For you yourselves know, brothers, our  ¹entrance toward you, that it has not been in vain.

But having suffered previously and having been outrageously treated, even as you know, in  ¹Philippi, we were bold  ²in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much struggle.

For our exhortation is not out of  ¹deception nor out of uncleanness nor in guile;

But even as we have been  ¹approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men but God, who proves our hearts.

For neither were we found at any time with flattering speech, even as you know, nor with a  ¹pretext for covetousness; God is witness.

Nor did we  ¹seek glory from men, neither from you nor from others, though we could have  ²stood on our authority as apostles of Christ.

But we were gentle in your midst, as a  ¹nursing mother would  ²cherish her own children.

 ¹Yearning in this way over you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also  ²our own souls, because you became beloved to us.

For you remember, brothers, our labor and travail: While working night and day so as not to be burdensome to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

You are witnesses, as well as God, how in a  ¹holy and righteous and blameless manner we conducted ourselves toward you who believe,

Just as you know  ¹how we were to each one of you, as a  ²father to his own children,  ³exhorting you and consoling you and testifying,

So that you might walk in a manner worthy of God, who  ¹calls you into His own  ²kingdom and  ³glory.

And because of this we also thank God unceasingly that when you received  ¹the word of God, which you heard  ²from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but even as it truly is, the word of God, which also  ³operates in you who believe.

For you, brothers, became  ¹imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus, for you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, even as they also from the Jews,

Who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and drove us out; and they are not pleasing to God and are contrary to all men,

In that they forbid us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so that they fill up their sins always. But wrath has come upon them to the  ¹uttermost.

But we, brothers, having been  ¹bereaved of you for  ²a little while, in presence, not in heart, were more abundantly  ³eager with great desire to see your face.

Therefore we wanted to come to you, indeed I Paul, both once and again, yet  ¹Satan hindered us.

For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at His  ¹coming? Are not even you?

For you are our  ¹glory and joy.

Thus says Jehovah,
Preserve  ¹justice and do righteousness,
For My  ¹salvation is about to come
And My  ¹righteousness is about to be revealed.

Blessed is the man who does this,
And the son of man who takes hold of it,
Who keeps the  ¹Sabbath so as not to profane it
And keeps his hand from doing any evil.

And let not the son of a foreigner
Who has joined himself to Jehovah speak, saying,
Jehovah will surely separate me from His people;
Nor let the eunuch say,
Now I am a dry tree.

For thus says Jehovah,
To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths
And choose what pleases Me,
And hold fast My covenant,

To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial and a name
Better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give them an eternal name
Which will not be cut off.

Also the children of the foreigner who join themselves to Jehovah,
To minister to Him and to love the name of Jehovah,
To be servants to Him,
Everyone who keeps the Sabbath so as not to profane it
And holds fast My covenant,

Even these will I cause to come to My holy mountain
And to rejoice in My house of prayer;
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable upon My altar;
For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.

The Lord Jehovah, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares:
Yet will I gather  ¹others to Him besides those gathered to Him already.

All you animals of the field, come to eat,
All you animals of the forest.

His watchmen are blind;
All of them know nothing;
All of them are dumb dogs,
They cannot bark;
Dreamers who lie down
And love to slumber.

And these dogs are greedy;
They know no satisfaction.
And they are shepherds
Who lack understanding.
All of them have turned to their own way,
Each to his own gain, to the last of them.

Come, they say, let me get some wine,
And let us drink down some liquor;
And tomorrow will be like today,
Only much more abundant.

The righteous man perishes,
And no one takes it to heart;
And godly men are being swept away,
While no one considers
That the righteous man is being swept away from evil.

He enters into peace;
They rest in their  ¹beds,
Each who walks uprightly.

But draw near here,
You children of a sorceress,
You seed of an adulterer and of her who prostitutes herself.

Whom are you mocking,
And against whom are you opening your mouth wide
And sticking out your tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
A seed of falsehood,

Who inflame yourselves among the  ¹terebinths,
Under every flourishing tree,
Who slaughter the children in the valleys
Under the clefts of the rocks?

Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion,
They, yes, they are your lot.
Indeed, to them you have poured out a drink offering,
You have offered a meal offering.
Shall I ease Myself of these?

Upon a high and lofty mountain
You have set your bed.
Indeed, you went up there
To offer sacrifice.

And behind the door and doorpost
You have put your reminder.
For apart from Me, you have uncovered yourself and gone up;
You have extended your bed;
And you have made an agreement for yourself with them;
You loved their bed; you saw their nakedness.

And you went to the king with oil,
And you increased your perfumes;
You sent your envoys far away
And debased yourself even as far as Sheol.

You were wearied with the length of your way,
Yet you did not say, It is hopeless;
You found the renewing of your strength,
Therefore you did not weaken.

And whom have you been worried about and feared,
That you have lied and not remembered Me,
Nor taken it to heart?
Was I not silent, and that for a long time,
Yet you did not fear Me?

I will declare your righteousness
And your works,
Yet they will not profit you.

When you cry out, let your heaps of idols deliver you.
But the wind will carry them all away;
A breath will take them away.

But he who takes  ¹refuge in Me will inherit the land
And possess My holy mountain.

And it will be said,
Cast up, cast up; prepare the way;
Take up the obstacle out of the way of My people.

For thus says the high and exalted One,
Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
I will dwell in the high and holy place,
And with the contrite and lowly of  ¹spirit,
To revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.

For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would faint before Me,
And the souls which I have made.

Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry,
And I struck him; I hid Myself and was angry;
And he went on, turning away in the way of his heart.

I have seen his ways
And will heal him;
And I will lead him and restore comfort to him
And to his mourning ones,

Creating the fruit of the lips:
Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near,
Says Jehovah; and I will heal him.

But the  ¹wicked are like the tossed sea,
For it cannot be calm,
And its waters toss up mire and mud.

There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked.

Cry loudly; do not hold back;
Raise your voice like a trumpet,
And declare to My people their transgression
And to the house of Jacob their sins.

Yet they seek Me day by day
And take delight in knowing My ways,
Like a nation that has done righteousness
And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God.
They ask Me for righteous judgments;
They take delight in approaching God.

Why have we  ¹fasted, and yet You do not see?
Why have we afflicted our soul, and yet You do not acknowledge?
Indeed, on the day of your fast you  ²find delight,
And oppress all your laborers.

Indeed, you fast for contention and strife,
And to strike with a fist of wickedness;
You do not fast, in the way you do today,
To make your voice heard on high.

Is such the fast that I choose,
The day when a man afflicts his soul?
Is it for bowing his head like a rush
And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as his bed?
Will you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to Jehovah?

Is this not the fast that I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free,
And to break every yoke?

Is it not to divide your bread to the hungry,
And to bring the wandering poor home;
When you see the naked, to cover him,
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
And your recovery will speedily spring forth.
And your righteousness will go before you;
The glory of Jehovah will guard you from behind.

Then you will call, and Jehovah will answer; / You will cry out, and He will say, Here I am.

If you remove the yoke from your midst, / The pointing of the finger and the speaking of wickedness,

And if you draw out your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the desires of the afflicted;
Then your light will rise in the darkness,
And your gloom will be like midday;

And Jehovah will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in the dry times,
And strengthen your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water,
Whose waters do not deceive.

And those who are of you will rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will raise up the foundations of generation upon generation;
And you will be called the repairer of the breach,
The restorer of the paths in which to dwell.

If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing whatever you please on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
That which is holy to Jehovah honorable,
And honor it, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure and speaking idle words;

Then you will have delight in Jehovah;
And I will cause you to ride upon the heights of the earth,
And I will feed you with the inheritance of Jacob your father;
For the mouth of Jehovah has spoken.