Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we thought it good to be left in  ¹Athens alone,

And we sent Timothy, our brother and  ¹God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and  ²encourage you for the sake of your faith,

That no one would be  ¹shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are  ²appointed for this.

For even when we were with you, we  ¹told you beforehand that we are to be afflicted, even as it also came to pass and you know.

Because of this, when I also could bear it no longer, I sent to find out concerning your faith, lest perhaps the  ¹tempter had tempted you and our labor would be  ²in vain.

But Timothy, having just come  ¹to us from you and announcing the good news to us of your faith and love and that you have kind remembrance of us always and long to see us, just as we also you,

Because of this we were  ¹comforted because of you, brothers, in all our  ²necessity and affliction, through your faith;

Because now we  ¹live if you  ²stand firm in the Lord.

For what thanks can we return to God concerning you for all the joy with which we rejoice because of you before our God,

Night and day petitioning exceedingly so that we may see your face and  ¹complete the things that are lacking in your faith?

Now may our God and Father Himself and our Lord Jesus  ¹make straight our path to you;

And the Lord cause you to increase and abound in  ¹love to one another and to all, just as we also to you,

 ¹So that He may establish your  ²hearts blameless in  ³holiness before our God and Father at the  ⁴coming of our Lord Jesus with all His  ⁵saints.

No, Jehovah's hand is not so short that it cannot save;
Nor is His ear so heavy that it cannot hear.

But your iniquities have become a separation
Between you and your God,
And your sins have hidden His face
From you so that He does not hear.

For your hands are defiled with blood,
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken falsehood,
Your tongue has muttered injustice.

No one sues righteously,
And no one pleads in truth;
They trust in vanity and speak lies;
They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity.

They hatch adders' eggs
And weave the spider's web;
He who eats of their eggs dies,
And that which is crushed breaks forth into a viper.

Their webs will not become garments,
Nor will they cover themselves with their works;
Their works are works of iniquity,
And an act of violence is in their palms.

Their feet run toward evil,
And they hasten to shed innocent blood;
Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
Desolation and destruction are in their highways.

The way of peace they do not know,
And there is no justice in their course;
They have made their paths crooked;
Whoever goes on it does not know peace.

Therefore justice is far from us,
And righteousness does not overtake us;
We look eagerly for light, but, ah, darkness,
For brightness, but we walk in gloom.

We grope like blind men at the wall;
We grope like those without eyes;
We stumble at midday as we would at dusk;
Among the  ¹prospering we are like dead men.

All of us roar like bears
And moan incessantly like doves;
We look eagerly for justice, but there is none,
For salvation, but it is far from us.

For our transgressions are multiplied before You,
And our sins respond to You against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And as for our iniquities, we know what they are:

Transgressing and denying Jehovah,
And turning away from our God;
Speaking oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.

And justice is turned back,
And righteousness stands far off;
For truth has stumbled in the street,
And uprightness cannot come in.

And truth is lacking, / And he who turns from evil becomes plunder.

And Jehovah saw it, and it was evil in His sight / That there was no justice.

And He saw that there was no man,
And He was appalled that there was no intercessor.
Therefore His  ¹arm accomplished salvation for Him,
And His righteousness sustained Him.

Thus He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation upon His head;
And He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing
And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.

According to their dealings, so will He repay:
Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies;
To the coastlands He will repay with recompense.

So they will fear the name of Jehovah from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the adversary comes like a flood,
The Spirit of Jehovah will lift up a standard against him.

And a  ¹Redeemer will come to Zion,
And unto those who turn from transgression in Jacob,
Declares Jehovah.

And as for Me, this is My  ¹covenant with them, says Jehovah: My  ²Spirit which is upon you and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your seed, nor from the mouth of your seed's seed, says Jehovah, from now and forever.

Arise! Shine! For your  ¹light has come,
And the glory of Jehovah has risen upon you.

For, behold, the darkness will cover the earth,
And deep darkness the peoples;
But Jehovah will rise upon you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.

And nations will come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your  ¹rising.

Lift up your eyes around you and see:
They all gather together; they come to you;
Your sons will come from far away,
And your daughters will be carried on the hip.

Then you will see and you will beam,
And your heart will be in awe and will swell with joy,
For the abundance of the sea will be turned to you,
The wealth of the nations will come to you.

A multitude of camels will cover you,
The young camels of Midian and Ephah;
All those from Sheba will come;
They will carry gold and frankincense,
And they will bear the good news of Jehovah's praises.

All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you;
The rams of Nebaioth will minister to you;
They will go up acceptably upon My altar,
And I will beautify the house of My beauty.

Who are these who fly like a cloud,
And like the doves to their dovecote?

Surely the coastlands will look eagerly for Me;
And the ships of Tarshish will come first,
To bring your children from afar,
Their silver and their gold with them,
Unto the name of Jehovah your God
And unto the Holy One of Israel; for He has beautified you.

And the children of foreigners will build up your walls,
And their kings will minister to you;
For in My wrath I struck you,
But in My favor I had compassion on you.

And your gates will be open continually;
They will not be closed day or night,
So that they may bring to you the wealth of the nations
And their kings being led in procession.

For the nation and the kingdom that will not serve you will perish, and the nations will be utterly wasted.

The  ¹glory of Lebanon will come to you,
The fir tree, the pine tree, and the box tree together,
To beautify the place of My sanctuary;
And I will make the place for My feet glorious.

And the sons of those who afflicted you
Will come bowing down to you,
And all those who despised you will bow down
At the soles of your feet;
And they will call you the City of Jehovah,
The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
So that no one would pass through you,
I will make you an eternal excellency,
A joy from generation to generation.

And you will suck the milk of nations
And suck the breast of kings;
Thus you will know that I, Jehovah, am your Savior
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
And instead of iron I will bring silver;
And instead of wood there will be bronze,
And instead of stones there will be iron;
And I will make peace your officers,
And righteousness your rulers.

Violence will no longer be heard in your land,
Nor desolation and destruction within your borders;
But you will call your walls Salvation,
And your gates Praise.

You will no longer have the sun for your light by day,
Nor for brightness will the moon give you light;
But Jehovah will be an eternal  ¹light to you,
And your God your  ²beauty.

Your sun will no longer go down,
Nor will your moon withdraw;
For Jehovah will be an eternal light to you,
And the days of your mourning will be ended.

Then all your people will be righteous;
They will possess the land forever,
The branch of My planting,
The works of My hands,
That I may be  ¹beautified.

The least one will become a thousand,
And the smallest a strong nation.
I, Jehovah, will hasten it in its time.

 ¹The Spirit of the  ²Lord Jehovah is upon Me,
Because Jehovah has anointed Me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent Me to bind up the wounds of the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the eyes to those who are bound;

To proclaim the  ¹acceptable year of Jehovah
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn;

To grant to those who mourn in Zion,
To give to them a headdress instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called the terebinths of righteousness,
The planting of Jehovah, that He may be glorified.