Isaiah 64

Can We Be Saved?

1-7 Oh, that you would rip open the heavens and descend,

make the mountains shudder at your presence—

As when a forest catches fire,

as when fire makes a pot to boil—

To shock your enemies into facing you,

make the nations shake in their boots!

You did terrible things we never expected,

descended and made the mountains shudder at your presence.

Since before time began

no one has ever imagined,

No ear heard, no eye seen, a God like you

who works for those who wait for him.

You meet those who happily do what is right,

who keep a good memory of the way you work.

But how angry you’ve been with us!

We’ve sinned and kept at it so long!

Is there any hope for us? Can we be saved?

We’re all sin-infected, sin-contaminated.

Our best efforts are grease-stained rags.

We dry up like autumn leaves—

sin-dried, we’re blown off by the wind.

No one prays to you

or makes the effort to reach out to you

Because you’ve turned away from us,

left us to stew in our sins.

8-12 Still,God, you are our Father.

We’re the clay and you’re our potter:

All of us are what you made us.

Don’t be too angry with us, OGod.

Don’t keep a permanent account of wrongdoing.

Keep in mind, please, weareyour people—all of us.

Your holy cities are all ghost towns:

Zion’s a ghost town,

Jerusalem’s a field of weeds.

Our holy and beautiful Temple,

which our ancestors filled with your praises,

Was burned down by fire,

all our lovely parks and gardens in ruins.

In the face of all this,

are you going to sit there unmoved,God?

Aren’t you going to say something?

Haven’t you made us miserable long enough?

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/ISA/64-39485aa46d88e25a62edfc205bbb254d.mp3?version_id=97—

Isaiah 65

The People Who Bothered to Reach Out to God

1-7 “I’ve made myself available

to those who haven’t bothered to ask.

I’m here, ready to be found

by those who haven’t bothered to look.

I kept saying ‘I’m here, I’m right here’

to a nation that ignored me.

I reached out day after day

to a people who turned their backs on me,

People who make wrong turns,

who insist on doing things their own way.

They get on my nerves,

are rude to my face day after day,

Make up their own kitchen religion,

a potluck religious stew.

They spend the night in tombs

to get messages from the dead,

Eat forbidden foods

and drink a witch’s brew of potions and charms.

They say, ‘Keep your distance.

Don’t touch me. I’m holier than thou.’

These people gag me.

I can’t stand their stench.

Look at this! Their sins are all written out—

I have the list before me.

I’m not putting up with this any longer.

I’ll pay them the wages

They have coming for their sins.

And for the sins of their parents lumped in,

a bonus.”Godsays so.

“Because they’ve practiced their blasphemous worship,

mocking me at their hillside shrines,

I’ll let loose the consequences

and pay them in full for their actions.”

8-10 God’s Message:

“But just as one bad apple doesn’t ruin the whole bushel,

there are still plenty of good apples left.

So I’ll preserve those in Israel who obey me.

I won’t destroy the whole nation.

I’ll bring out my true children from Jacob

and the heirs of my mountains from Judah.

My chosen will inherit the land,

my servants will move in.

The lush valley of Sharon in the west

will be a pasture for flocks,

And in the east, the valley of Achor,

a place for herds to graze.

These will be for the people

who bothered to reach out to me, who wanted me in their lives,

who actually bothered to look for me.

11-12 “But you who abandon me, yourGod,

who forget the holy mountains,

Who hold dinners for Lady Luck

and throw cocktail parties for Sir Fate,

Well, you asked for it. Fate it will be:

your destiny, Death.

For when I invited you, you ignored me;

when I spoke to you, you brushed me off.

You did the very things I exposed as evil;

you chose what I hate.”

13-16 Therefore, this is the Message from the Master,God:

“My servants will eat,

and you’ll go hungry;

My servants will drink,

and you’ll go thirsty;

My servants will rejoice,

and you’ll hang your heads.

My servants will laugh from full hearts,

and you’ll cry out heartbroken,

yes, wail from crushed spirits.

Your legacy to my chosen

will be your name reduced to a cussword.

I,God, will put you to death

and give a new name to my servants.

Then whoever prays a blessing in the land

will use my faithful name for the blessing,

And whoever takes an oath in the land

will use my faithful name for the oath,

Because the earlier troubles are gone and forgotten,

banished far from my sight.

New Heavens and a New Earth

17-25 “Pay close attention now:

I’m creating new heavens and a new earth.

All the earlier troubles, chaos, and pain

are things of the past, to be forgotten.

Look ahead with joy.

Anticipate what I’m creating:

I’ll create Jerusalem as sheer joy,

create my people as pure delight.

I’ll take joy in Jerusalem,

take delight in my people:

No more sounds of weeping in the city,

no cries of anguish;

No more babies dying in the cradle,

or old people who don’t enjoy a full lifetime;

One-hundredth birthdays will be considered normal—

anything less will seem like a cheat.

They’ll build houses

and move in.

They’ll plant fields

and eat what they grow.

No more building a house

that some outsider takes over,

No more planting fields

that some enemy confiscates,

For my people will be as long-lived as trees,

my chosen ones will have satisfaction in their work.

They won’t work and have nothing come of it,

they won’t have children snatched out from under them.

For they themselves are plantings blessed byGod,

with their children and grandchildren likewiseGod-blessed.

Before they call out, I’ll answer.

Before they’ve finished speaking, I’ll have heard.

Wolf and lamb will graze the same meadow,

lion and ox eat straw from the same trough,

but snakes—they’ll get a diet of dirt!

Neither animal nor human will hurt or kill

anywhere on my Holy Mountain,” saysGod.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/ISA/65-a85c6dc9bbe313348405b248cdda717c.mp3?version_id=97—

Isaiah 66

Living Worship to God

1-2 God’s Message:

“Heaven’s my throne,

earth is my footstool.

What sort of house could you build for me?

What holiday spot reserve for me?

I made all this! I own all this!”

God’s Decree.

“But thereissomething I’m looking for:

a person simple and plain,

reverently responsive to what I say.

3-4 “Your acts of worship

are acts of sin:

Your sacrificial slaughter of the ox

is no different from murdering the neighbor;

Your offerings for worship,

no different from dumping pig’s blood on the altar;

Your presentation of memorial gifts,

no different from honoring a no-god idol.

You choose self-serving worship,

you delight in self-centered worship—disgusting!

Well, I choose to expose your nonsense

and let you realize your worst fears,

Because when I invited you, you ignored me;

when I spoke to you, you brushed me off.

You did the very things I exposed as evil,

you chose what I hate.”

5 But listen to whatGodhas to say

to you who reverently respond to his Word:

“Your own families hate you

and turn you out because of me.

They taunt you, ‘Let us seeGod’s glory!

If God’s so great, why aren’t you happy?’

But they’re the ones

who are going to end up shamed.”

6 Rumbles of thunder from the city!

A voice out of the Temple!

God’s voice,

handing out judgment to his enemies:

7-9 “Before she went into labor,

she had the baby.

Before the birth pangs hit,

she delivered a son.

Has anyone ever heard of such a thing?

Has anyone seen anything like this?

A country born in a day?

A nation born in a flash?

But Zion was barely in labor

when she had her babies!

Do I open the womb

and not deliver the baby?

Do I, the One who delivers babies,

shut the womb?

10-11 “Rejoice, Jerusalem,

and all who love her, celebrate!

And all you who have shed tears over her,

join in the happy singing.

You newborns can satisfy yourselves

at her nurturing breasts.

Yes, delight yourselves and drink your fill

at her ample bosom.”

12-13 God’s Message:

“I’ll pour robust well-being into her like a river,

the glory of nations like a river in flood.

You’ll nurse at her breasts,

nestle in her bosom,

and be bounced on her knees.

As a mother comforts her child,

so I’ll comfort you.

You will be comforted in Jerusalem.”

14-16 You’ll see all this and burst with joy

—you’ll feel ten feet tall—

As it becomes apparent thatGodis on your side

and against his enemies.

ForGodarrives like wildfire

and his chariots like a tornado,

A furious outburst of anger,

a rebuke fierce and fiery.

For it’s by fire thatGodbrings judgment,

a death sentence on the human race.

Many, oh so many,

are underGod’s sentence of death:

17 “All who enter the sacred groves for initiation in those unholy rituals that climaxed in that foul and obscene meal of pigs and mice will eat together and then die together.”God’s Decree.

18-21 “I know everything they’ve ever done or thought. I’m going to come and then gather everyone—all nations, all languages. They’ll come and see my glory. I’ll set up a station at the center. I’ll send the survivors of judgment all over the world: Spain and Africa, Turkey and Greece, and the far-off islands that have never heard of me, who know nothing of what I’ve done nor who I am. I’ll send them out as missionaries to preach my glory among the nations. They’ll return with all your long-lost brothers and sisters from all over the world. They’ll bring them back and offer them in living worship toGod. They’ll bring them on horses and wagons and carts, on mules and camels, straight to my holy mountain Jerusalem,” saysGod. “They’ll present them just as Israelites present their offerings in a ceremonial vessel in the Temple ofGod. I’ll even take some of them and make them priests and Levites,” saysGod.

22-23 “For just as the new heavens and new earth

that I am making will stand firm before me”

—God’s Decree—

“So will your children

and your reputation stand firm.

Month after month and week by week,

everyone will come to worship me,”Godsays.

24 “And then they’ll go out and look at what happened

to those who rebelled against me. Corpses!

Maggots endlessly eating away on them,

an endless supply of fuel for fires.

Everyone who sees what’s happened

and smells the stench retches.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/ISA/66-0f7586e33746fe532fe6375aa3c0be6b.mp3?version_id=97—

Song of Solomon 1

1 The Song—best of all songs—Solomon’s song!

The Woman

2-3 Kiss me—full on the mouth!

Yes! For your love is better than wine,

headier than your aromatic oils.

The syllables of your name murmur like a meadow brook.

No wonder everyone loves to say your name!

4 Take me away with you! Let’s run off together!

An elopement with my King-Lover!

We’ll celebrate, we’ll sing,

we’ll make great music.

Yes! For your love is better than vintage wine.

Everyone loves you—of course! And why not?

5-6 I am weathered but still elegant,

oh, dear sisters in Jerusalem,

Weather-darkened like Kedar desert tents,

time-softened like Solomon’s Temple hangings.

Don’t look down on me because I’m dark,

darkened by the sun’s harsh rays.

My brothers ridiculed me and sent me to work in the fields.

They made me care for the face of the earth,

but I had no time to care for my own face.

7 Tell me where you’re working

—I love you so much—

Tell me where you’re tending your flocks,

where you let them rest at noontime.

Why should I be the one left out,

outside the orbit of your tender care?

The Man

8 If you can’t find me, loveliest of all women,

it’s all right. Stay with your flocks.

Lead your lambs to good pasture.

Stay with your shepherd neighbors.

9-11 You remind me of Pharaoh’s

well-groomed and satiny mares.

Pendant earrings line the elegance of your cheeks;

strands of jewels illumine the curve of your throat.

I’m making jewelry for you, gold and silver jewelry

that will mark and accent your beauty.

The Woman

12-14 When my King-Lover lay down beside me,

my fragrance filled the room.

His head resting between my breasts—

the head of my lover was a sachet of sweet myrrh.

My beloved is a bouquet of wildflowers

picked just for me from the fields of En Gedi.

The Man

15 Oh, my dear friend! You’re so beautiful!

And your eyes so beautiful—like doves!

The Woman

16-17 And you, my dear lover—you’re so handsome!

And the bed we share is like a forest glen.

We enjoy a canopy of cedars

enclosed by cypresses, fragrant and green.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/SNG/1-e6f0485e5fd2e2f2bfce886ffbbf4bad.mp3?version_id=97—

Song of Solomon 2

1 I’m just a wildflower picked from the plains of Sharon,

a lotus blossom from the valley pools.

The Man

2 A lotus blossoming in a swamp of weeds—

that’s my dear friend among the girls in the village.

The Woman

3-4 As an apricot tree stands out in the forest,

my lover stands above the young men in town.

All I want is to sit in his shade,

to taste and savor his delicious love.

He took me home with him for a festive meal,

but his eyes feasted onme!

5-6 Oh! Give me something refreshing to eat—and quickly!

Apricots, raisins—anything. I’m about to faint with love!

His left hand cradles my head,

and his right arm encircles my waist!

7 Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem,

by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer:

Don’t excite love, don’t stir it up,

until the time is ripe—and you’re ready.

8-10 Look! Listen! There’s my lover!

Do you see him coming?

Vaulting the mountains,

leaping the hills.

My lover is like a gazelle, graceful;

like a young stag, virile.

Look at him there, on tiptoe at the gate,

all ears, all eyes—ready!

My lover has arrived

and he’s speaking to me!

The Man

10-14 Get up, my dear friend,

fair and beautiful lover—come to me!

Look around you: Winter is over;

the winter rains are over, gone!

Spring flowers are in blossom all over.

The whole world’s a choir—and singing!

Spring warblers are filling the forest

with sweet arpeggios.

Lilacs are exuberantly purple and perfumed,

and cherry trees fragrant with blossoms.

Oh, get up, dear friend,

my fair and beautiful lover—come to me!

Come, my shy and modest dove—

leave your seclusion, come out in the open.

Let me see your face,

let me hear your voice.

For your voice is soothing

and your face is ravishing.

The Woman

15 Then you must protect me from the foxes,

foxes on the prowl,

Foxes who would like nothing better

than to get into our flowering garden.

16-17 My lover is mine, and I am his.

Nightly he strolls in our garden,

Delighting in the flowers

until dawn breathes its light and night slips away.

Turn to me, dear lover.

Come like a gazelle.

Leap like a wild stag

on delectable mountains!

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/SNG/2-262a70305db6f31f82e555eb126404b9.mp3?version_id=97—

Song of Solomon 3

1-4 Restless in bed and sleepless through the night,

I longed for my lover.

I wanted him desperately. His absence was painful.

So I got up, went out and roved the city,

hunting through streets and down alleys.

I wanted my lover in the worst way!

I looked high and low, and didn’t find him.

And then the night watchmen found me

as they patrolled the darkened city.

“Have you seen my dear lost love?” I asked.

No sooner had I left them than I found him,

found my dear lost love.

I threw my arms around him and held him tight,

wouldn’t let him go until I had him home again,

safe at home beside the fire.

5 Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem,

by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer:

Don’t excite love, don’t stir it up,

until the time is ripe—and you’re ready.

6-10 What’s this I see, approaching from the desert,

raising clouds of dust,

Filling the air with sweet smells

and pungent aromatics?

Look! It’s Solomon’s carriage,

carried and guarded by sixty soldiers,

sixty of Israel’s finest,

All of them armed to the teeth,

trained for battle,

ready for anything, anytime.

King Solomon once had a carriage built

from fine-grained Lebanon cedar.

He had it framed with silver and roofed with gold.

The cushions were covered with a purple fabric,

the interior lined with tooled leather.

11 Come and look, sisters in Jerusalem.

Oh, sisters of Zion, don’t miss this!

My King-Lover,

dressed and garlanded for his wedding,

his heart full, bursting with joy!

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/SNG/3-e50260769b68c7a05c3d119593fd58a9.mp3?version_id=97—

Song of Solomon 4

The Man

1-5 You’re so beautiful, my darling,

so beautiful, and your dove eyes are veiled

By your hair as it flows and shimmers,

like a flock of goats in the distance

streaming down a hillside in the sunshine.

Your smile is generous and full—

expressive and strong and clean.

Your lips are jewel red,

your mouth elegant and inviting,

your veiled cheeks soft and radiant.

The smooth, lithe lines of your neck

command notice—all heads turn in awe and admiration!

Your breasts are like fawns,

twins of a gazelle, grazing among the first spring flowers.

6-7 The sweet, fragrant curves of your body,

the soft, spiced contours of your flesh

Invite me, and I come. I stay

until dawn breathes its light and night slips away.

You’re beautiful from head to toe, my dear love,

beautiful beyond compare, absolutely flawless.

8-15 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride.

Leave Lebanon behind, and come.

Leave your high mountain hideaway.

Abandon your wilderness seclusion,

Where you keep company with lions

and panthers guard your safety.

You’ve captured my heart, dear friend.

You looked at me, and I fell in love.

One look my way and I was hopelessly in love!

How beautiful your love, dear, dear friend—

far more pleasing than a fine, rare wine,

your fragrance more exotic than select spices.

The kisses of your lips are honey, my love,

every syllable you speak a delicacy to savor.

Your clothes smell like the wild outdoors,

the ozone scent of high mountains.

Dear lover and friend, you’re a secret garden,

a private and pure fountain.

Body and soul, you are paradise,

a whole orchard of succulent fruits—

Ripe apricots and peaches,

oranges and pears;

Nut trees and cinnamon,

and all scented woods;

Mint and lavender,

and all herbs aromatic;

A garden fountain, sparkling and splashing,

fed by spring waters from the Lebanon mountains.

The Woman

16 Wake up, North Wind,

get moving, South Wind!

Breathe on my garden,

fill the air with spice fragrance.

Oh, let my lover enter his garden!

Yes, let him eat the fine, ripe fruits.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/SNG/4-8cade8f071cfc9029743b830b441a99c.mp3?version_id=97—

Song of Solomon 5

The Man

1 I went to my garden, dear friend, best lover!

breathed the sweet fragrance.

I ate the fruit and honey,

I drank the nectar and wine.

Celebrate with me, friends!

Raise your glasses—“To life! To love!”

The Woman

2 I was sound asleep, but in my dreams I was wide awake.

Oh, listen! It’s the sound of my lover knocking, calling!

The Man

“Let me in, dear companion, dearest friend,

my dove, consummate lover!

I’m soaked with the dampness of the night,

drenched with dew, shivering and cold.”

The Woman

3 “But I’m in my nightgown—do you expect me to get dressed?

I’m bathed and in bed—do you want me to get dirty?”

4-7 But my lover wouldn’t take no for an answer,

and the longer he knocked, the more excited I became.

I got up to open the door to my lover,

sweetly ready to receive him,

Desiring and expectant

as I turned the door handle.

But when I opened the door he was gone.

My loved one had tired of waiting and left.

And I died inside—oh, I felt so bad!

I ran out looking for him

But he was nowhere to be found.

I called into the darkness—but no answer.

The night watchmen found me

as they patrolled the streets of the city.

They slapped and beat and bruised me,

ripping off my clothes,

These watchmen,

who were supposed to be guarding the city.

8 I beg you, sisters in Jerusalem—

if you find my lover,

Please tell him I want him,

that I’m heartsick with love for him.

The Chorus

9 What’s so great about your lover, fair lady?

What’s so special about him that you beg for our help?

The Woman

10-16 My dear lover glows with health—

red-blooded, radiant!

He’s one in a million.

There’s no one quite like him!

My golden one, pure and untarnished,

with raven black curls tumbling across his shoulders.

His eyes are like doves, soft and bright,

but deep-set, brimming with meaning, like wells of water.

His face is rugged, his beard smells like sage,

His voice, his words, warm and reassuring.

Fine muscles ripple beneath his skin,

quiet and beautiful.

His torso is the work of a sculptor,

hard and smooth as ivory.

He stands tall, like a cedar,

strong and deep-rooted,

A rugged mountain of a man,

aromatic with wood and stone.

His words are kisses, his kisses words.

Everything about him delights me, thrills me

through and through!

That’s my lover, that’s my man,

dear Jerusalem sisters.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/SNG/5-2df16be093f7d7406e61527ee08d66f0.mp3?version_id=97—

Song of Solomon 6

The Chorus

1 So where has this love of yours gone,

fair one?

Where on earth can he be?

Can we help you look for him?

The Woman

2-3 Never mind. My lover is already on his way to his garden,

to browse among the flowers, touching the colors and forms.

I am my lover’s and my lover is mine.

He caresses the sweet-smelling flowers.

The Man

4-7 Dear, dear friend and lover,

you’re as beautiful as Tirzah, city of delights,

Lovely as Jerusalem, city of dreams,

the ravishing visions of my ecstasy.

Your beauty is too much for me—I’m in over my head.

I’m not used to this! I can’t take it in.

Your hair flows and shimmers

like a flock of goats in the distance

streaming down a hillside in the sunshine.

Your smile is generous and full—

expressive and strong and clean.

Your veiled cheeks

are soft and radiant.

8-9 There’s no one like her on earth,

never has been, never will be.

She’s a woman beyond compare.

My dove is perfection,

Pure and innocent as the day she was born,

and cradled in joy by her mother.

Everyone who came by to see her

exclaimed and admired her—

All the fathers and mothers, the neighbors and friends,

blessed and praised her:

10 “Has anyone ever seen anything like this—

dawn-fresh, moon-lovely, sun-radiant,

ravishing as the night sky with its galaxies of stars?”

11-12 One day I went strolling through the orchard,

looking for signs of spring,

Looking for buds about to burst into flower,

anticipating readiness, ripeness.

Before I knew it my heart was raptured,

carried away by lofty thoughts!

13 Dance, dance, dear Shulammite, Angel-Princess!

Dance, and we’ll feast our eyes on your grace!

Everyone wants to see the Shulammite dance

her victory dances of love and peace.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/SNG/6-5a557088fff7aeace8a98b98337b2e3a.mp3?version_id=97—

Song of Solomon 7

1-9 Shapely and graceful your sandaled feet,

and queenly your movement—

Your limbs are lithe and elegant,

the work of a master artist.

Your body is a chalice,

wine-filled.

Your skin is silken and tawny

like a field of wheat touched by the breeze.

Your breasts are like fawns,

twins of a gazelle.

Your neck is carved ivory, curved and slender.

Your eyes are wells of light, deep with mystery.

Quintessentially feminine!

Your profile turns all heads,

commanding attention.

The feelings I get when I see the high mountain ranges

—stirrings of desire, longings for the heights—

Remind me of you,

and I’m spoiled for anyone else!

Your beauty, within and without, is absolute,

dear lover, close companion.

You are tall and supple, like the palm tree,

and your full breasts are like sweet clusters of dates.

I say, “I’m going to climb that palm tree!

I’m going to caress its fruit!”

Oh yes! Your breasts

will be clusters of sweet fruit to me,

Your breath clean and cool like fresh mint,

your tongue and lips like the best wine.

The Woman

9-12 Yes, and yours are, too—my love’s kisses

flow from his lips to mine.

I am my lover’s.

I’m all he wants. I’m all the world to him!

Come, dear lover—

let’s tramp through the countryside.

Let’s sleep at some wayside inn,

then rise early and listen to bird-song.

Let’s look for wildflowers in bloom,

blackberry bushes blossoming white,

Fruit trees festooned

with cascading flowers.

And there I’ll give myself to you,

my love to your love!

13 Love-apples drench us with fragrance,

fertility surrounds, suffuses us,

Fruits fresh and preserved

that I’ve kept and saved just for you, my love.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/SNG/7-a6237992146fa522e4ef80a3d8e149e1.mp3?version_id=97—