Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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1 “The Lord says: I led my people
out of slavery in Egypt; I gave
them commandments through my
servants, the prophets, but they refused
to listen and ignored my
teachings.
2 Jerusalem, the mother
who brought them into the world,
says to them, ‘Go your own way, my
children; I am now a widow left
completely alone. note
3 I took great delight
in bringing you up, but you
sinned against the Lord God and did
what I knew was wrong, so I
mourned in deep grief when I lost
you.
4 What can I do for you, now
that I am a widow and left completely
alone? Go, my children, and
ask the Lord for mercy.’
5 “Father Ezra, I call on you to
testify against these people as their
mother has done, because they have
refused to keep my covenant.
6 Now
bring confusion on them and ruin on
their mother, so that they will have
no descendants.
7 They will be scattered
among the nations, and no one
on earth will remember them any
longer, for they have despised my
covenant.
8 “How terrible will be your punishment,
Assyria. You have let
wicked people hide within your borders.
Remember, sinful nation, what
I did to Sodom and Gomorrah. note
9 Their land now lies covered with
lumps of tar and heaps of ashes.
That is what I do to people who do
not obey me.
10 “The Lord says to Ezra: Announce
to my new people that I will
give them the kingdom of Jerusalem,
which I had planned to give to
Israel.
11 I will take the dazzling light
of my presence away from Israel
and will give to my new people the
eternal Temple that I had prepared
for Israel.
12 The tree of life will fill
the air around them with its fragrance.
They will never have to
work; they will never grow tired. note
13 Ask, and you will receive. Pray
that the number of the days you
have to wait will be reduced. Even
now the kingdom has been prepared
for you, so stay alert. note
14 Call heaven
and earth to witness that I, the living
God, have abolished evil and created
good.
15 “Mother Jerusalem, take your
children in your arms. Guide their
steps in safe paths; raise them with
the same delight that a dove has in
raising her young. I, the Lord, have
chosen you.
16 I will raise your dead
from their graves because I recognize
them as my people.
17 Jerusalem,
mother of these people, do not
be afraid; I, the Lord, have chosen
you.
18 “I will send my servants Isaiah
and Jeremiah to help you. At their
request I have consecrated and prepared
for you twelve trees, heavy
with different kinds of fruit, note
19 twelve fountains flowing with milk
and honey, and seven high mountains
covered with roses and lilies. I
will make your children very happy
there.
20 Now, Jerusalem, come to
the defense of widows, take the side
of the fatherless, give to the poor,
protect orphans, give clothing to
those who have none,
21 take care of
those who are broken and weak, do
not make fun of those who are crippled,
protect the disabled, and help
the blind to catch a vision of my dazzling
splendor.
22 Keep both the old
and the young safe within your
walls.
23 Whenever you find a dead
body, bury it and mark the grave,
and I will give you a place of honor
when I raise the dead. note
24 “Be calm, my people; your time
to rest will come.
25 Take care of
your children like a faithful nursemaid
and guide their steps in safe
paths,
26 so that none of them will be
lost. When the time comes, I will
hold you responsible for them. note
27 Don't worry; when the day of trouble
and distress comes, others will
cry and mourn, but you will be happy
and rich.
28 The other nations will
be jealous of you, but they will not
be able to harm you.
29 “I will protect you with my
power and save your children from
hell.
30 Be happy, Jerusalem, you and
-- --
your children, because I, the Lord,
will rescue you.
31 Remember your
children who are asleep in their
graves; I, the Lord Almighty, am
merciful, and I will bring them out
from the place where they lie hidden
in the earth.
32 Until I come, hold
your children close and tell them
about my grace and mercy, which
are like a spring that never runs
dry.”
Ezra on Mount Sinai
33 I, Ezra, was on Mount Sinai
when the Lord ordered me to go to
the people of Israel. But when I went
to them, they rejected me and refused
to listen to what the Lord commanded.
34 That is why I am speaking
to you Gentiles. You are ready to
listen and understand: “Wait for
your shepherd who is coming very
soon, at the end of the age, to give
you eternal rest.
35 Be ready to receive
the blessings of the kingdom,
for eternal light will shine on you
forever.
36 Flee from the darkness of
this present age and accept the joyful
splendor prepared for you. I testify
publicly for my savior.
37 The
Lord has appointed him, so accept
him and be happy. Give thanks to
God, who has called you into his
heavenly kingdom.
38 Stand up and
see the number of those who have
received the Lord's mark and who
share in his banquet.
39 They have
left the darkness of this age and
have received shining white robes
from the Lord.
40 So now, Jerusalem,
welcome these people who have
kept the Law of the Lord, and this
will complete the list of those whom
God has assigned to you.
41 The children
you longed for have returned;
their number is now complete. So
pray that the Lord's kingdom may
come and that your people, whom
God chose before he created the
world, may become holy.”
Ezra on Mount Zion
42 I, Ezra, saw an enormous crowd
on Mount Zion, too many people to
count. They were all singing and
praising the Lord. note
43 Standing in the
middle of this crowd was a very tall
young man, taller than any of the
others. He was placing a crown on
the head of each person, but he towered
above them all. I was spell-bound
by the sight,
44 and I asked the
angel, “Who are these people, sir?”
45 He replied, “These are people
who have taken off their mortal
robes and have put on immortal
ones. They have confessed their
faith in God, and now they are being
given crowns and palm branches as
symbols of their victory.”
46 Then I asked the angel, “Who is
the young man who is putting the
crowns on their heads and giving
them the palms?”
47 “He is the Son of God,” the angel
replied, “and all these people
confessed their faith in him while
they lived on earth.” Then I began to
praise those who had stood for the
Lord so bravely.
48 And the angel
said to me, “Go and tell my people
what you have seen, the many marvelous
wonders of the Lord.”
Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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