I pray that victory will come to Israel from Mount Zion! May the Lord bring them back. Then the people of Jacob will rejoice, and the people of Israel will be glad.
Because of these things, this is what the Lord God says: “I will put a stone in the ground in Jerusalem, a tested stone. Everything will be built on this important and precious rock. Anyone who trusts in it will never be disappointed.
Skies, sing for joy because the Lord did great things! Earth, shout for joy, even in your deepest parts! Sing, you mountains, with thanks to God. Sing, too, you trees in the forest! The Lord saved the people of Jacob! He showed his glory when he saved Israel.
“Sky above, make victory fall like rain; clouds, pour down victory. Let the earth receive it, and let salvation grow, and let victory grow with it. I, the Lord, have created it.
I will soon show that I do what is right. I will soon save you. I will use my power and judge all nations. All the faraway places are waiting for me; they wait for my power to help them.
So no weapon that is used against you will defeat you. You will show that those who speak against you are wrong. These are the good things my servants receive. Their victory comes from me,” says the Lord.
This is what the Lord says: “Give justice to all people, and do what is right, because my salvation will come to you soon. Soon everyone will know that I do what is right.
All of your people will do what is right. They will receive the earth forever. They are the plant I have planted, the work of my own hands to show my greatness.
People in faraway lands are waiting for me. The great trading ships will come first, bringing your children from faraway lands, and with them silver and gold. This will honor the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, who does wonderful things for you.
The earth causes plants to grow, and a garden causes the seeds planted in it to grow. In the same way the Lord God will make goodness and praise come from all the nations.
and to help the sorrowing people of Jerusalem. I will give them a crown to replace their ashes, and the oil of gladness to replace their sorrow, and clothes of praise to replace their spirit of sadness. Then they will be called Trees of Goodness, trees planted by the Lord to show his greatness.
Because I love Jerusalem, I will continue to speak for her; for Jerusalem’s sake I will not stop speaking until her goodness shines like a bright light, until her salvation burns bright like a flame.
The Lord is speaking to all the faraway lands: “Tell the people of Jerusalem, ‘Look, your Savior is coming. He is bringing your reward to you; he is bringing his payment with him.’ ”
Then “Jerusalem” will be to me a name that brings joy! And people from all nations of the earth will praise it when they hear about the good things I am doing there. They will be surprised and shocked at all the good things and the peace I will bring to Jerusalem.’
Then anyone who calls on the Lord will be saved, because on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be people who will be saved, just as the Lord has said. Those left alive after the day of punishment are the people whom the Lord called.
“Then you will know that I, the Lord your God, live on my holy Mount Zion. Jerusalem will be a holy place, and strangers will never even go through it again.
I sinned against the Lord, so he was angry with me, but he will defend my case in court. He will bring about what is right for me. Then he will bring me out into the light, and I will see him set things right.
It is not yet time for the message to come true, but that time is coming soon; the message will come true. It may seem like a long time, but be patient and wait for it, because it will surely come; it will not be delayed.
The Good News shows how God makes people right with himself—that it begins and ends with faith. As the Scripture says, “But those who are right with God will live by faith.”
This will happen on the day when the Lord Jesus comes to receive glory because of his holy people. And all the people who have believed will be amazed at Jesus. You will be in that group, because you believed what we told you.
We pray all this so that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ will have glory in you, and you will have glory in him. That glory comes from the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Scripture says: “I will put a stone in the ground in Jerusalem. Everything will be built on this important and precious rock. Anyone who trusts in him will never be disappointed.”