided the land and deeded it to those doleful creatures; they shall possess it forever, from generation to generation.


book: Isa
contenido:
Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy! The deserts will become as green as the Lebanon mountains, as lovely as Mount Carmel’s pastures and Sharon’s meadows; for the Lord will display his glory there, the excellency of our God.


book: Isa
contenido:
Encourage those who are afraid. Tell them, “Be strong, fear not, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.”


book: Isa
contenido:
The lame man will leap up like a deer, and those who could not speak will shout and sing! Springs will burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.


book: Isa
contenido:
The parched ground will become a pool, with springs of water in the thirsty land. Where desert jackals lived, there will be reeds and rushes!


book: Isa
contenido:
And a main road will go through that once-deserted land; it will be named “The Holy Highway.” No evil-hearted men may walk upon it. God will walk there with you; even the most stupid cannot miss the way.


book: Isa
contenido:
No lion will lurk along its course, nor will there be any other dangers; only the redeemed will travel there.


book: Isa
contenido:
These, the ransomed of the Lord, will go home along that road to Zion, singing the songs of everlasting joy. For them all sorrow and all sighing will be gone forever; only joy and gladness will be there.


book: Isa
contenido:
So in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came to fight against the walled cities of Judah and conquered them.


book: Isa
contenido:
Then he sent his personal representative with a great army from Lachish to confer with King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. He camped near the outlet of the upper pool, along the road going past the field where cloth is bleached.


book: Isa
contenido:
Then Eliakim, Hilkiah’s son, who was the prime minister of Israel, and Shebna, the king’s scribe, and Joah, Asaph’s son, the royal secretary, formed a truce team and went out of the city to meet with him.


book: Isa
contenido:
The Assyrian ambassador told them to go and say to Hezekiah, “The mighty king of Assyria says you are a fool to think that the king of Egypt will help you.


book: Isa
contenido:
What are the Pharaoh’s promises worth? Mere words won’t substitute for strength, yet you rely on him for help and have rebelled against me!


book: Isa
contenido:
Egypt is a dangerous ally. She is a sharpened stick that will pierce your hand if you lean on it. That is the experience of everyone who has ever looked to her for help.


book: Isa
contenido:
But perhaps you say, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God!’ Oh? Isn’t he the one your king insulted, tearing down his temples and altars in the hills and making everyone in Judah worship only at the altars here in Jerusalem?


book: Isa
contenido:
My master, the king of Assyria, wants to make a little bet with you!—that you don’t have 2,000 men left in your entire army! If you do, he will give you 2,000 horses for them to ride on! With that tiny army, how can you think of proceeding against even the smallest and worst contingent of my master’s troops? For you’ll get no help from Egypt.


book: Isa
contenido:
What’s more, do you think I have come here without the Lord’s telling me to take this land? The Lord said to me, ‘Go and destroy it!’”


book: Isa
contenido:
Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to him, “Please talk to us in Aramaic, for we understand it quite well. Don’t speak in Hebrew, for the people on the wall will hear.”


book: Isa
contenido:
But he replied, “My master wants everyone in Jerusalem to hear this, not just you. He wants them to know that if you don’t surrender, this city will be put under siege until everyone is so hungry and thirsty that he will eat his own dung and drink his own urine.”


book: Isa
contenido:
Then he shouted in Hebrew to the Jews listening on the wall, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria:


book: Isa
contenido:
Don’t let him talk you into trusting in the Lord by telling you the Lord won’t let you be conquered by the king of Assyria.


book: Isa
contenido:
Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for here is the king of Assyria’s offer to you: Give me a present as a token of surrender; open the gates and come out, and I will let you each have your own farm and garden and water,


book: Isa
contenido:
until I can arrange to take you to a country very similar to this one—a country where there are bountiful harvests of grain and grapes, a land of plenty.


book: Isa
contenido:
Don’t let Hezekiah deprive you of all this by saying the Lord will deliver you from my armies. Have any other nation’s gods ever gained victory over the armies of the king of Assyria?


book: Isa
contenido:
Don’t you remember what I did to Hamath and Arpad? Did their gods save them? And what about Sepharvaim and Samaria? Where are their gods now?


book: Isa
contenido:
Of all the gods of these lands, which one has ever delivered their people from my power? Name just one! And do you think this God of yours can deliver Jerusalem from me? Don’t be ridiculous!”


book: Isa
contenido:
But the people were silent and answered not a word, for Hezekiah had told them to say nothing in reply.


book: Isa
contenido:
Then Eliakim (son of Hilkiah), the prime minister, and Shebna, the royal scribe, and Joah (son of Asaph), the royal secretary, went back to Hezekiah with clothes ripped to shreds as a sign of their despair and told him all that had happened.


book: Isa
contenido:
When King Hezekiah heard the results of the meeting, he tore his robes and wound himself in coarse cloth used for making sacks, as a sign of humility and mourning, and went over to the Temple to pray.


book: Isa
contenido:
Meanwhile he sent Eliakim his prime minister, and Shebna his royal scribe, and the older priests—all dressed in sackcloth—to Isaiah the prophet, son of Amoz.


book: Isa
contenido:
They brought him this message from Hezekiah:
“This is a day of trouble and frustration and blasphemy; it is a serious time, as when a woman is in heavy labor trying to give birth and the child does not come.


book: Isa
contenido:
But perhaps the Lord your God heard the blasphemy of the king of Assyria’s representative as he scoffed at the living God. Surely God won’t let him get away with this. Surely God will rebuke him for those words. Oh, Isaiah, pray for us who are left!”


book: Isa
contenido:
Then Isaiah replied, “Tell King Hezekiah that the Lord says: Don’t be disturbed by this speech from the servant of the king of Assyria and his blasphemy.


book: Isa
contenido:
For a report from Assyria will reach the king that he is needed at home at once, and he will return to his own land, where I will have him killed.”


book: Isa
contenido:
Now the Assyrian envoy left Jerusalem and went to consult his king, who had left Lachish and was besieging Libnah. But at this point the Assyrian king received word that Tirhakah, crown prince of Ethiopia, was leading an army against him from the south. Upon hearing this, he sent messengers back to Jerusalem to Hezekiah with this message:


book: Isa
contenido:
“Don’t let this God you trust in fool you by promising that Jerusalem will not be captured by the king of Assyria!


book: Isa
contenido:
Just remember what has happened wherever the kings of Assyria have gone, for they have crushed everyone who has opposed them. Do you think you will be any different?


book: Isa
contenido:
Did their gods save the cities of Gozan, Haran, or Rezeph, or the people of Eden in Telassar? No, the Assyrian kings completely destroyed them!


book: Isa
contenido:
And don’t forget what happened to the king of Hamath, to the king of Arpad, and to the kings of the cities of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah.”


book: Isa
contenido:
As soon as King Hezekiah had read this letter, he went over to the Temple and spread it out before the Lord


book: Isa
contenido:
“O Lord, Almighty God of Israel enthroned between the Guardian Angels, you alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone made heaven and earth. Listen as I plead; see me as I pray. Look at this letter from King Sennacherib, for he has mocked the living God.


book: Isa
contenido:
It is true, O Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all those nations, just as the letter says,


book: Isa
contenido:
and thrown their gods into the fire; for they weren’t gods at all but merely idols, carved by men from wood and stone. Of course the Assyrians could destroy them.


book: Isa
contenido:
O Lord our God, save us so that all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you are God, and you alone.”


book: Isa
contenido:
Then Isaiah, the son of Amoz, sent this message to King Hezekiah: “The Lord God of Israel says: This is my answer to your prayer against Sennacherib, Assyria’s king.


book: Isa
contenido:
“The Lord says to him: My people—the helpless virgin daughter of Zion—laughs at you and scoffs and shakes her head at you in scorn.


book: Isa
contenido:
Who is it you scoffed against and mocked? Whom did you revile? At whom did you direct your violence and pride? It was against the Holy One of Israel!


book: Isa
contenido:
You have sent your messengers to mock the Lord. You boast, ‘I came with my mighty army against the nations of the west. I cut down the tallest cedars and choicest cypress trees. I conquered their highest mountains and destroyed their thickest forests.’


book: Isa
contenido:
“You boast of wells you’ve dug in many a conquered land, and Egypt with all its armies is no obstacle to you!


book: Isa
contenido:
But do you not yet know that it was I who decided all this long ago? That it was I who gave you all this power from ancient times? I have caused all this to happen as I planned—that you should crush walled cities into ruined heaps.


book: Isa
contenido:
That’s why their people had so little power and were such easy prey for you. They were as helpless as the grass, as tender plants you trample down beneath your feet, as grass upon the housetops, burnt yellow by the sun.


book: Isa
contenido:
Because of your anger against the Lord—and I heard it all!—I have put a hook in your nose and a bit in your mouth and led you back to your own land by the same road you came.”


book: Isa
contenido:
Then God said to Hezekiah, “Here is the proof that I am the one who is delivering this city from the king of Assyria: This year he will abandon his siege. Although it is too late now to plant your crops, and you will have only volunteer grain this fall, still it will give you enough seed for a small harvest next year, and two years from now you will be living in luxury again.*


book: Isa
contenido:
For a remnant shall go out from Jerusalem to repopulate the land; the power of the Lord Almighty will cause all this to come to pass.


book: Isa
contenido:
“As for the king of Assyria, his armies shall not enter Jerusalem, nor shoot their arrows there, nor march outside its gates, nor build up an earthen bank against its walls.


book: Isa
contenido:
He will return to his own country by the road he came on and will not enter this city, says the Lord.


book: Isa
contenido:
That night the Angel of the Lord went out to the camp of the Assyrians and killed 185,000 soldiers; when the living wakened the next morning, all these lay dead before them.


book: Isa
contenido:
And one day while he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with their swords; then they escaped into the land of Ararat, and Esar-haddon his son became king.


book: Isa
contenido:
It was just before all this that Hezekiah became deathly sick, and Isaiah the prophet (Amoz’ son) went to visit him and gave him this message from the Lord:
“Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die; you will not recover from this illness.”


book: Isa
contenido:
“O Lord, don’t you remember how true I’ve been to you and how I’ve always tried to obey you in everything you said?” Then he broke down with great sobs.


book: Isa
contenido:
“Go and tell Hezekiah that the Lord God of your forefather David hears you praying and sees your tears and will let you live fifteen more years.


book: Isa
contenido:
I will send the sun backwards ten degrees as measured on Ahaz’s sundial!”
So the sun retraced ten degrees that it had gone down!


book: Isa
contenido:
“My life is but half done and I must leave it all. I am robbed of my normal years, and now I must enter the gates of Sheol.


book: Isa
contenido:
Never again will I see the Lord in the land of the living. Never again will I see my friends in this world.


book: Isa
contenido:
My life is blown away like a shepherd’s tent; it is cut short as when a weaver stops his working at the loom. In one short day my life hangs by a thread.


book: Isa
contenido:
Delirious, I chattered like a swallow and mourned like a dove; my eyes grew weary of looking up for help. ‘O God,’ I cried, ‘I am in trouble—help me.’


book: Isa
contenido:
But what can I say? For he himself has sent this sickness. All my sleep has fled because of my soul’s bitterness.


book: Isa
contenido:
“Yes, now I see it all—it was good for me to undergo this bitterness, for you have lovingly delivered me from death; you have forgiven all my sins.


book: Isa
contenido:
The living, only the living, can praise you as I do today. One generation makes known your faithfulness to the next.


book: Isa
contenido:
Think of it! The Lord healed me! Every day of my life from now on I will sing my songs of praise in the Temple, accompanied by the orchestra.”


book: Isa
contenido:
(For Isaiah had told Hezekiah’s servants, “Make an ointment of figs and spread it over the boil, and he will get well again.”


book: Isa
contenido:
Soon afterwards, the king of Babylon (Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan) sent Hezekiah a present and his best wishes, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been very sick and now was well again.


book: Isa
contenido:
Hezekiah appreciated this and took the envoys from Babylon on a tour of the palace, showing them his treasure-house full of silver, gold, spices, and perfumes. He took them into his jewel rooms, too, and opened to them all his treasures—everything.


book: Isa
contenido:
Then Isaiah the prophet came to the king and said, “What did they say? Where are they from?”
“From far away in Babylon,” Hezekiah replied.


book: Isa
contenido:
“How much have they seen?” asked Isaiah.
And Hezekiah replied, “I showed them everything I own, all my priceless treasures.”


book: Isa
contenido:
“The time is coming when everything you have—all the treasures stored up by your fathers—will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left.


book: Isa
contenido:
“All right,” Hezekiah replied. “Whatever the Lord says is good. At least there will be peace during my lifetime!”


book: Isa
contenido:
“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and tell her that her sad days are gone. Her sins are pardoned, and I have punished her in full for all her sins.”


book: Isa
contenido:
Listen! I hear the voice of someone shouting, “Make a road for the Lord through the wilderness; make him a straight, smooth road through the desert.


book: Isa
contenido:
Fill the valleys; level the hills; straighten out the crooked paths, and smooth off the rough spots in the road.


book: Isa
contenido:
The voice says, “Shout!”
“What shall I shout?” I asked.
“Shout that man is like the grass that dies away, and all his beauty fades like dying flowers.


book: Isa
contenido:
O crier of good news, shout to Jerusalem from the mountaintops! Shout louder—don’t be afraid—tell the cities of Judah, “Your God is coming!”


book: Isa
contenido:
Yes, the Lord God is coming with mighty power; he will rule with awesome strength. See, his reward is with him, to each as he has done.


book: Isa
contenido:
He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will carry the lambs in his arms and gently lead the ewes with young.


book: Isa
contenido:
Who else has held the oceans in his hands and measured off the heavens with his ruler? Who else knows the weight of all the earth and weighs the mountains and the hills?


book: Isa
contenido:
No, for all the peoples of the world are nothing in comparison with him—they are but a drop in the bucket, dust on the scales. He picks up the islands as though they had no weight at all.


book: Isa
contenido:
All of Lebanon’s forests do not contain sufficient fuel to consume a sacrifice large enough to honor him, nor are all its animals enough to offer to our God.


book: Isa
contenido:
All the nations are as nothing to him; in his eyes they are less than nothing—mere emptiness and froth.


book: Isa
contenido:
The man too poor to buy expensive gods like that will find a tree free from rot and hire a man to carve a face on it, and that’s his god—a god that cannot even move!


book: Isa
contenido:
Are you so ignorant? Are you so deaf to the words of God—the words he gave before the world began? Have you never heard nor understood?


book: Isa
contenido:
It is God who sits above the circle of the earth. (The people below must seem to him like grasshoppers!) He is the one who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them.


book: Isa
contenido:
They hardly get started, barely take root, when he blows on them and their work withers, and the wind carries them off like straw.


book: Isa
contenido:
Look up into the heavens! Who created all these stars? As a shepherd leads his sheep, calling each by its pet name, and counts them to see that none are lost or strayed, so God does with stars and planets!


book: Isa
contenido:
Don’t you yet understand? Don’t you know by now that the everlasting God, the Creator of the farthest parts of the earth, never grows faint or weary? No one can fathom the depths of his understanding.


book: Isa
contenido:
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.


book: Isa
contenido:
Listen in silence before me, O lands beyond the sea. Bring your strongest arguments. Come now and speak. The court is ready for your case.


book: Isa
contenido:
Who has stirred up this one from the east, whom victory meets at every step? Who, indeed, but the Lord? God has given him victory over many nations and permitted him to trample kings underfoot and to put entire armies to the sword.


book: Isa
contenido:
Who has done such mighty deeds, directing the affairs of generations of mankind as they march by? It is I, the Lord, the First and Last; I alone am he.


book: Isa
contenido:
The lands beyond the sea watch in fear and wait for word of Cyrus’s new campaigns. Remote lands tremble and mobilize for war.


book: Isa
contenido:
The craftsmen encourage each other as they rush to make new idols to protect them. The carver hurries the goldsmith, and the molder helps at the anvil. “Good,” they say. “It’s coming along fine. Now we can solder on the arms.” Carefully they join the parts together and then fasten the thing in place so it won’t fall over!


book: Isa
contenido:
But as for you, O Israel, you are mine, my chosen ones; for you are Abraham’s family, and he was my friend.


book: Isa
contenido:
I have called you back from the ends of the earth and said that you must serve but me alone, for I have chosen you and will not throw you away.


book: Isa
contenido:
Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed. I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.


book: Isa
contenido:
I am holding you by your right hand—I, the Lord your God—and I say to you, Don’t be afraid; I am here to help you.


book: Isa
contenido:
Despised though you are, fear not, O Israel; for I will help you. I am the Lord, your Redeemer; I am the Holy One of Israel.


book: Isa
contenido:
You shall be a new and sharp-toothed threshing instrument to tear all enemies apart, making chaff of mountains.


book: Isa
contenido:
You shall toss them in the air; the wind shall blow them all away; whirlwinds shall scatter them. And the joy of the Lord shall fill you full; you shall glory in the God of Israel.


book: Isa
contenido:
When the poor and needy seek water and there is none, and their tongues are parched from thirst, then I will answer when they cry to me. I, Israel’s God, will never forsake them.


book: Isa
contenido:
I will open up rivers for them on high plateaus! I will give them fountains of water in the valleys! In the deserts will be pools of water, and rivers fed by springs shall flow across the dry, parched ground.


book: Isa
contenido:
Can your idols make such claims as these? Let them come and show what they can do, says God, the King of Israel.


book: Isa
contenido:
Yes, that’s it! If you are gods, tell what will happen in the days ahead! Or do some mighty miracle that makes us stare, amazed.


book: Isa
contenido:
But no! You are less than nothing and can do nothing at all. Anyone who chooses you needs to have his head examined!


book: Isa
contenido:
But I have stirred up Cyrus from the north and east; he will come against the nations and call on my name, and I will give him victory over kings and princes. He will tread them as a potter tramples clay.


book: Isa
contenido:
Who but I have told you this would happen? Who else predicted this, making you admit that he was right? No one else! None other said one word!


book: Isa
contenido:
See my servant, whom I uphold; my Chosen One in whom I delight. I have put my Spirit upon him; he will reveal justice to the nations of the world.


book: Isa
contenido:
He will not break the bruised reed, nor quench the dimly burning flame. He will encourage the fainthearted, those tempted to despair. He will see full justice given to all who have been wronged.


book: Isa
contenido:
He won’t be satisfied until truth and righteousness prevail throughout the earth, nor until even distant lands beyond the seas have put their trust in him.


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord God who created the heavens and stretched them out, who created the earth and everything in it, who gives life and breath and spirit to everyone in all the world, he is the one who says to his Servant, the Messiah:


book: Isa
contenido:
“I the Lord have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will guard and support you, for I have given you to my people as the personal confirmation of my covenant with them. You shall also be a light to guide the nations unto me.


book: Isa
contenido:
I am the Lord! That is my name, and I will not give my glory to anyone else; I will not share my praise with carved idols.


book: Isa
contenido:
Everything I prophesied came true, and now I will prophesy again. I will tell you the future before it happens.”


book: Isa
contenido:
Sing a new song to the Lord; sing his praises, all you who live in earth’s remotest corners! Sing, O sea! Sing, all you who live in distant lands beyond the sea!


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord will be a mighty warrior, full of fury toward his foes. He will give a great shout and prevail.


book: Isa
contenido:
Long has he been silent; he has restrained himself. But now he will give full vent to his wrath; he will groan and cry like a woman delivering her child.


book: Isa
contenido:
He will level the mountains and hills and blight their greenery. He will dry up the rivers and pools.


book: Isa
contenido:
He will bring blind Israel along a path they have not seen before. He will make the darkness bright before them and smooth and straighten out the road ahead. He will not forsake them.


book: Isa
contenido:
But those who trust in idols and call them gods will be greatly disappointed; they will be turned away.


book: Isa
contenido:
Who in all the world is as blind as my own people, who are designed to be my messengers of truth? Who is so blind as my “dedicated one,” the “servant of the Lord”?


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord has magnified his law and made it truly glorious. Through it he had planned to show the world that he is righteous.


book: Isa
contenido:
But what a sight his people are—these who were to demonstrate to all the world the glory of his law; for they are robbed, enslaved, imprisoned, trapped, fair game for all, with no one to protect them.


book: Isa
contenido:
Who let Israel be robbed and hurt? Did not the Lord? It is the Lord they sinned against, for they would not go where he sent them nor listen to his laws.


book: Isa
contenido:
That is why God poured out such fury and wrath on his people and destroyed them in battle. Yet, though set on fire and burned, they will not understand the reason why—that it is God, wanting them to repent.


book: Isa
contenido:
But now the Lord who created you, O Israel, says: Don’t be afraid, for I have ransomed you; I have called you by name; you are mine.


book: Isa
contenido:
When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up—the flames will not consume you.


book: Isa
contenido:
For I am the Lord your God, your Savior, the Holy One of Israel. I gave Egypt and Ethiopia and Seba to Cyrus in exchange for your freedom, as your ransom.


book: Isa
contenido:
Others died that you might live; I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me and honored, and I love you.


book: Isa
contenido:
from north and south. I will bring my sons and daughters back to Israel from the farthest corners of the earth.


book: Isa
contenido:
Gather the nations together! Which of all their idols ever has foretold such things? Which can predict a single day ahead? Where are the witnesses of anything they said? If there are no witnesses, then they must confess that only God can prophesy.


book: Isa
contenido:
But I have witnesses, O Israel, says the Lord! You are my witnesses and my servants, chosen to know and to believe me and to understand that I alone am God. There is no other God; there never was and never will be.


book: Isa
contenido:
Whenever you have thrown away your idols, I have shown you my power. With one word I have saved you. You have seen me do it; you are my witnesses that it is true.


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, says: For your sakes I will send an invading army against Babylon that will walk in, almost unscathed. The boasts of the Babylonians will turn to cries of fear.


book: Isa
contenido:
I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all its chariots and horses, to lie beneath the waves, dead, their lives snuffed out like candlewicks.


book: Isa
contenido:
For I’m going to do a brand-new thing. See, I have already begun! Don’t you see it? I will make a road through the wilderness of the world for my people to go home, and create rivers for them in the desert!


book: Isa
contenido:
The wild animals in the fields will thank me, the jackals and ostriches too, for giving them water in the wilderness, yes, springs in the desert, so that my people, my chosen ones, can be refreshed.


book: Isa
contenido:
You have not brought me the lambs for burnt offerings; you have not honored me with sacrifices. Yet my requests for offerings and incense have been very few! I have not treated you as slaves.


book: Isa
contenido:
You have brought me no sweet-smelling incense nor pleased me with the sacrificial fat. No, you have presented me only with sins and wearied me with all your faults.


book: Isa
contenido:
Oh, remind me of this promise of forgiveness, for we must talk about your sins. Plead your case for my forgiving you.


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord who made you, who will help you, says: O servant of mine, don’t be afraid. O Jerusalem, my chosen ones, don’t be afraid.


book: Isa
contenido:
For I will give you abundant water for your thirst and for your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit and my blessings on your children.


book: Isa
contenido:
“I am the Lord’s,” they’ll proudly say, or, “I am a Jew,” and tattoo upon their hands the name of God or the honored name of Israel.


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord, the King of Israel, says—yes, it is Israel’s Redeemer, the Lord Almighty, who says it—I am the First and Last; there is no other God.


book: Isa
contenido:
Who else can tell you what is going to happen in the days ahead? Let them tell you if they can and prove their power. Let them do as I have done since ancient times.


book: Isa
contenido:
Don’t, don’t be afraid. Haven’t I proclaimed from ages past that I would save you? You are my witnesses—is there any other God? No! None that I know about! There is no other Rock!


book: Isa
contenido:
What fools they are who manufacture idols for their gods. Their hopes remain unanswered. They themselves are witnesses that this is so, for their idols neither see nor know. No wonder those who worship them are so ashamed.


book: Isa
contenido:
All that worship these will stand before the Lord in shame, along with all these carpenters—mere men—who claim that they have made a god. Together they will stand in terror.


book: Isa
contenido:
The metalsmith stands at his forge to make an ax, pounding on it with all his might. He grows hungry and thirsty, weak and faint.


book: Isa
contenido:
Then the wood-carver takes the ax and uses it to make an idol. He measures and marks out a block of wood and carves the figure of a man. Now he has a wonderful idol that can’t so much as move from where it is placed.


book: Isa
contenido:
He cuts down cedars, he selects the cypress and the oak, he plants the ash in the forest to be nourished by the rain.


book: Isa
contenido:
And after his care, he uses part of the wood to make a fire to warm himself and bake his bread, and then—he really does—he takes the rest of it and makes himself a god—a god for men to worship! An idol to fall down before and praise!


book: Isa
contenido:
and with what’s left he makes his god: a carved idol! He falls down before it and worships it and prays to it. “Deliver me,” he says. “You are my god!”


book: Isa
contenido:
Such stupidity and ignorance! God has shut their eyes so that they cannot see and closed their minds from understanding.


book: Isa
contenido:
The man never stops to think or figure out, “Why, it’s just a block of wood! I’ve burned it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I fall down before a chunk of wood?”


book: Isa
contenido:
The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes; he is trusting what can never give him any help at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, “Is this thing, this idol that I’m holding in my hand, a lie?”


book: Isa
contenido:
I’ve blotted out your sins; they are gone like morning mist at noon! Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free.


book: Isa
contenido:
Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done this wondrous thing. Shout, O earth; break forth into song, O mountains and forests, yes, and every tree; for the Lord redeemed Jacob and is glorified in Israel!


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord, your Redeemer who made you, says: All things were made by me; I alone stretched out the heavens. By myself I made the earth and everything in it.


book: Isa
contenido:
I am the one who shows what liars all false prophets are, by causing something else to happen than the things they say. I make wise men give opposite advice to what they should and make them into fools.


book: Isa
contenido:
But what my prophets say, I do; when they say Jerusalem will be delivered and the cities of Judah lived in once again—it shall be done!


book: Isa
contenido:
When I say of Cyrus, “He is my shepherd,” he will certainly do as I say; and Jerusalem will be rebuilt and the Temple restored, for I have spoken it.


book: Isa
contenido:
This is Jehovah’s message to Cyrus, God’s anointed, whom he has chosen to conquer many lands. God shall empower his right hand, and he shall crush the strength of mighty kings. God shall open the gates of Babylon to him; the gates shall not be shut against him anymore.


book: Isa
contenido:
I will go before you, Cyrus, and level the mountains and smash down the city gates of brass and iron bars.


book: Isa
contenido:
And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness, secret riches; and you will know that I am doing this—I, the Lord, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by your name.


book: Isa
contenido:
And why have I named you for this work? For the sake of Jacob, my servant—Israel, my chosen. I called you by name when you didn’t know me.


book: Isa
contenido:
I am Jehovah; there is no other God. I will strengthen you and send you out to victory even though you don’t know me,


book: Isa
contenido:
and all the world from east to west will know there is no other God. I am Jehovah and there is no one else. I alone am God.


book: Isa
contenido:
I form the light and make the dark. I send good times and bad. I, Jehovah, am he who does these things.


book: Isa
contenido:
Open up, O heavens. Let the skies pour out their righteousness. Let salvation and righteousness sprout up together from the earth. I, Jehovah, created them.


book: Isa
contenido:
Woe to the man who fights with his Creator. Does the pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with him who forms it, saying, “Stop, you’re doing it wrong!” or the pot exclaim, “How clumsy can you be!”?


book: Isa
contenido:
Woe to the baby just being born who squalls to his father and mother, “Why have you produced me? Can’t you do anything right at all?”


book: Isa
contenido:
Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, Israel’s Creator, says: What right have you to question what I do? Who are you to command me concerning the work of my hands?


book: Isa
contenido:
I have made the earth and created man upon it. With my hands I have stretched out the heavens and commanded all the vast myriads of stars.


book: Isa
contenido:
I have raised up Cyrus to fulfill my righteous purpose, and I will direct all his paths. He shall restore my city and free my captive people—and not for a reward!


book: Isa
contenido:
Jehovah says: The Egyptians, Ethiopians, and Sabeans shall be subject to you. They shall come to you with all their merchandise, and it shall all be yours. They shall follow you as prisoners in chains and fall down on their knees before you and say, “The only God there is, is your God!”


book: Isa
contenido:
But Israel shall be saved by Jehovah with eternal salvation; they shall never be disappointed in their God through all eternity.


book: Isa
contenido:
For Jehovah created the heavens and earth and put everything in place, and he made the world to be lived in, not to be an empty chaos. I am Jehovah, he says, and there is no other!


book: Isa
contenido:
I publicly proclaim bold promises; I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner so that no one can know what I mean. And I didn’t tell Israel to ask me for what I didn’t plan to give! No, for I, Jehovah, speak only truth and righteousness.


book: Isa
contenido:
Gather together and come, you nations that escape from Cyrus’s hand. What fools they are who carry around the wooden idols and pray to gods that cannot save!


book: Isa
contenido:
Consult together, argue your case and state your proofs that idol worship pays! Who but God has said that these things concerning Cyrus would come true? What idol ever told you they would happen? For there is no other God but me—a just God and a Savior—no, not one!


book: Isa
contenido:
I have sworn by myself, and I will never go back on my word, for it is true—that every knee in all the world shall bow to me, and every tongue shall swear allegiance to my name.


book: Isa
contenido:
“In Jehovah is all my righteousness and strength,” the people shall declare. And all who were angry with him shall come to him and be ashamed.


book: Isa
contenido:
The idols of Babylon, Bel and Nebo, are being hauled away on ox carts! But look! The beasts are stumbling! The cart is turning over! The gods are falling out onto the ground! Is that the best that they can do? If they cannot even save themselves from such a fall, how can they save their worshipers from Cyrus?


book: Isa
contenido:
I will be your God through all your lifetime, yes, even when your hair is white with age. I made you and I will care for you. I will carry you along and be your Savior.


book: Isa
contenido:
Will you compare me with an idol made lavishly with silver and with gold? They hire a goldsmith to take your wealth and make a god from it! Then they fall down and worship it!


book: Isa
contenido:
They carry it around on their shoulders, and when they set it down, it stays there, for it cannot move! And when someone prays to it, there is no answer, for it cannot get him out of his trouble.


book: Isa
contenido:
And don’t forget the many times I clearly told you what was going to happen in the future. For I am God—I only—and there is no other like me


book: Isa
contenido:
I will call that swift bird of prey from the east—that man Cyrus from far away. And he will come and do my bidding. I have said I would do it and I will.


book: Isa
contenido:
For I am offering you my deliverance; not in the distant future, but right now! I am ready to save you, and I will restore Jerusalem and Israel, who is my glory.


book: Isa
contenido:
“O Babylon, the unconquered, come sit in the dust; for your days of glory, pomp, and honor are ended. O daughter of Chaldea, never again will you be the lovely princess, tender and delicate.


book: Isa
contenido:
Take heavy millstones and grind the corn; remove your veil; strip off your robe; expose yourself to public view.


book: Isa
contenido:
So speaks our Redeemer, who will save Israel from Babylon’s mighty power; the Lord Almighty is his name, the Holy One of Israel.


book: Isa
contenido:
For I was angry with my people Israel and began to punish them a little by letting them fall into your hands, O Babylon. But you showed them no mercy. You have made even the old folks carry heavy burdens.


book: Isa
contenido:
You thought your reign would never end, Queen Kingdom of the world. You didn’t care a whit about my people or think about the fate of those who do them harm.


book: Isa
contenido:
O pleasure-mad kingdom, living at ease, bragging as the greatest in the world—listen to the sentence of my court upon your sins. You say, “I alone am God! I’ll never be a widow; I’ll never lose my children.”


book: Isa
contenido:
Well, those two things shall come upon you in one moment, in full measure in one day: widowhood and the loss of your children, despite all your witchcraft and magic.


book: Isa
contenido:
You felt secure in all your wickedness. “No one sees me,” you said. Your “wisdom” and “knowledge” have caused you to turn away from me and claim that you yourself are Jehovah.


book: Isa
contenido:
That is why disaster shall overtake you suddenly—so suddenly that you won’t know where it comes from. And there will be no atonement then to cleanse away your sins.


book: Isa
contenido:
Call out the demon hordes you’ve worshiped all these years. Call on them to help you strike deep terror into many hearts again.


book: Isa
contenido:
You have advisors by the ton—your astrologers and stargazers, who try to tell you what the future holds.


book: Isa
contenido:
But they are as useless as dried grass burning in the fire. They cannot even deliver themselves! You’ll get no help from them at all. Theirs is no fire to sit beside to make you warm!


book: Isa
contenido:
Hear me, my people: you swear allegiance to the Lord without meaning a word of it when you boast of living in the Holy City and brag about depending on the God of Israel.


book: Isa
contenido:
Time and again I told you what was going to happen in the future. My words were scarcely spoken when suddenly I did just what I said.


book: Isa
contenido:
I knew how hard and obstinate you are. Your necks are as unbending as iron; you are as hardheaded as brass.


book: Isa
contenido:
That is why I told you ahead of time what I was going to do, so that you could never say, “My idol did it; my carved image commanded it to happen!”


book: Isa
contenido:
You have heard my predictions and seen them fulfilled, but you refuse to agree it is so. Now I will tell you new things I haven’t mentioned before, secrets you haven’t heard.


book: Isa
contenido:
Yes, I’ll tell you things entirely new, for I know so well what traitors you are, rebels from earliest childhood, rotten through and through.


book: Isa
contenido:
I refined you in the furnace of affliction, but found no silver there. You are worthless, with nothing good in you at all.


book: Isa
contenido:
Yet for my own sake—yes, for my own sake—I will save you from my anger and not destroy you lest the heathen say their gods have conquered me. I will not let them have my glory.


book: Isa
contenido:
It was my hand that laid the foundations of the earth; the palm of my right hand spread out the heavens above; I spoke and they came into being.


book: Isa
contenido:
Come, all of you, and listen. Among all your idols, which one has ever told you this: “The Lord loves Cyrus. He will use him to put an end to the empire of Babylonia. He will utterly rout the armies of the Chaldeans”?


book: Isa
contenido:
Come closer and listen. I have always told you plainly what would happen, so that you could clearly understand. And now the Lord God and his Spirit have sent me (with this message):


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, says: I am the Lord your God, who punishes you for your own good and leads you along the paths that you should follow.


book: Isa
contenido:
Oh, that you had listened to my laws! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river, and great waves of righteousness.


book: Isa
contenido:
Then you would have become as numerous as the sands along the seashores of the world, too many to count, and there would have been no need for your destruction.


book: Isa
contenido:
Yet even now, be free from your captivity! Leave Babylon, singing as you go; shout to the ends of the earth that the Lord has redeemed his servants, the Jews.


book: Isa
contenido:
They were not thirsty when he led them through the deserts; he divided the rock, and water gushed out for them to drink.


book: Isa
contenido:
Listen to me, all of you in far-off lands: The Lord called me before my birth. From within the womb he called me by my name.


book: Isa
contenido:
God will make my words of judgment sharp as swords. He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand; I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver.


book: Isa
contenido:
I replied, “But my work for them seems all in vain; I have spent my strength for them without response. Yet I leave it all with God for my reward.”


book: Isa
contenido:
“And now,” said the Lord—the Lord who formed me from my mother’s womb to serve him who commissioned me to restore to him his people Israel, who has given me the strength to perform this task and honored me for doing it!—


book: Isa
contenido:
“you shall do more than restore Israel to me. I will make you a Light to the nations of the world to bring my salvation to them too.”


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, says to the One who is despised, rejected by mankind, and kept beneath the heel of the world’s rulers: “Kings shall stand at attention when you pass by; princes shall bow low because the Lord has chosen you; he, the faithful Lord, the Holy One of Israel, chooses you.”


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord says, “Your request has come at a favorable time. I will keep you from harm and give you as a token and pledge to Israel, proof that I will reestablish the land of Israel and reassign it to its own people again. Through you I am saying to the prisoners of darkness, ‘Come out! I am giving you your freedom!’ They will be my sheep, grazing in green pastures and on the grassy hills.


book: Isa
contenido:
They shall neither hunger nor thirst; the searing sun and scorching desert winds will not reach them anymore. For the Lord in his mercy will lead them beside the cool waters.


book: Isa
contenido:
And I will make my mountains into level paths for them; the highways shall be raised above the valleys.


book: Isa
contenido:
Sing for joy, O heavens; shout, O earth. Break forth with song, O mountains, for the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion upon them in their sorrow.


book: Isa
contenido:
“Never! Can a mother forget her little child and not have love for her own son? Yet even if that should be, I will not forget you.


book: Isa
contenido:
See, I have tattooed your name upon my palm, and ever before me is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.


book: Isa
contenido:
Look and see, for the Lord has vowed that all your enemies shall come and be your slaves. They will be as jewels to display, as bridal ornaments.


book: Isa
contenido:
“Even the most desolate parts of your abandoned land shall soon be crowded with your people, and your enemies who enslaved you shall be far away.


book: Isa
contenido:
Then you will think to yourself, ‘Who has given me all these? For most of my children were killed, and the rest were carried away into exile, leaving me here alone. Who bore these? Who raised them for me?’”


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord God says, “See, I will give a signal to the Gentiles, and they shall carry your little sons back to you in their arms, and your daughters on their shoulders.


book: Isa
contenido:
Kings and queens shall serve you; they shall care for all your needs. They shall bow to the earth before you and lick the dust from off your feet; then you shall know I am the Lord. Those who wait for me shall never be ashamed.”


book: Isa
contenido:
Who can snatch the prey from the hands of a mighty man? Who can demand that a tyrant let his captives go?


book: Isa
contenido:
But the Lord says, “Even the captives of the most mighty and most terrible shall all be freed; for I will fight those who fight you, and I will save your children.


book: Isa
contenido:
I will feed your enemies with their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with rivers of their own blood. All the world shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel.”


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord asks, Did I sell you to my creditors? Is that why you aren’t here? Is your mother gone because I divorced her and sent her away? No, you went away as captives because of your sins. And your mother, too, was taken in payment for your sins.


book: Isa
contenido:
Was I too weak to save you? Is that why the house is silent and empty when I come home? Have I no longer power to deliver? No, that is not the reason! For I can rebuke the sea and make it dry! I can turn the rivers into deserts, covered with dying fish.


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord God has given me his words of wisdom so that I may know what I should say to all these weary ones. Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will.


book: Isa
contenido:
I give my back to the whip, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard. I do not hide from shame—they spit in my face.


book: Isa
contenido:
Because the Lord God helps me, I will not be dismayed; therefore, I have set my face like flint to do his will, and I know that I will triumph.


book: Isa
contenido:
He who gives me justice is near. Who will dare to fight against me now? Where are my enemies? Let them appear!


book: Isa
contenido:
See, the Lord God is for me! Who shall declare me guilty? All my enemies shall be destroyed like old clothes eaten up by moths!


book: Isa
contenido:
Who among you fears the Lord and obeys his Servant? If such men walk in darkness, without one ray of light, let them trust the Lord, let them rely upon their God.


book: Isa
contenido:
But see here, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves from your own fires and not from God’s; you will live among sorrows.


book: Isa
contenido:
Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance, who seek the Lord! Consider the quarry from which you were mined, the rock from which you were cut! Yes, think about your ancestors Abraham and Sarah, from whom you came. You worry at being so small and few, but Abraham was only one when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation.


book: Isa
contenido:
And the Lord will bless Israel again, and make her deserts blossom; her barren wilderness will become as beautiful as the Garden of Eden. Joy and gladness will be found there, thanksgiving and lovely songs.


book: Isa
contenido:
My mercy and justice are coming soon; your salvation is on the way. I will rule the nations; they shall wait for me and long for me to come.


book: Isa
contenido:
Look high in the skies and watch the earth beneath, for the skies shall disappear like smoke, the earth shall wear out like a garment, and the people of the earth shall die like flies. But my salvation lasts forever; my righteous rule will never die nor end.


book: Isa
contenido:
Listen to me, you who know the right from wrong and cherish my laws in your hearts: don’t be afraid of people’s scorn or their slanderous talk.


book: Isa
contenido:
For the moth shall destroy them like garments; the worm shall eat them like wool; but my justice and mercy shall last forever, and my salvation from generation to generation.


book: Isa
contenido:
Awake, O Lord! Rise up and robe yourself with strength. Rouse yourself as in the days of old when you slew Egypt, the dragon of the Nile.


book: Isa
contenido:
Are you not the same today, the mighty God who dried up the sea, making a path right through it for your ransomed ones?


book: Isa
contenido:
The time will come when God’s redeemed will all come home again. They shall come with singing to Jerusalem, filled with joy and everlasting gladness; sorrow and mourning will all disappear.


book: Isa
contenido:
I, even I, am he who comforts you and gives you all this joy. So what right have you to fear mere mortal men, who wither like the grass and disappear?


book: Isa
contenido:
And yet you have no fear of God, your Maker—you have forgotten him, the one who spread the stars throughout the skies and made the earth. Will you be in constant dread of men’s oppression, and fear their anger all day long?


book: Isa
contenido:
For I am the Lord your God, the Lord Almighty, who dried a path for you right through the sea, between the roaring waves.


book: Isa
contenido:
And I have put my words in your mouth and hidden you safe within my hand. I planted the stars in place and molded all the earth. I am the one who says to Israel, “You are mine.”


book: Isa
contenido:
Wake up, wake up, Jerusalem! You have drunk enough from the cup of the fury of the Lord. You have drunk to the dregs the cup of terror and squeezed out the last drops.


book: Isa
contenido:
These two things have been your lot: desolation and destruction. Yes, famine and the sword. And who is left to sympathize? Who is left to comfort you?


book: Isa
contenido:
For your sons have fainted and lie in the streets, helpless as wild goats caught in a net. The Lord has poured out his fury and rebuke upon them.


book: Isa
contenido:
this is what the Lord says, the Lord your God who cares for his people: “See, I take from your hands the terrible cup; you shall drink no more of my fury; it is gone at last.


book: Isa
contenido:
But I will put that terrible cup into the hands of those who tormented you and trampled your souls to the dust and walked upon your backs.”


book: Isa
contenido:
Wake up, wake up, Jerusalem, and clothe yourselves with strength from God. Put on your beautiful clothes, O Zion, Holy City; for sinners—those who turn from God—will no longer enter your gates.


book: Isa
contenido:
For the Lord says: When I sold you into exile, I asked no fee from your oppressors; now I can take you back again and owe them not a cent!


book: Isa
contenido:
And now, what is this? asks the Lord. Why are my people enslaved again and oppressed without excuse? Those who rule them shout in exultation, and my name is constantly blasphemed day by day.


book: Isa
contenido:
Therefore I will reveal my name to my people, and they shall know the power in that name. Then at last they will recognize that it is I, yes, I, who speaks to them.


book: Isa
contenido:
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who bring the happy news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns.


book: Isa
contenido:
The watchmen shout and sing with joy, for right before their eyes they see the Lord God bring his people home again.


book: Isa
contenido:
Let the ruins of Jerusalem break into joyous song, for the Lord has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem.


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.


book: Isa
contenido:
Go now, leave your bonds and slavery. Put Babylon and all it represents far behind you—it is unclean to you. You are the holy people of the Lord; purify yourselves, all you who carry home the vessels of the Lord.


book: Isa
contenido:
You shall not leave in haste, running for your lives; for the Lord will go ahead of you, and he, the God of Israel, will protect you from behind.


book: Isa
contenido:
Yet many shall be amazed when they see him—yes, even far-off foreign nations and their kings; they shall stand dumbfounded, speechless in his presence. For they shall see and understand what they had not been told before. They shall see my Servant beaten and bloodied, so disfigured one would scarcely know it was a person standing there. So shall he cleanse many nations.


book: Isa
contenido:
In God’s eyes he was like a tender green shoot, sprouting from a root in dry and sterile ground. But in our eyes there was no attractiveness at all, nothing to make us want him.


book: Isa
contenido:
We despised him and rejected him—a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way when he went by. He was despised, and we didn’t care.


book: Isa
contenido:
Yet it was our grief he bore, our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, for his own sins!


book: Isa
contenido:
But he was wounded and bruised for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace; he was lashed—and we were healed!


book: Isa
contenido:
We—every one of us—have strayed away like sheep! We, who left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet God laid on him the guilt and sins of every one of us!


book: Isa
contenido:
He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he never said a word. He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he stood silent before the ones condemning him.


book: Isa
contenido:
From prison and trial they led him away to his death. But who among the people of that day realized it was their sins that he was dying for—that he was suffering their punishment?


book: Isa
contenido:
He was buried like a criminal, but in a rich man’s grave; but he had done no wrong and had never spoken an evil word.


book: Isa
contenido:
But it was the Lord’s good plan to bruise him and fill him with grief. However, when his soul has been made an offering for sin, then he shall have a multitude of children, many heirs. He shall live again, and God’s program shall prosper in his hands.


book: Isa
contenido:
And when he sees all that is accomplished by the anguish of his soul, he shall be satisfied; and because of what he has experienced, my righteous Servant shall make many to be counted righteous before God, for he shall bear all their sins.


book: Isa
contenido:
Therefore, I will give him the honors of one who is mighty and great because he has poured out his soul unto death. He was counted as a sinner, and he bore the sins of many, and he pled with God for sinners.


book: Isa
contenido:
Sing, O childless woman! Break out into loud and joyful song, Jerusalem, for she who was abandoned has more blessings* now than she whose husband stayed!


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
Fear not; you will no longer live in shame. The shame of your youth and the sorrows of widowhood will be remembered no more,


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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!


book: Isa
contenido:
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!


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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!


book: Isa
contenido:
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than yours, and my thoughts than yours.


book: Isa
contenido:
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,


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills, the trees of the field—all the world around you—will rejoice.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
Be just and fair to all, the Lord God says. Do what’s right and good, for I am coming soon to rescue you.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
For I say this to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths holy, who choose the things that please me and obey my laws:


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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,


book: Isa
contenido:
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”!


book: Isa
contenido:
For the Lord God who brings back the outcasts of Israel says: I will bring others, too, besides my people Israel.


book: Isa
contenido:
Come, wild animals of the field; come, tear apart the sheep; come, wild animals of the forest, devour my people.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
“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!”


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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?


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
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?


book: Isa
contenido:
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.


book: Isa
contenido:
I will say, Rebuild the road! Clear away the rocks and stones. Prepare a glorious highway for my people’s return from captivity.


book: Isa
contenido:
The high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, the Holy One, says this: I live in that high and holy place where those with contrite, humble spirits dwell; and I refresh the humble and give new courage to those with repentant hearts.


book: Isa
contenido:
For I will not fight against you forever, nor always show my wrath; if I did, all mankind would perish—the very souls that I have made.


book: Isa
contenido:
I was angry and smote these greedy men. But they went right on sinning, doing everything their evil hearts desired.


book: Isa
contenido:
I have seen what they do, but I will heal them anyway! I will lead them and comfort them, helping them to mourn and to confess their sins.


book: Isa
contenido:
But those who still reject me are like the restless sea, which is never still, but always churns up mire and dirt.


book: Isa
contenido:
Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and are so delighted to hear the reading of my laws—just as though they would obey them—just as though they don’t despise the commandments of their God! How anxious they are to worship correctly; oh, how they love the Temple services!


book: Isa
contenido:
“We have fasted before you,” they say. “Why aren’t you impressed? Why don’t you see our sacrifices? Why don’t you hear our prayers? We have done much penance, and you don’t even notice it!” I’ll tell you why! Because you are living in evil pleasure even while you are fasting, and you keep right on oppressing your workers.


book: Isa
contenido:
Look, what good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me.


book: Isa
contenido:
Is this what I want—this doing of penance and bowing like reeds in the wind, putting on sackcloth and covering yourselves with ashes? Is this what you call fasting?


book: Isa
contenido:
No, the kind of fast I want is that you stop oppressing those who work for you and treat them fairly and give them what they earn.


book: Isa
contenido:
I want you to share your food with the hungry and bring right into your own homes those who are helpless, poor, and destitute. Clothe those who are cold, and don’t hide from relatives who need your help.


book: Isa
contenido:
If you do these things, God will shed his own glorious light upon you. He will heal you; your godliness will lead you forward, goodness will be a shield before you, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.


book: Isa
contenido:
Then, when you call, the Lord will answer. “Yes, I am here,” he will quickly reply. All you need to do is to stop oppressing the weak and stop making false accusations and spreading vicious rumors!


book: Isa
contenido:
Feed the hungry! Help those in trouble! Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you shall be as bright as day.


book: Isa
contenido:
And the Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy you with all good things, and keep you healthy too; and you will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.


book: Isa
contenido:
Your sons will rebuild the long-deserted ruins of your cities, and you will be known as “The People Who Rebuild Their Walls and Cities.”


book: Isa
contenido:
If you keep the Sabbath holy, not having your own fun and business on that day, but enjoying the Sabbath, speaking of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day, and honoring the Lord in what you do, not following your own desires and pleasure nor talking idly—


book: Isa
contenido:
then the Lord will be your delight, and I will see to it that you ride high and get your full share of the blessings I promised to Jacob, your father. The Lord has spoken.


book: Isa
contenido:
Listen now! The Lord isn’t too weak to save you. And he isn’t getting deaf! He can hear you when you call!


book: Isa
contenido:
But the trouble is that your sins have cut you off from God. Because of sin he has turned his face away from you and will not listen anymore.


book: Isa
contenido:
For your hands are those of murderers and your fingers are filthy with sin. You lie and grumble and oppose the good.


book: Isa
contenido:
No one cares about being fair and true. Your lawsuits are based on lies; you spend your time plotting evil deeds and doing them.


book: Isa
contenido:
You cheat and shortchange everyone. Everything you do is filled with sin; violence is your trademark.


book: Isa
contenido:
Your feet run to do evil and rush to murder; your thoughts are only of sinning, and wherever you go you leave behind a trail of misery and death.


book: Isa
contenido:
You don’t know what true peace is, nor what it means to be just and good; you continually do wrong and those who follow you won’t experience any peace either.


book: Isa
contenido:
It is because of all this evil that you aren’t finding God’s blessings; that’s why he doesn’t punish those who injure you. No wonder you are in darkness when you expected light. No wonder you are walking in the gloom.


book: Isa
contenido:
No wonder you grope like blind men and stumble along in broad daylight, yes, even at brightest noontime, as though it were the darkest night! No wonder you are like corpses when compared with vigorous young men!


book: Isa
contenido:
You roar like hungry bears; you moan with mournful cries like doves. You look for God to keep you, but he doesn’t. He has turned away.


book: Isa
contenido:
For your sins keep piling up before the righteous God and testify against you.
Yes, we know what sinners we are.


book: Isa
contenido:
We know our disobedience; we have denied the Lord our God. We know what rebels we are and how unfair we are, for we carefully plan our lies.


book: Isa
contenido:
Our courts oppose the righteous man; fairness is unknown. Truth falls dead in the streets, and justice is outlawed.


book: Isa
contenido:
Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who tries a better life is soon attacked. The Lord saw all the evil and was displeased to find no steps taken against sin.


book: Isa
contenido:
He saw no one was helping you and wondered that no one intervened. Therefore he himself stepped in to save you through his mighty power and justice.


book: Isa
contenido:
He put on righteousness as armor and the helmet of salvation on his head. He clothed himself with robes of vengeance and of godly fury.


book: Isa
contenido:
Then at last they will reverence and glorify the name of God from west to east. For he will come like a flood tide driven by Jehovah’s breath.


book: Isa
contenido:
“As for me, this is my promise to them,” says the Lord: “My Holy Spirit shall not leave them, and they shall want the good and hate the wrong—they and their children and their children’s children forever.”


book: Isa
contenido:
Arise, my people! Let your light shine for all the nations to see! For the glory of the Lord is streaming from you.


book: Isa
contenido:
Darkness as black as night shall cover all the peoples of the earth, but the glory of the Lord will shine from you.


book: Isa
contenido:
Your eyes will shine with joy, your hearts will thrill, for merchants from around the world will flow to you, bringing you the wealth of many lands.


book: Isa
contenido:
Vast droves of camels will converge upon you, dromedaries from Midian and Sheba and Ephah too, bringing gold and incense to add to the praise of God.


book: Isa
contenido:
The flocks of Kedar shall be given you, and the rams of Nabaioth for my altars, and I will glorify my glorious Temple in that day.


book: Isa
contenido:
I have reserved the ships of many lands, the very best, to bring the sons of Israel home again from far away, bringing their wealth with them. For the Holy One of Israel, known around the world, has glorified you in the eyes of all.


book: Isa
contenido:
Foreigners will come and build your cities. Presidents and kings will send you aid. For though I destroyed you in my anger, I will have mercy on you through my grace.


book: Isa
contenido:
Your gates will stay wide open around the clock to receive the wealth of many lands. The kings of the world will cater to you.


book: Isa
contenido:
The glory of Lebanon will be yours—the forests of firs, pines, and box trees—to beautify my sanctuary. My Temple will be glorious.


book: Isa
contenido:
The sons of anti-Semites will come and bow before you! They will kiss your feet! They will call Jerusalem “The City of the Lord” and “The Glorious Mountain of the Holy One of Israel.”


book: Isa
contenido:
Though once despised and hated and rebuffed by all, you will be beautiful forever, a joy for all the generations of the world, for I will make you so.


book: Isa
contenido:
Powerful kings and mighty nations shall provide you with the choicest of their goods to satisfy your every need, and you will know at last and really understand that I, the Lord, am your Savior and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel.


book: Isa
contenido:
I will exchange your brass for gold, your iron for silver, your wood for brass, your stones for iron. Peace and righteousness shall be your taskmasters!


book: Isa
contenido:
Violence will disappear out of your land—all war will end. Your walls will be “Salvation” and your gates “Praise.”


book: Isa
contenido:
No longer will you need the sun or moon to give you light, for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light, and he will be your glory.


book: Isa
contenido:
Your sun shall never set; the moon shall not go down—for the Lord will be your everlasting light; your days of mourning all will end.


book: Isa
contenido:
All your people will be good. They will possess their land forever, for I will plant them there with my own hands; this will bring me glory.


book: Isa
contenido:
The smallest family shall multiply into a clan; the tiny group shall be a mighty nation. I, the Lord, will bring it all to pass when it is time.


book: Isa
contenido:
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the suffering and afflicted. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted, to announce liberty to captives, and to open the eyes of the blind.


book: Isa
contenido:
He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of God’s favor to them has come, and the day of his wrath to their enemies.


book: Isa
contenido:
To all who mourn in Israel he will give: beauty for ashes; joy instead of mourning; praise instead of heaviness. For God has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory.


book: Isa
contenido:
And they shall rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities long ago destroyed, reviving them though they have lain there many generations.


book: Isa
contenido:
Foreigners shall be your servants; they shall feed your flocks and plow your fields and tend your vineyards.


book: Isa
contenido:
You shall be called priests of the Lord, ministers of our God. You shall be fed with the treasures of the nations and shall glory in their riches.


book: Isa
contenido:
For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and wrong. I will faithfully reward my people for their suffering and make an everlasting covenant with them.


book: Isa
contenido:
Their descendants shall be known and honored among the nations; all shall realize that they are a people God has blessed.


book: Isa
contenido:
Let me tell you how happy God has made me! For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and draped about me the robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels.


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord will show the nations of the world his justice; all will praise him. His righteousness shall be like a budding tree, or like a garden in early spring, full of young plants springing up everywhere.


book: Isa
contenido:
Because I love Zion, because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I will not cease to pray for her or to cry out to God on her behalf until she shines forth in his righteousness and is glorious in his salvation.


book: Isa
contenido:
The nations shall see your righteousness. Kings shall be blinded by your glory; and God will confer on you a new name.


book: Isa
contenido:
Never again shall you be called “The God-forsaken Land” or the “Land That God Forgot.” Your new name will be “The Land of God’s Delight” and “The Bride,” for the Lord delights in you and will claim you as his own.


book: Isa
contenido:
Your children will care for you, O Jerusalem, with joy like that of a young man who marries a virgin; and God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom with his bride.


book: Isa
contenido:
O Jerusalem, I have set intercessors on your walls who shall cry to God all day and all night for the fulfillment of his promises. Take no rest, all you who pray, and give God no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes her respected and admired throughout the earth.


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord has sworn to Jerusalem with all his integrity: “I will never again give you to your enemies; never again shall foreign soldiers come and take away your grain and wine.


book: Isa
contenido:
You raised it; you shall keep it, praising God. Within the Temple courts you yourselves shall drink the wine you pressed.”


book: Isa
contenido:
Go out! Go out! Prepare the roadway for my people to return! Build the roads, pull out the boulders, raise the flag of Israel.


book: Isa
contenido:
See, the Lord has sent his messengers to every land and said, “Tell my people, I, the Lord your God, am coming to save you and will bring you many gifts.”


book: Isa
contenido:
And they shall be called “The Holy People” and “The Lord’s Redeemed,” and Jerusalem shall be called “The Land of Desire” and “The City God Has Blessed.”


book: Isa
contenido:
Who is this who comes from Edom, from the city of Bozrah, with his magnificent garments of crimson? Who is this in royal robes, marching in the greatness of his strength?
“It is I, the Lord, announcing your salvation; I, the Lord, the one who is mighty to save!”


book: Isa
contenido:
“I have trodden the winepress alone. No one was there to help me. In my wrath I have trodden my enemies like grapes. In my fury I trampled my foes. It is their blood you see upon my clothes.


book: Isa
contenido:
For the time has come for me to avenge my people, to redeem them from the hands of their oppressors.


book: Isa
contenido:
I looked but no one came to help them; I was amazed and appalled. So I executed vengeance alone; unaided, I meted out judgment.


book: Isa
contenido:
I will tell of the loving-kindnesses of God. I will praise him for all he has done; I will rejoice in his great goodness to Israel, which he has granted in accordance with his mercy and love.


book: Isa
contenido:
In all their affliction he was afflicted, and he personally saved them. In his love and pity he redeemed them and lifted them up and carried them through all the years.


book: Isa
contenido:
But they rebelled against him and grieved his Holy Spirit. That is why he became their enemy and personally fought against them.


book: Isa
contenido:
Then they remembered those days of old when Moses, God’s servant, led his people out of Egypt, and they cried out, “Where is the One who brought Israel through the sea, with Moses as their shepherd? Where is the God who sent his Holy Spirit to be among his people?


book: Isa
contenido:
Where is he whose mighty power divided the sea before them when Moses lifted up his hand, and established his reputation forever?


book: Isa
contenido:
Who led them through the bottom of the sea? Like fine stallions racing through the desert, they never stumbled.


book: Isa
contenido:
Like cattle grazing in the valleys, so the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest. Thus he gave himself a magnificent reputation.”


book: Isa
contenido:
O Lord, look down from heaven and see us from your holy, glorious home; where is the love for us you used to show—your power, your mercy, and your compassion? Where are they now?


book: Isa
contenido:
Surely you are still our Father! Even if Abraham and Jacob would disown us, still you would be our Father, our Redeemer from ages past.


book: Isa
contenido:
O Lord, why have you hardened our hearts and made us sin and turn against you? Return and help us, for we who belong to you need you so.


book: Isa
contenido:
O God, why do you treat us as though we weren’t your people, as though we were a heathen nation that never called you “Lord”?


book: Isa
contenido:
Oh, that you would burst forth from the skies and come down! How the mountains would quake in your presence!


book: Isa
contenido:
The consuming fire of your glory would burn down the forests and boil the oceans dry. The nations would tremble before you; then your enemies would learn the reason for your fame!


book: Isa
contenido:
So it was before when you came down, for you did awesome things beyond our highest expectations, and how the mountains quaked!


book: Isa
contenido:
For since the world began no one has seen or heard of such a God as ours, who works for those who wait for him!


book: Isa
contenido:
You welcome those who cheerfully do good, who follow godly ways.
But we are not godly; we are constant sinners and have been all our lives. Therefore your wrath is heavy on us. How can such as we be saved?


book: Isa
contenido:
We are all infected and impure with sin. When we put on our prized robes of righteousness, we find they are but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves we fade, wither, and fall. And our sins, like the wind, sweep us away.


book: Isa
contenido:
Yet no one calls upon your name or pleads with you for mercy. Therefore, you have turned away from us and turned us over to our sins.


book: Isa
contenido:
And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay and you are the Potter. We are all formed by your hand.


book: Isa
contenido:
Oh, be not so angry with us, Lord, nor forever remember our sins. Oh, look and see that we are all your people.


book: Isa
contenido:
Our holy, beautiful Temple where our fathers praised you is burned down, and all the things of beauty are destroyed.


book: Isa
contenido:
After all of this, must you still refuse to help us, Lord? Will you stand silent and still punish us?


book: Isa
contenido:
The Lord says, People who never before inquired about me are now seeking me out. Nations* who never before searched for me are finding me.


book: Isa
contenido:
But my own people—though I have been spreading out my arms to welcome them all day long—have rebelled; they follow their own evil paths and thoughts.


book: Isa
contenido:
All day long they insult me to my face by worshiping idols in many gardens and burning incense on the rooftops of their homes.


book: Isa
contenido:
At night they go out among the graves and caves to worship evil spirits, and they eat pork and other forbidden foods.


book: Isa
contenido:
Yet they say to one another, “Don’t come too close, you’ll defile me! For I am holier than you!” They stifle me. Day in and day out they infuriate me.


book: Isa
contenido:
See, here is my decree all written out before me: I will not stand silent; I will repay. Yes, I will repay them—


book: Isa
contenido:
not only for their own sins but for those of their fathers too, says the Lord, for they also burned incense on the mountains and insulted me upon the hills. I will pay them back in full.


book: Isa
contenido:
But I will not destroy them all, says the Lord; for just as good grapes are found among a cluster of bad ones (and someone will say, “Don’t throw them all away—there are some good grapes there!”) so I will not destroy all Israel, for I have true servants there.


book: Isa
contenido:
I will preserve a remnant of my people to possess the land of Israel; those I select will inherit it and serve me there.


book: Isa
contenido:
As for my people who have sought me, the plains of Sharon shall again be filled with flocks, and the valley of Achor shall be a place to pasture herds.


book: Isa
contenido:
But because the rest of you have forsaken the Lord and his Temple and worship gods of “Fate” and “Destiny,”


book: Isa
contenido:
therefore I will “destine” you to the sword, and your “fate” shall be a dark one; for when I called, you didn’t answer; when I spoke, you wouldn’t listen. You deliberately sinned before my very eyes, choosing to do what you know I despise.


book: Isa
contenido:
Therefore, the Lord God says: You shall starve, but my servants shall eat; you shall be thirsty while they drink; you shall be sad and ashamed, but they shall rejoice.


book: Isa
contenido:
Your name shall be a curse word among my people, for the Lord God will slay you and call his true servants by another name.


book: Isa
contenido:
And yet, the days will come when all who invoke a blessing or take an oath shall swear by the God of Truth; for I will put aside my anger and forget the evil that you did.


book: Isa
contenido:
For see, I am creating new heavens and a new earth—so wonderful that no one will even think about the old ones anymore.


book: Isa
contenido:
Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation. Look! I will re-create Jerusalem as a place of happiness, and her people shall be a joy!


book: Isa
contenido:
And I will rejoice in Jerusalem and in my people; and the voice of weeping and crying shall not be heard there anymore.


book: Isa
contenido:
No longer will babies die when only a few days old; no longer will men be considered old at 100! Only sinners will die that young!


book: Isa
contenido:
In those days, when a man builds a house, he will keep on living in it—it will not be destroyed by invading armies as in the past. My people will plant vineyards and eat the fruit themselves—their enemies will not confiscate it. For my people will live as long as trees and will long enjoy their hard-won gains.


book: Isa
contenido:
Their harvests will not be eaten by their enemies; their children will not be born to be cannon fodder. For they are the children of those the Lord has blessed; and their children, too, shall be blessed.


book: Isa
contenido:
I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking to me about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!


book: Isa
contenido:
The wolf and lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw as the ox does, and poisonous snakes shall strike no more! In those days nothing and no one shall be hurt or destroyed in all my holy mountain, says the Lord.


book: Isa
contenido:
Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool: What Temple can you build for me as good as that?


book: Isa
contenido:
My hand has made both earth and skies, and they are mine. Yet I will look with pity on the man who has a humble and a contrite heart, who trembles at my word.


book: Isa
contenido:
But those who choose their own ways, delighting in their sins, are cursed. God will not accept their offerings. When such men sacrifice an ox on the altar of God, it is no more acceptable to him than human sacrifice. If they sacrifice a lamb or bring an offering of grain, it is as loathsome to God as putting a dog or the blood of a swine on his altar! When they burn incense to him, he counts it the same as though they blessed an idol.


book: Isa
contenido:
I will send great troubles upon them—all the things they feared, for when I called them, they refused to answer, and when I spoke to them, they would not hear. Instead, they did wrong before my eyes and chose what they knew I despised.


book: Isa
contenido:
Hear the words of God, all you who fear him, and tremble at his words: Your brethren hate you and cast you out for being loyal to my name. “Glory to God,” they scoff. “Be happy in the Lord!” But they shall be put to shame.


book: Isa
contenido:
What is all the commotion in the city? What is that terrible noise from the Temple? It is the voice of the Lord taking vengeance upon his enemies.


book: Isa
contenido:
Who has heard or seen anything as strange as this? For in one day, suddenly, a nation, Israel, shall be born, even before the birth pains come. In a moment, just as Israel’s anguish starts, the baby is born; the nation begins.


book: Isa
contenido:
Prosperity shall overflow Jerusalem like a river, says the Lord, for I will send it; the riches of the Gentiles will flow to her. Her children shall be nursed at her breasts, carried on her hips and dandled on her knees.


book: Isa
contenido:
When you see Jerusalem, your heart will rejoice; vigorous health will be yours. All the world will see the good hand of God upon his people and his wrath upon his enemies.


book: Isa
contenido:
For see, the Lord will come with fire and with swift chariots of doom to pour out the fury of his anger and his hot rebuke with flames of fire.


book: Isa
contenido:
For the Lord will punish the world by fire and by his sword, and the slain of the Lord shall be many!


book: Isa
contenido:
Those who worship idols that are hidden behind a tree in the garden, feasting there on pork and mouse and all forbidden meat—they will come to an evil end, says Jehovah.


book: Isa
contenido:
I see full well what they are doing; I know what they are thinking, so I will gather together all nations and people against Jerusalem, where they shall see my glory.


book: Isa
contenido:
I will perform a mighty miracle against them, and I will send those who escape, as missionaries to the nations—to Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Rosh, Tubal, Javan, and to the lands beyond the sea that have not heard my fame nor seen my glory. There they shall declare my glory to the Gentiles.


book: Isa
contenido:
And they shall bring back all your brethren from every nation as a gift to the Lord, transporting them gently on horses and in chariots, and in litters, and on mules and camels, to my holy mountain, to Jerusalem, says the Lord. It will be like offerings flowing into the Temple of the Lord at harvesttime, carried in vessels consecrated to the Lord.


book: Isa
contenido:
As surely as my new heavens and earth shall remain, so surely shall you always be my people, with a name that shall never disappear.


book: Isa
contenido:
And they shall go out and look at the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me, for their worm shall never die; their fire shall not be quenched; and they shall be a disgusting sight to all mankind.


book: Jer
contenido:
These are God’s messages to Jeremiah the priest (the son of Hilkiah) who lived in the town of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. The first of these messages came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Amon’s son Josiah, king of Judah.


book: Jer
contenido:
Others came during the reign of Josiah’s son Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and at various other times until July of the eleventh year of the reign of Josiah’s son Zedekiah, king of Judah, when Jerusalem was captured and the people were taken away as slaves.


book: Jer
contenido:
“I knew you before you were formed within your mother’s womb; before you were born I sanctified you and appointed you as my spokesman to the world.”


book: Jer
contenido:
“Don’t say that,” he replied, “for you will go wherever I send you and speak whatever I tell you to.


book: Jer
contenido:
Today your work begins, to warn the nations and the kingdoms of the world. In accord with my words spoken through your mouth I will tear down some and destroy them, and plant others, nurture them, and make them strong and great.”


book: Jer
contenido:
Then the Lord said to me, “Look, Jeremiah! What do you see?”
And I replied, “I see a whip made from the branch of an almond tree.”


book: Jer
contenido:
And the Lord replied, “That’s right, and it means that I will surely carry out my threats of punishment.”


book: Jer
contenido:
Then the Lord asked me, “What do you see now?”
And I replied, “I see a pot of boiling water, tipping southward, spilling over Judah.”


book: Jer
contenido:
I am calling the armies of the kingdoms of the north to come to Jerusalem and set their thrones at the gates of the city and all along its walls, and in all the other cities of Judah.


book: Jer
contenido:
This is the way I will punish my people for deserting me and for worshiping other gods—yes, idols they themselves have made!


book: Jer
contenido:
Get up and dress and go out and tell them whatever I tell you to say. Don’t be afraid of them, or else I will make a fool of you in front of them.


book: Jer
contenido:
For see, today I have made you impervious to their attacks. They cannot harm you. You are strong like a fortified city that cannot be captured, like an iron pillar and heavy gates of brass. All the kings of Judah, its officers, priests, and people will not be able to prevail against you.


book: Jer
contenido:
Go and shout this in Jerusalem’s streets: This is what the Lord says! I remember how eager you were to please me as a young bride long ago, how you loved me and followed me even through the barren deserts.


book: Jer
contenido:
In those days Israel was a holy people, the first of my children. All who harmed them were counted deeply guilty, and great evil fell on anyone who touched them.


book: Jer
contenido:
O Israel, says the Lord, why did your fathers desert me? What sin did they find in me that turned them away and changed them into fools who worship idols?


book: Jer
contenido:
They ignore the fact that it was I, the Lord, who brought them safely out of Egypt and led them through the barren wilderness, a land of deserts and rocks, of drought and death, where no one lives or even travels.


book: Jer
contenido:
And I brought them into a fruitful land, to eat of its bounty and goodness, but they made it into a land of sin and corruption and turned my inheritance into an evil thing.


book: Jer
contenido:
Even their priests cared nothing for the Lord, and their judges ignored me; their rulers turned against me, and their prophets worshiped Baal and wasted their time on nonsense.


book: Jer
contenido:
But I will not give you up—I will plead for you to return to me and will keep on pleading; yes, even with your children’s children in the years to come!


book: Jer
contenido:
Look around you and see if you can find another nation anywhere that has traded in its old gods for new ones—even though their gods are nothing. Send to the west to the island of Cyprus; send to the east to the deserts of Kedar. See if anyone there has ever heard so strange a thing as this. And yet my people have given up their glorious God for silly idols!


book: Jer
contenido:
For my people have done two evil things: They have forsaken me, the Fountain of living waters; and they have built for themselves broken cisterns that can’t hold water!


book: Jer
contenido:
I see great armies marching on Jerusalem with mighty shouts to destroy her and leave her cities in ruins, burned and desolate.


book: Jer
contenido:
I see the armies of Egypt rising against her, marching from their cities of Memphis and Tahpanhes to utterly destroy Israel’s glory and power.


book: Jer
contenido:
And you have brought this on yourselves by rebelling against the Lord your God when he wanted to lead you and show you the way!


book: Jer
contenido:
Your own wickedness will punish you. You will see what an evil, bitter thing it is to rebel against the Lord your God, fearlessly forsaking him, says the Lord Almighty.


book: Jer
contenido:
Long ago you shook off my yoke and broke away from my ties. Defiant, you would not obey me. On every hill and under every tree you’ve bowed low before idols.


book: Jer
contenido:
How could this happen? How could this be? For when I planted you, I chose my seed so carefully—the very best. Why have you become this degenerate race of evil men?


book: Jer
contenido:
No amount of soap or lye can make you clean. You are stained with guilt that cannot ever be washed away. I see it always before me, the Lord God says.


book: Jer
contenido:
You say it isn’t so, that you haven’t worshiped idols? How can you say a thing like that? Go and look in any valley in the land! Face the awful sins that you have done, O restless female camel, seeking for a male!


book: Jer
contenido:
You are a wild donkey, sniffing the wind at mating time. (Who can restrain your lust?) Any jack wanting you need not search, for you come running to him!


book: Jer
contenido:
Why don’t you turn from all this weary running after other gods? But you say, “Don’t waste your breath. I’ve fallen in love with these strangers and I can’t stop loving them now!”


book: Jer
contenido:
Like a thief, the only shame that Israel knows is getting caught. Kings, princes, priests, and prophets—all are alike in this. They call a carved-up wooden post their father, and for their mother they have an idol chiseled out from stone. Yet in time of trouble they cry to me to save them!


book: Jer
contenido:
Why don’ you call on these gods you have made? When danger comes, let them go out and save you if they can! For you have as many gods as there are cities in Judah.


book: Jer
contenido:
I have punished your children, but it did them no good; they still will not obey. And you yourselves have killed my prophets as a lion kills its prey.


book: Jer
contenido:
O my people, listen to the words of God: Have I been unjust to Israel? Have I been to them a land of darkness and of evil? Why then do my people say, “At last we are free from God; we won’t have anything to do with him again!”


book: Jer
contenido:
How can you disown your God like that? Can a girl forget her jewels? What bride will seek to hide her wedding dress? Yet for years on end my people have forgotten me—the most precious of their treasures.*


book: Jer
contenido:
Your clothing is stained with the blood of the innocent and the poor. Brazenly you murder without a cause.


book: Jer
contenido:
And yet you say, “I haven’t done a thing to anger God. I’m sure he isn’t angry!” I will punish you severely because you say, “I haven’t sinned!”


book: Jer
contenido:
First here, then there, you flit about, going from one ally to another for their help; but it’s all no good—your new friends in Egypt will forsake you as Assyria did before.


book: Jer
contenido:
You will be left in despair and cover your face with your hands, for the Lord has rejected the ones that you trust. You will not succeed despite their aid.


book: Jer
contenido:
There is a law that if a man divorces a woman who then remarries, he is not to take her back again, for she has become corrupted. But though you have left me and married many lovers, yet I have invited you to come to me again, the Lord says.


book: Jer
contenido:
Is there a single spot in all the land where you haven’t been defiled by your adulteries—your worshiping these other gods? You sit like a prostitute beside the road waiting for a client! You sit alone like a Bedouin in the desert. You have polluted the land with your vile prostitution.


book: Jer
contenido:
That is why even the springtime rains have failed. For you are a prostitute and completely unashamed.


book: Jer
contenido:
And yet you say to me, “O Father, you have always been my Friend; surely you won’t be angry about such a little thing! Surely you will just forget it?” So you talk and keep right on doing all the evil that you can.


book: Jer
contenido:
This message from the Lord came to me during the reign of King Josiah:
Have you seen what Israel does? Like a wanton wife who gives herself to other men at every chance, so Israel has worshiped other gods on every hill, beneath every shady tree.


book: Jer
contenido:
I thought that someday she would return to me and once again be mine; but she didn’t come back. And her faithless sister Judah saw the continued rebellion of Israel.


book: Jer
contenido:
Yet she paid no attention, even though she saw that I divorced faithless Israel. But now Judah too has left me and given herself to prostitution, for she has gone to other gods to worship them.


book: Jer
contenido:
She treated it all so lightly—to her it was nothing at all that she should worship idols made of wood and stone. And so the land was greatly polluted and defiled.


book: Jer
contenido:
Then, afterwards, this faithless one “returned” to me, but her “sorrow” was only faked, the Lord God says.


book: Jer
contenido:
Therefore, go and say to Israel, O Israel, my sinful people, come home to me again, for I am merciful; I will not be forever angry with you.


book: Jer
contenido:
Only acknowledge your guilt; admit that you rebelled against the Lord your God and committed adultery against him by worshiping idols under every tree; confess that you refused to follow me.


book: Jer
contenido:
O sinful children, come home, for I am your Master, and I will bring you again to the land of Israel—one from here and two from there, wherever you are scattered.


book: Jer
contenido:
Then, when your land is once more filled with people, says the Lord, you will no longer wish for “the good old days of long ago” when you possessed the Ark of God’s covenant. Those days will not be missed or even thought about, and the Ark will not be reconstructed, for the Lord himself will be among you.


book: Jer
contenido:
The whole city of Jerusalem will be known as the throne of the Lord; all nations will come to him there and no longer stubbornly follow their evil desires.


book: Jer
contenido:
At that time the people of Judah and of Israel will return together from their exile in the north, to the land I gave their fathers as an inheritance forever.


book: Jer
contenido:
And I thought how wonderful it would be for you to be here among my children. I planned to give you part of this beautiful land, the finest in the world. I looked forward to your calling me “Father” and thought that you would never turn away from me again.


book: Jer
contenido:
But you have betrayed me; you have gone off and given yourself to a host of foreign gods; you have been like a faithless wife who leaves her husband.


book: Jer
contenido:
I hear a voice high upon the windswept mountains, crying, crying. It is the sons of Israel who have turned their backs on God and wandered far away.


book: Jer
contenido:
O my rebellious children, come back to me again and I will heal you from your sins.
And they reply, Yes, we will come, for you are the Lord our God.


book: Jer
contenido:
We are weary of worshiping idols on the hills and of having orgies on the mountains. It is all a farce. Only in the Lord our God can Israel ever find her help and her salvation.


book: Jer
contenido:
From our childhood we have seen everything our fathers had—flocks and herds and sons and daughters—squandered on priests and idols.


book: Jer
contenido:
We lie in shame and in dishonor, for we and our fathers have sinned from childhood against the Lord our God; we have not obeyed him.


book: Jer
contenido:
and if you will swear by me alone, the living God, and begin to live good, honest, clean lives, then you will be a testimony to the nations of the world, and they will come to me and glorify my name.


book: Jer
contenido:
The Lord is saying to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Plow up the hardness of your hearts; otherwise the good seed will be wasted among the thorns.


book: Jer
contenido:
Cleanse your minds and hearts, not just your bodies, or else my anger will burn you to a crisp because of all your sins. And no one will be able to put the fire out.


book: Jer
contenido:
Shout to Jerusalem and to all Judea, telling them to sound the alarm throughout the land. “Run for your lives! Flee to the fortified cities!”


book: Jer
contenido:
Send a signal from Jerusalem: “Flee now, don’t delay!” For I the Lord am bringing vast destruction on you from the north.


book: Jer
contenido:
A lion—a destroyer of nations—stalks from his lair; and he is headed for your land. Your cities will lie in ruin without inhabitant.


book: Jer
contenido:
Put on clothes of mourning and weep with broken hearts, for the fierce anger of the Lord has not stopped yet.


book: Jer
contenido:
In that day, says the Lord, the king and the princes will tremble in fear; and the priests and the prophets will be stricken with horror.


book: Jer
contenido:
(Then I said, “But Lord, the people have been deceived by what you said, for you promised great blessings on Jerusalem. Yet the sword is even now poised to strike them dead!”)


book: Jer
contenido:
At that time he will send a burning wind from the desert upon them—not in little gusts but in a roaring blast—and he will pronounce their doom.


book: Jer
contenido:
The enemy shall roll down upon us like a storm wind; his chariots are like a whirlwind; his steeds are swifter than eagles. Woe, woe upon us, for we are doomed.


book: Jer
contenido:
O Jerusalem, cleanse your hearts while there is time. You can yet be saved by casting out your evil thoughts.


book: Jer
contenido:
Warn the other nations that the enemy is coming from a distant land, and they shout against Jerusalem and the cities of Judah.


book: Jer
contenido:
They surround Jerusalem like shepherds moving in on some wild animal! For my people have rebelled against me, says the Lord.


book: Jer
contenido:
Your ways have brought this down upon you; it is a bitter dose of your own medicine, striking deep within your hearts.


book: Jer
contenido:
My heart, my heart—I writhe in pain; my heart pounds within me. I cannot be still because I have heard, O my soul, the blast of the enemies’ trumpets and the enemies’ battle cries.


book: Jer
contenido:
Wave upon wave of destruction rolls over the land, until it lies in utter ruin; suddenly, in a moment, every house is crushed.


book: Jer
contenido:
“Until my people leave their foolishness, for they refuse to listen to me; they are dull, retarded children who have no understanding. They are smart enough at doing wrong, but for doing right they have no talent, none at all.”


book: Jer
contenido:
I looked down upon their land, and as far as I could see in all directions everything was ruins. And all the heavens were dark.


book: Jer
contenido:
The fertile valleys were wilderness, and all the cities were broken down before the presence of the Lord, crushed by his fierce anger.


book: Jer
contenido:
The Lord’s decree of desolation covers all the land.
“Yet,” he says, “there will be a little remnant of my people left.


book: Jer
contenido:
The earth shall mourn, the heavens shall be draped with black, because of my decree against my people; I have made up my mind and will not change it.”


book: Jer
contenido:
All the cities flee in terror at the noise of marching armies coming near. The people hide in the bushes and flee to the mountains. All the cities are abandoned—all have fled in terror.


book: Jer
contenido:
Why do you put on your most beautiful clothing and jewelry and brighten your eyes with mascara? It will do you no good! Your allies despise you and will kill you.


book: Jer
contenido:
I have heard great crying like that of a woman giving birth to her first child; it is the cry of my people gasping for breath, pleading for help, prostrate before their murderers.


book: Jer
contenido:
Run up and down through every street in all Jerusalem; search high and low and see if you can find even one person who is fair and honest! Search every square, and if you find just one, I’ll not destroy the city!


book: Jer
contenido:
O Lord, you are looking for faithfulness. You have tried to get them to be honest, for you have punished them, but they won’t change! You have destroyed them, but they refuse to turn from their sins. They are determined, with faces hard as rock, not to repent.


book: Jer
contenido:
Then I said, “But what can we expect from the poor and ignorant? They don’t know the ways of God. How can they obey him?”


book: Jer
contenido:
I will go now to their leaders, the men of importance, and speak to them, for they know the ways of the Lord and the judgment that follows sin. But they too had utterly rejected their God.


book: Jer
contenido:
So I will send upon them the wild fury of the “lion from the forest”; the “desert wolves” shall pounce upon them, and a “leopard” shall lurk around their cities so that all who go out shall be torn apart. For their sins are very many; their rebellion against me is great.


book: Jer
contenido:
How can I pardon you? For even your children have turned away and worship gods that are not gods at all. I fed my people until they were fully satisfied, and their thanks was to commit adultery wholesale and to gang up at the city’s brothels.


book: Jer
contenido:
Go down the rows of the vineyards and destroy them! But leave a scattered few to live. Strip the branches from each vine, for they are not the Lord’s.


book: Jer
contenido:
They have lied and said, “He won’t bother us! No evil will come upon us! There will be neither famine nor war!


book: Jer
contenido:
God’s prophets,” they say, “are windbags full of words with no divine authority. Their claims of doom will fall upon themselves, not us!”


book: Jer
contenido:
Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Hosts says to his prophets: Because of talk like this, I’ll take your words and prophecies and turn them into raging fire and burn up these people like kindling wood.


book: Jer
contenido:
See, I will bring a distant nation against you, O Israel, says the Lord. It is a mighty nation, an ancient nation whose language you don’t understand.


book: Jer
contenido:
And they shall eat your harvest and your children’s bread, your flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, yes, and your grapes and figs; and they shall sack your walled cities that you think are safe.


book: Jer
contenido:
And when your people ask, “Why is it that the Lord is doing this to us?” then you shall say, “You rejected him and gave yourselves to other gods while in your land; now you must be slaves to foreigners in their lands.”


book: Jer
contenido:
Listen, O foolish, senseless people—you with the eyes that do not see and the ears that do not listen—


book: Jer
contenido:
have you no respect at all for me? the Lord God asks. How can it be that you don’t even tremble in my presence? I set the shorelines of the world by perpetual decrees, so that the oceans, though they toss and roar, can never pass those bounds. Isn’t such a God to be feared and worshiped?


book: Jer
contenido:
But my people have rebellious hearts; they have turned against me and gone off into idolatry. Though I am the one who gives them rain each year in spring and fall and sends the harvesttimes, yet they have no respect or fear for me.


book: Jer
contenido:
And so I have taken away these wondrous blessings from them. This sin has robbed them of all of these good things.


book: Jer
contenido:
Among my people are wicked men who lurk for victims like a hunter hiding in a blind. They set their traps for men.


book: Jer
contenido:
Like a coop full of chickens their homes are full of evil plots. And the result? Now they are great and rich,


book: Jer
contenido:
they are well fed and well groomed, and there is no limit to their wicked deeds. They refuse justice to orphans and the rights of the poor.


book: Jer
contenido:
Should I sit back and act as though nothing is going on? the Lord God asks. Shouldn’t I punish a nation such as this?


book: Jer
contenido:
Run, people of Benjamin, run for your lives! Flee from Jerusalem! Sound the alarm in Tekoa; send up a smoke signal at Beth-haccherem; warn everyone that a powerful army is on the way from the north, coming to destroy this nation!


book: Jer
contenido:
Evil shepherds shall surround you. They shall set up camp around the city and divide your pastures for their flocks.


book: Jer
contenido:
See them prepare for battle. At noon it has begun. All afternoon it rages until the evening shadows fall.


book: Jer
contenido:
For the Lord Almighty has said to them, Cut down her trees for battering rams; smash down the walls of Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished, for she is vile through and through.


book: Jer
contenido:
She spouts evil like a fountain! Her streets echo with the sounds of violence; her sickness and wounds are ever before me.


book: Jer
contenido:
Disaster on disaster shall befall you. Even the few who remain in Israel shall be gleaned again, the Lord Almighty has said; for as a grape-gatherer checks each vine to pick what he has missed, so the remnant of my people shall be destroyed again.


book: Jer
contenido:
But who will listen when I warn them? Their ears are closed, and they refuse to hear. The word of God has angered them; they don’t want it at all.


book: Jer
contenido:
For all this I am full of the wrath of God against them. I am weary of holding it in. I will pour it out over Jerusalem, even upon the children playing in the streets, upon the gatherings of young men, and on husbands and wives and grandparents.


book: Jer
contenido:
Their enemies shall live in their homes and take their fields and wives. For I will punish the people of this land, the Lord has said.


book: Jer
contenido:
They are swindlers and liars, from the least of them right to the top! Yes, even my prophets and priests!


book: Jer
contenido:
You can’t heal a wound by saying it’s not there! Yet the priests and prophets give assurances of peace when all is war.


book: Jer
contenido:
Were my people ashamed when they worshiped idols? No, not at all—they didn’t even blush. Therefore they shall lie among the slain. They shall die beneath my anger.


book: Jer
contenido:
Yet the Lord pleads with you still: Ask where the good road is, the godly paths you used to walk in, in the days of long ago. Travel there, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, “No, that is not the road we want!”


book: Jer
contenido:
I set watchmen over you who warned you: “Listen for the sound of the trumpet! It will let you know when trouble comes.” But you said, “No! We won’t pay any attention!”


book: Jer
contenido:
This, then, is my decree against my people: (Listen to it, distant lands; listen to it, O my people in Jerusalem; listen to it, all the earth!) I will bring evil upon this people; it will be the fruit of their own sin because they will not listen to me. They reject my law.


book: Jer
contenido:
There is no use now in burning sweet incense from Sheba before me! Keep your expensive perfumes! I cannot accept your offerings; they have no sweet fragrance for me.


book: Jer
contenido:
I will make an obstacle course of the pathway of my people; fathers and sons shall be frustrated; neighbors and friends shall collapse together.


book: Jer
contenido:
They are a cruel, merciless people, fully armed, mounted for war. The noise of their army is like a roaring sea.


book: Jer
contenido:
We have heard the fame of their armies, and we are weak with fright. Fright and pain have gripped us like that of women in travail.


book: Jer
contenido:
Don’t go out to the fields! Don’t travel the roads! For the enemy is everywhere, ready to kill; we are terrorized at every turn.


book: Jer
contenido:
O Jerusalem, pride of my people, put on mourning clothes and sit in ashes; weep bitterly as for an only son. For suddenly the destroying armies will be upon you.


book: Jer
contenido:
Jeremiah, I have made you an assayer of metals that you may test this my people and determine their value. Listen to what they are saying and watch what they are doing.


book: Jer
contenido:
Are they not the worst of rebels, full of evil talk against the Lord? They are insolent as brass, hard and cruel as iron.


book: Jer
contenido:
The bellows blow fiercely; the refining fire grows hotter, but it can never cleanse them, for there is no pureness in them to bring out. Why continue the process longer? All is dross. No matter how hot the fire, they continue in their wicked ways.


book: Jer
contenido:
Go over to the entrance of the Temple of the Lord and give this message to the people: O Judah, listen to this message from God. Listen to it, all of you who worship here.


book: Jer
contenido:
The Lord, the God of Israel says: Even yet, if you quit your evil ways, I will let you stay in your own land.


book: Jer
contenido:
But don’t be fooled by those who lie to you and say that since the Temple of the Lord is here, God will never let Jerusalem be destroyed.


book: Jer
contenido:
You may remain under these conditions only: If you stop your wicked thoughts and deeds and are fair to others;


book: Jer
contenido:
if you stop exploiting orphans, widows, and foreigners, and stop your murdering; if you stop worshiping idols as you do now to your hurt,


book: Jer
contenido:
Do you really think that you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and worship Baal and all of those new gods of yours,


book: Jer
contenido:
and then come here and stand before me in my Temple and chant, “We are saved!”—only to go right back to all these evil things again?


book: Jer
contenido:
Go to Shiloh, the city I first honored with my name, and see what I did to her because of all the wickedness of my people Israel.


book: Jer
contenido:
And now, says the Lord, I will do the same thing here because of all this evil you have done. Again and again I spoke to you about it, rising up early and calling, but you refused to hear or answer. Yes, I will destroy this Temple, as I did in Shiloh—this Temple called by my name, which you trust for help, and this place I gave to you and to your fathers.


book: Jer
contenido:
Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah. Neither weep for them nor pray nor beg that I should help them, for I will not listen.


book: Jer
contenido:
No wonder my anger is great! Watch how the children gather wood and the fathers build fires, and the women knead dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven and to their other idol-gods!


book: Jer
contenido:
Am I the one that they are hurting? asks the Lord. Most of all they hurt themselves, to their own shame.


book: Jer
contenido:
So the Lord God says: I will pour out my anger, yes, my fury on this place—people, animals, trees, and plants will be consumed by the unquenchable fire of my anger.


book: Jer
contenido:
It wasn’t offerings and sacrifices I wanted from your fathers when I led them out of Egypt. That was not the point of my command.


book: Jer
contenido:
But what I told them was: Obey me, and I will be your God and you shall be my people; only do as I say, and all shall be well!


book: Jer
contenido:
But they wouldn’t listen; they kept on doing whatever they wanted to, following their own stubborn, evil thoughts. They went backward instead of forward.


book: Jer
contenido:
Ever since the day your fathers left Egypt until now, I have kept on sending them my prophets, day after day.


book: Jer
contenido:
But they wouldn’t listen to them or even try to hear. They are hard and stubborn and rebellious—worse even than their fathers were.


book: Jer
contenido:
Tell them everything that I will do to them, but don’t expect them to listen. Cry out your warnings, but don’t expect them to respond.


book: Jer
contenido:
Say to them: “This is the nation that refuses to obey the Lord its God and refuses to be taught. She continues to live a lie.”


book: Jer
contenido:
O Jerusalem, shave your head in shame and weep alone upon the mountains; for the Lord has rejected and forsaken this people of his wrath.


book: Jer
contenido:
For the people of Judah have sinned before my very eyes, says the Lord. They have set up their idols right in my own Temple, polluting it.


book: Jer
contenido:
They have built the altar called Topheth in the valley of Ben-hinnom, and there they burn to death their little sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods—a deed so horrible I’ve never even thought of it, let alone commanded it to be done.


book: Jer
contenido:
The time is coming, says the Lord, when that valley’s name will be changed from Topheth or Ben-hinnom Valley, to the Valley of Slaughter; for there will be so many slain to bury that there won’t be room enough for all the graves, and they will dump the bodies in that valley.


book: Jer
contenido:
The bodies of my people shall be food for the birds and animals, and no one shall be left to scare them away.


book: Jer
contenido:
I will end the happy singing and laughter and the joyous voices of the bridegrooms and brides in the streets of Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah. For the land shall lie in desolation.


book: Jer
contenido:
Then, says the Lord, the enemy shall break open the graves of the kings of Judah and of the princes, and the graves of the priests, prophets, and people,


book: Jer
contenido:
and dig out their bones and spread them out on the ground before the sun and moon and stars—the gods of my people!—whom they have loved and worshiped. Their bones shall not be gathered up again nor buried but shall be scattered like dung upon the ground.


book: Jer
contenido:
And those of this evil nation who are still left alive shall long to die rather than live where I will scatter them, says the Lord Almighty.


book: Jer
contenido:
Once again give them this message from the Lord: When a person falls, he jumps up again; when he is on the wrong road and discovers his mistake, he goes back to the fork where he made the wrong turn. But these people keep on along their evil path, even though I warn them.


book: Jer
contenido:
I listen to their conversation and what do I hear? Is anyone sorry for sin? Does anyone say, “What a terrible thing I have done”? No, all are rushing pell-mell down the path of sin as swiftly as a horse rushing to the battle!


book: Jer
contenido:
The stork knows the time of her migration, as does the turtledove, the crane, and the swallow. They all return at God’s appointed time each year; but not my people! They don’t accept the laws of God.


book: Jer
contenido:
How can you say, “We understand his laws,” when your teachers have twisted them up to mean a thing I never said?


book: Jer
contenido:
These wise teachers of yours will be shamed by exile for this sin, for they have rejected the word of the Lord. Are they then so wise?


book: Jer
contenido:
I will give their wives and their farms to others; for all of them, great and small, prophet and priest, have one purpose in mind—to get what isn’t theirs.


book: Jer
contenido:
They give useless medicine for my people’s grievous wounds, for they assure them all is well when that isn’t so at all!


book: Jer
contenido:
Are they ashamed because they worship idols? No, not in the least; they don’t even know how to blush! That is why I will see to it that they lie among the fallen. I will visit them with death.


book: Jer
contenido:
Their figs and grapes will disappear, their fruit trees will die, and all the good things I prepared for them will soon be gone.


book: Jer
contenido:
Then the people will say, “Why should we wait here to die? Come, let us go to the walled cities and perish there. For the Lord our God has decreed our doom and given us a cup of poison to drink because of all our sins.


book: Jer
contenido:
The noise of war resounds from the northern border. The whole land trembles at the approach of the terrible army, for the enemy is coming and is devouring the land and everything in it—the cities and people alike.


book: Jer
contenido:
For I will send these enemy troops among you like poisonous snakes that you cannot charm. No matter what you do, they will bite you and you shall die.


book: Jer
contenido:
Listen to the weeping of my people all across the land.
“Where is the Lord?” they ask. “Has God deserted us?”
“Oh, why have they angered me with their carved idols and strange evil rites?” the Lord replies.


book: Jer
contenido:
Is there no medicine in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why doesn’t God do something? Why doesn’t he help?


book: Jer
contenido:
Oh, that my eyes were a fountain of tears; I would weep forever; I would sob day and night for the slain of my people!


book: Jer
contenido:
Oh, that I could go away and forget them and live in some wayside shack in the desert, for they are all adulterous, treacherous men.


book: Jer
contenido:
“They bend their tongues like bows to shoot their arrows of untruth. They care nothing for right and go from bad to worse; they care nothing for me,” says the Lord.


book: Jer
contenido:
Beware of your neighbor! Beware of your brother! All take advantage of one another and spread their slanderous lies.


book: Jer
contenido:
With practiced tongues they fool and defraud each other; they wear themselves out with all their sinning.


book: Jer
contenido:
Therefore, the Lord Almighty says this: “See, I will melt them in a crucible of affliction. I will refine them and test them like metal. What else can I do with them?


book: Jer
contenido:
For their tongues aim lies like poisoned spears. They speak cleverly to their neighbors while planning to kill them.


book: Jer
contenido:
Should not I punish them for such things as this?” asks the Lord. “Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?”


book: Jer
contenido:
Sobbing and weeping, I point to their mountains and pastures, for now they are desolate, without a living soul. Gone is the lowing of cattle, gone the birds and wild animals. All have fled.


book: Jer
contenido:
“And I will turn Jerusalem into heaps of ruined houses where only jackals have their dens. The cities of Judah shall be ghost towns, with no one living in them.”


book: Jer
contenido:
Who is wise enough to understand all this? Where is the Lord’s messenger to explain it? Why is the land a wilderness so that no one dares even to travel through?


book: Jer
contenido:
Instead, they have done whatever they pleased and worshiped the idols of Baal, as their fathers told them to.”


book: Jer
contenido:
Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Look! I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink.


book: Jer
contenido:
I will scatter them around the world, to be strangers in distant lands; and even there the sword of destruction shall chase them until I have utterly destroyed them.


book: Jer
contenido:
The Lord Almighty says: “Send for the mourners! Quick! Begin your crying! Let the tears flow from your eyes.


book: Jer
contenido:
Hear Jerusalem weeping in despair. ‘We are ruined! Disaster has befallen us! We must leave our land and homes!’”


book: Jer
contenido:
For death has crept in through your windows into your homes. He has killed off the flower of your youth. Children no longer play in the streets; the young men gather no more in the squares.


book: Jer
contenido:
Tell them this, says the Lord: Bodies shall be scattered across the fields like manure, like sheaves after the mower, and no one will bury them.


book: Jer
contenido:
The Lord says: Let not the wise man bask in his wisdom, nor the mighty man in his might, nor the rich man in his riches.


book: Jer
contenido:
Let them boast in this alone: That they truly know me, and understand that I am the Lord of justice and of righteousness whose love is steadfast; and that I love to be this way.


book: Jer
contenido:
A time is coming, says the Lord, when I will punish all those who are circumcised in body but not in spirit—the Egyptians, Edomites, Ammonites, Moabites, Arabs, and yes, even you people of Judah. For all these pagan nations also circumcise themselves. Unless you circumcise your hearts by loving me, your circumcision is only a heathen rite like theirs, and nothing more.


book: Jer
contenido:
Don’t act like the people who make horoscopes and try to read their fate and future in the stars! Don’t be frightened by predictions such as theirs, for it is all a pack of lies. Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree and carve an idol;


book: Jer
contenido:
they decorate it with gold and silver and fasten it securely in place with hammer and nails so that it won’t fall over.


book: Jer
contenido:
And there stands their god like a helpless scarecrow in a garden! It cannot speak, and it must be carried, for it cannot walk. Don’t be afraid of such a god, for it can neither harm nor help nor do you any good.


book: Jer
contenido:
Who would not fear you, O King of nations? (And that title belongs to you alone!) Among all the wise men of the earth and in all the kingdoms of the world there isn’t anyone like you.


book: Jer
contenido:
They bring beaten sheets of silver from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz and give them to skillful goldsmiths who make their idols; then they clothe these gods in royal purple robes that expert tailors make.


book: Jer
contenido:
But the Lord is the only true God, the living God, the everlasting King. The whole earth shall tremble at his anger; the world shall hide before his displeasure.


book: Jer
contenido:
Say this to those who worship other gods: Your so-called gods, who have not made the heavens and earth, shall vanish from the earth.


book: Jer
contenido:
But our God formed the earth by his power and wisdom, and by his intelligence he hung the stars in space and stretched out the heavens.


book: Jer
contenido:
It is his voice that echoes in the thunder of the storm clouds. He causes mist to rise upon the earth; he sends the lightning and brings the rain, and from his treasuries he brings the wind.


book: Jer
contenido:
But foolish men without knowledge of God bow before their idols. It is a shameful business that these men are in, for what they make are frauds, gods without life or power in them.


book: Jer
contenido:
But the God of Jacob is not like these foolish idols. He is the Creator of all, and Israel is his chosen nation. The Lord Almighty is his name.


book: Jer
contenido:
For suddenly I’ll fling you from this land and pour great troubles down; at last you shall feel my wrath.


book: Jer
contenido:
My home is gone; my children have been taken away, and I will never see them again. There is no one left to help me rebuild my home.


book: Jer
contenido:
The shepherds of my people have lost their senses; they no longer follow God nor ask his will. Therefore they perish, and their flocks are scattered.


book: Jer
contenido:
Listen! Hear the terrible sound of great armies coming from the north. The cities of Judah shall become dens of jackals.


book: Jer
contenido:
Pour out your fury on the nations who don’t obey the Lord, for they have destroyed Israel and made a wasteland of this entire country.


book: Jer
contenido:
Then the Lord spoke to Jeremiah once again and said:
Remind the men of Judah and all the people of Jerusalem that I made a contract with their fathers—and cursed is the man who does not heed it!


book: Jer
contenido:
For I told them at the time I brought them out of slavery in Egypt that if they would obey me and do whatever I commanded them, then they and all their children would be mine and I would be their God.


book: Jer
contenido:
And now, Israel, obey me, says the Lord, so that I can do for you the wonderful things I swore I would if you obeyed. I want to give you a land that “flows with milk and honey,” as it is today.
Then I replied, “So be it, Lord!”


book: Jer
contenido:
Then the Lord said: Broadcast this message in Jerusalem’s streets—go from city to city throughout the land and say, Remember this agreement that your fathers made with God, and do all the things they promised him they would.


book: Jer
contenido:
For I solemnly said to your fathers when I brought them out of Egypt—and have kept on saying it over and over again until this day: Obey my every command!


book: Jer
contenido:
But your fathers didn’t do it. They wouldn’t even listen. Each followed his own stubborn will and his proud heart. Because they refused to obey, I did to them all the evils stated in the contract.


book: Jer
contenido:
Again the Lord spoke to me and said: I have discovered a conspiracy against me among the men of Judah and Jerusalem.


book: Jer
contenido:
They have returned to the sins of their fathers, refusing to listen to me and worshiping idols. The agreement I made with their fathers is broken and canceled.


book: Jer
contenido:
Therefore, the Lord says, I am going to bring calamity down upon them, and they shall not escape. Though they cry for mercy, I will not listen to their pleas.


book: Jer
contenido:
Then they will pray to their idols and burn incense before them, but that cannot save them from their time of anguish and despair.


book: Jer
contenido:
O my people, you have as many gods as there are cities, and your altars of shame (your altars to burn incense to Baal) are along every street in Jerusalem.


book: Jer
contenido:
Therefore, Jeremiah, pray no longer for this people, neither weep nor plead for them; for I will not listen to them when they are finally desperate enough to beg me for help.


book: Jer
contenido:
What right do my beloved people have to come anymore to my Temple? For you have been unfaithful and worshiped other gods. Can promises and sacrifices now avert your doom and give you life and joy again?


book: Jer
contenido:
The Lord used to call you his green olive tree, beautiful to see and full of good fruit; but now he has sent the fury of your enemies to burn you up and leave you broken and charred.


book: Jer
contenido:
It is because of the wickedness of Israel and Judah in offering incense to Baal that the Lord Almighty who planted the tree has ordered it destroyed.


book: Jer
contenido:
I had been as unsuspecting as a lamb or ox on the way to slaughter. I didn’t know that they were planning to kill me! “Let’s destroy this man and all his messages,” they said. “Let’s kill him so that his name will be forever forgotten.”


book: Jer
contenido:
O Lord Almighty, you are just. See the hearts and motives of these men. Repay them for all that they have planned! I look to you for justice.


book: Jer
contenido:
And the Lord replied, The men of the city of Anathoth shall be punished for planning to kill you. They will tell you not to prophesy in God’s name on pain of death. And so their young men shall die in battle; their boys and girls shall starve.


book: Jer
contenido:
Not one of these plotters of Anathoth shall survive, for I will bring a great disaster upon them. Their time has come.


book: Jer
contenido:
O Lord, you always give me justice when I bring a case before you to decide. Now let me bring you this complaint: Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why are evil men so happy?


book: Jer
contenido:
You plant them. They take root and their business grows. Their profits multiply, and they are rich. They say, “Thank God!” But in their hearts they give no credit to you.


book: Jer
contenido:
But as for me—Lord, you know my heart—you know how much it longs for you. (And I am poor, O Lord!) Lord, drag them off like helpless sheep to the slaughter. Judge them, O God!


book: Jer
contenido:
How long must this land of yours put up with all their goings-on? Even the grass of the field groans and weeps over their wicked deeds! The wild animals and birds have moved away, leaving the land deserted. Yet the people say, “God won’t bring judgment on us. We’re perfectly safe!”


book: Jer
contenido:
The Lord replied to me: If racing with mere men—these men of Anathoth—has wearied you, how will you race against horses, against the king, his court, and all his evil priests? If you stumble and fall on open ground, what will you do in Jordan’s jungles?


book: Jer
contenido:
Even your own brothers, your own family, have turned against you. They have plotted to call for a mob to lynch you. Don’t trust them, no matter how pleasantly they speak. Don’t believe them.


book: Jer
contenido:
Then the Lord said: I have abandoned my people, my inheritance; I have surrendered my dearest ones to their enemies.


book: Jer
contenido:
My people have roared at me like a lion of the forest, so I have treated them as though I hated them.


book: Jer
contenido:
My people have fallen. I will bring upon them swarms of vultures and wild animals to pick the flesh from their corpses.


book: Jer
contenido:
Many foreign rulers have ravaged my vineyard, trampling down the vines, and turning all its beauty into barren wilderness.


book: Jer
contenido:
Destroying armies plunder the land; the sword of the Lord devours from one end of the nation to the other; nothing shall escape.


book: Jer
contenido:
My people have sown wheat but reaped thorns; they have worked hard, but it does them no good. They shall harvest a crop of shame, for the fierce anger of the Lord is upon them.


book: Jer
contenido:
And now the Lord says this to the evil nations, the nations surrounding the land God gave his people Israel: See, I will force you from your land just as Judah will be forced from hers;


book: Jer
contenido:
but afterwards I will return and have compassion on all of you and will bring you home to your own land again, each man to his inheritance.


book: Jer
contenido:
And if these heathen nations quickly learn my people’s ways and claim me as their God instead of Baal (whom they taught my people to worship), then they shall be strong among my people.


book: Jer
contenido:
The Lord said to me, Go and buy a linen loincloth and wear it, but don’t wash it—don’t put it in water at all.


book: Jer
contenido:
And I did; I dug it out of the hole where I had hidden it. But now it was mildewed and falling apart. It was utterly useless!


book: Jer
contenido:
This evil nation refuses to listen to me and follows its own evil desires, and worships idols; therefore, it shall become as this loincloth—good for nothing.


book: Jer
contenido:
Even as a loincloth clings to a man’s loins, so I made Judah and Israel to cling to me, says the Lord. They were my people, an honor to my name. But then they turned away.


book: Jer
contenido:
Tell them this: The Lord God of Israel says, All your wine jugs will be full of wine. And they will reply, Of course, you don’t need to tell us how prosperous we will be!


book: Jer
contenido:
Then tell them: That’s not what I mean. I mean that I will fill everyone living in this land with helpless bewilderment—from the king sitting on David’s throne, and the priests and the prophets, right on down to all the people.


book: Jer
contenido:
And I will smash fathers and sons against each other, says the Lord. I will not let pity nor mercy spare them from utter destruction.


book: Jer
contenido:
Give glory to the Lord your God before it is too late, before he causes deep, impenetrable darkness to fall upon you so that you stumble and fall upon the dark mountains; then, when you look for light, you will find only terrible darkness.


book: Jer
contenido:
Do you still refuse to listen? Then in loneliness my breaking heart shall mourn because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears because the Lord’s flock shall be carried away as slaves.


book: Jer
contenido:
Say to the king and queen mother, Come down from your thrones and sit in the dust, for your glorious crowns are removed from your heads. They are no longer yours.


book: Jer
contenido:
The cities of the Negeb to the south of Jerusalem have closed their gates against the enemy. They must defend themselves, for Jerusalem cannot help; and all Judah shall be taken away as slaves.


book: Jer
contenido:
See the armies marching from the north! Where is your flock, Jerusalem, your beautiful flock he gave you to take care of ?


book: Jer
contenido:
How will you feel when he sets your allies over you as your rulers? You will writhe in pain like a woman having a child.


book: Jer
contenido:
And if you ask yourself, Why is all this happening to me? It is because of the grossness of your sins; that is why you have been raped and destroyed by the invading army.


book: Jer
contenido:
Can the Ethiopian change the color of his skin? or a leopard take away his spots? Nor can you who are so used to doing evil now start being good.


book: Jer
contenido:
Because you have put me out of your mind and put your trust in false gods, I will scatter you as chaff is scattered by the fierce winds off the desert. This then is your allotment, that which is due you, which I have measured out especially for you.


book: Jer
contenido:
I am keenly aware of your apostasy, your faithlessness to me, and your abominable idol worship in the fields and on the hills. Woe upon you, O Jerusalem! How long before you will be pure?


book: Jer
contenido:
Judah mourns; business has ground to a halt; all the people prostrate themselves to the earth, and a great cry rises from Jerusalem.


book: Jer
contenido:
The nobles send servants for water from the wells, but the wells are dry. The servants return, baffled and desperate, and cover their heads in grief.


book: Jer
contenido:
The wild donkeys stand upon the bare hills panting like thirsty jackals. They strain their eyes looking for grass to eat, but there is none to be found.


book: Jer
contenido:
O Hope of Israel, our Savior in times of trouble, why are you as a stranger to us, as one passing through the land who is merely stopping for the night?


book: Jer
contenido:
Are you also baffled? Are you helpless to save us? O Lord, you are right here among us, and we carry your name; we are known as your people. O Lord, don’t desert us now!


book: Jer
contenido:
But the Lord replies: You have loved to wander far from me and have not tried to follow in my paths. Now I will no longer accept you as my people; now I will remember all the evil you have done and punish your sins.


book: Jer
contenido:
When they fast, I will not pay any attention; when they present their offerings and sacrifices to me, I will not accept them. What I will give them in return is war and famine and disease.


book: Jer
contenido:
Then I said, O Lord God, their prophets are telling them that all is well—that no war or famine will come. They tell the people you will surely send them peace, that you will bless them.


book: Jer
contenido:
Then the Lord said: The prophets are telling lies in my name. I didn’t send them or tell them to speak or give them any message. They prophesy of visions and revelations they have never seen nor heard; they speak foolishness concocted out of their own lying hearts.


book: Jer
contenido:
Therefore, the Lord says, I will punish these lying prophets who have spoken in my name though I did not send them, who say no war shall come nor famine. By war and famine they themselves shall die!


book: Jer
contenido:
And the people to whom they prophesy—their bodies shall be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and war; there shall be no one to bury them. Husbands, wives, sons, and daughters—all will be gone. For I will pour out terrible punishment upon them for their sins.


book: Jer
contenido:
Therefore, tell them this: Night and day my eyes shall overflow with tears; I cannot stop my crying, for my people have been run through with a sword and lie mortally wounded on the ground.


book: Jer
contenido:
If I go out in the fields, there lie the bodies of those the sword has killed; and if I walk in the streets, there lie those dead from starvation and disease. And yet the prophets and priests alike have made it their business to travel through the whole country, reassuring everyone that all is well, speaking of things they know nothing about.


book: Jer
contenido:
“O Lord,” the people will cry, “have you completely rejected Judah? Do you abhor Jerusalem? Even after punishment, will there be no peace? We thought, Now at last he will heal us and bind our wounds. But no peace has come, and there is only trouble and terror everywhere.


book: Jer
contenido:
Do not hate us, Lord, for the sake of your own name. Do not disgrace yourself and the throne of your glory by forsaking your promise to bless us!


book: Jer
contenido:
What heathen god can give us rain? Who but you alone, O Lord our God, can do such things as this? Therefore we will wait for you to help us.”


book: Jer
contenido:
Then the Lord said to me, Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for these people, even then I wouldn’t help them—away with them! Get them out of my sight!


book: Jer
contenido:
And if they say to you, But where can we go? Tell them the Lord says: Those who are destined for death, to death; those who must die by the sword, to the sword; those doomed to starvation, to famine; and those for captivity, to captivity.


book: Jer
contenido:
I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, says the Lord: the sword to kill, the dogs to tear, and the vultures and wild animals to finish up what’s left.


book: Jer
contenido:
Because of the wicked things Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem, I will punish you so severely that your fate will horrify the peoples of the world.


book: Jer
contenido:
Who will feel sorry for you, Jerusalem? Who will weep for you? Who will even bother to ask how you are?


book: Jer
contenido:
You have forsaken me and turned your backs upon me. Therefore, I will clench my fists against you to destroy you. I am tired of always giving you another chance.


book: Jer
contenido:
I will sift you at the gates of your cities and take from you all that you hold dear, and I will destroy my own people because they refuse to turn back to me from all their evil ways.


book: Jer
contenido:
There shall be countless widows; at noontime I will bring death to the young men and sorrow to their mothers. I will cause anguish and terror to fall upon them suddenly.


book: Jer
contenido:
The mother of seven sickens and faints, for all her sons are dead. Her sun is gone down while it is yet day. She sits childless now, disgraced, for all her children have been killed.


book: Jer
contenido:
Then Jeremiah said, “What sadness is mine, my mother; oh, that I had died at birth. For I am hated everywhere I go. I am neither a creditor soon to foreclose nor a debtor refusing to pay—yet they all curse me.


book: Jer
contenido:
Well, let them curse! Lord, you know how I have pled with you on their behalf—how I have begged you to spare these enemies of mine.”


book: Jer
contenido:
Can a man break bars of northern iron or bronze? This people’s stubborn will can’t be broken either. So, because of all your sins against me, I will deliver your wealth and treasures as loot to the enemy.


book: Jer
contenido:
I will have your enemies take you as slaves to a land where you have never been before, for my anger burns like fire, and it shall consume you.


book: Jer
contenido:
Then Jeremiah replied, “Lord, you know it is for your sake that I am suffering. They are persecuting me because I have proclaimed your word to them. Don’t let them kill me! Rescue me from their clutches, and give them what they deserve!


book: Jer
contenido:
Your words are what sustain me; they are food to my hungry soul. They bring joy to my sorrowing heart and delight me. How proud I am to bear your name, O Lord.


book: Jer
contenido:
I have not joined the people in their merry feasts. I sit alone beneath the hand of God. I burst with indignation at their sins. Yet you have failed me in my time of need! You have let them keep right on with all their persecutions. Will they never stop hurting me? Your help is as uncertain as a seasonal mountain brook—sometimes a flood, sometimes as dry as a bone.”


book: Jer
contenido:
The Lord replied: “Stop this foolishness and talk some sense! Only if you return to trusting me will I let you continue as my spokesman. You are to influence them, not let them influence you!


book: Jer
contenido:
They will fight against you like a besieging army against a high city wall. But they will not conquer you, for I am with you to protect and deliver you, says the Lord.


book: Jer
contenido:
shall die from terrible diseases. No one shall mourn for them or bury them, but their bodies shall lie on the ground to rot and fertilize the soil. They shall die from war and famine, and their bodies shall be picked apart by vultures and wild animals.


book: Jer
contenido:
Do not mourn or weep for them, for I have removed my protection and my peace from them—taken away my loving-kindness and my mercies.


book: Jer
contenido:
Both great and small shall die in this land, unburied and unmourned, and their friends shall not cut themselves nor shave their heads as signs of sorrow (as is their heathen custom).


book: Jer
contenido:
No one shall comfort the mourners with a meal nor send them a cup of wine expressing grief for their parents’ death.


book: Jer
contenido:
As a sign to them of these sad days ahead, don’t you join them anymore in their feasts and parties—don’t even eat a meal with them.


book: Jer
contenido:
For the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: In your own lifetime, before your very eyes, I will end all laughter in this land—the happy songs, the marriage feasts, the songs of bridegrooms and of brides.


book: Jer
contenido:
And when you tell the people all these things and they ask, “Why has the Lord decreed such terrible things against us? What have we done to merit such treatment? What is our sin against the Lord our God?”


book: Jer
contenido:
tell them the Lord’s reply is this: Because your fathers forsook me. They worshiped other gods and served them; they did not keep my laws,


book: Jer
contenido:
and you have been worse than your fathers were! You follow evil to your hearts’ content and refuse to listen to me.


book: Jer
contenido:
Therefore, I will throw you out of this land and chase you into a foreign land where neither you nor your fathers have been before, and there you can go ahead and worship your idols all you like—and I will grant you no favors!


book: Jer
contenido:
But there will come a glorious day, says the Lord, when the whole topic of conversation will be that God is bringing his people home from a nation in the north, and from many other lands where he had scattered them. You will look back no longer to the time when I rescued you from your slavery in Egypt. That mighty miracle will scarcely be mentioned anymore. Yes, I will bring you back again, says the Lord, to this same land I gave your fathers.


book: Jer
contenido:
Now I am sending for many fishermen to fish you from the deeps where you are hiding from my wrath. I am sending for hunters to chase you down like deer in the forests or mountain goats on inaccessible crags. Wherever you run to escape my judgment, I will find you and punish you.


book: Jer
contenido:
And I will punish you doubly for all your sins because you have defiled my land with your detestable idols and filled it up with all your evil deeds.


book: Jer
contenido:
O Lord, my Strength and Fortress, my Refuge in the day of trouble, nations from around the world will come to you saying, “Our fathers have been foolish, for they have worshiped worthless idols!


book: Jer
contenido:
And when they come in that spirit, I will show them my power and might and make them understand at last that I alone am God.


book: Jer
contenido:
My people sin as though commanded to, as though their evil were laws chiseled with an iron pen or diamond point upon their stony hearts or on the corners of their altars.


book: Jer
contenido:
Their youths do not forget to sin, worshiping idols beneath each tree, high in the mountains or in the open country down below. And so I will give all your treasures to your enemies as the price that you must pay for all your sins.


