| Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil. | Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways. |
| Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. | Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. |
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| Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. | “Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.” |
| Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. | Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” |
| Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. | All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). |
| For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. | For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. |
| And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. | In that wonderful day you will sing: “Thank the Lord! Praise his name! Tell the nations what he has done. Let them know how mighty he is!” |
| Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. | Sing to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things. Make known his praise around the world. |
| O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. | 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. |
| Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. | You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! |
| Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. | Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; our heart’s desire is to glorify your name. |
| With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. | In the night I search for you; in the morning I earnestly seek you. For only when you come to judge the earth will people learn what is right. |
| This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working. | The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is a wonderful teacher, and he gives the farmer great wisdom. |
| And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him. | So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help. |
| Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. | Until at last the Spirit is poured out on us from heaven. Then the wilderness will become a fertile field, and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops. |
| For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us. | For the Lord is our judge, our lawgiver, and our king. He will care for us and save us. |
| And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. | And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways; fools will never walk there. |
| The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. | The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever. |
| Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. | Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. |
| He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. | He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. |
| But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. | But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. |
| Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he. | Who has done such mighty deeds, summoning each new generation from the beginning of time? It is I, the Lord, the First and the Last. I alone am he. |
| Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. | Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. |
| For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. | For I hold 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.’ |
