The Lord saw that the people on the earth were very evil. The Lord saw that people thought only about evil things all the time.
Isaiah 55:7 - Easy To Read Version Evil people should stop living evil lives.\par They should stop thinking bad thoughts.\par They should come to the Lord again.\par Then the Lord will comfort them.\par Those people should come to the Lord\par because our God forgives.\par Tuilleadh leaganachaKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Amplified Bible - Classic Edition Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have love, pity, and mercy for him, and to our God, for He will multiply to him His abundant pardon. American Standard Version (1901) let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto Jehovah, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Common English Bible Let the wicked abandon their ways and the sinful their schemes. Let them return to the LORD so that he may have mercy on them, to our God, because he is generous with forgiveness. Catholic Public Domain Version Let the impious one abandon his way, and the iniquitous man his thoughts, and let him return to the Lord, and he will take pity on him, and to our God, for he is great in forgiveness. Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version Let the wicked forsake his way and the unjust man his thoughts, and let him return to the Lord; and he will have mercy on him: and to our God, for he is bountiful to forgive. |
The Lord saw that the people on the earth were very evil. The Lord saw that people thought only about evil things all the time.
Azariah went to meet Asa. Azariah said, “Listen to me Asa, and all you people of Judah and Benjamin! The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you look for the Lord, you will find him. But if you leave him, he will leave you.
But when the people of Israel had trouble, they turned to the Lord God again. He is the God of Israel. They looked for the Lord and they found him.
So the messengers took the king’s letters all through Israel and Judah. This is what those letters said:
Manasseh prayed to God and begged God to help him. The Lord heard Manasseh’s begging and felt sorry for him. The Lord let him return to Jerusalem and to his throne. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was the true God.
and if my people who are called by my name become humble and pray, and look for me, and turn away from their evil ways, then I will hear them from heaven. And I will forgive their sin and I will heal their land.
Job, come back to God All-Powerful,\par and you will be restored.\par But, you must remove the evil\par from your house.\par
Lord, forgive your people.\par Then there will be people to worship you.\par
Israel, trust the Lord.\par True love is found only with the Lord.\par The Lord saves us again and again.\par And the Lord will forgive Israel for all their sins.\par \par \par
God, be merciful to me,\par because of your great loving kindness,\par because of your great mercy,\par erase all my sins.\par
A person that hides his sins will not be successful. But a person that confesses his sins and stops doing wrong will receive mercy.
“If you listen to the things I say, then you will have the good things from this land.
\{In the future,\} the Lord will again show his love to Jacob. The Lord will again choose the people of Israel. \{At that time,\} the Lord will give those people their land. Then non-Jewish people {\cf2\super [146]} will join themselves to the Jewish people. Both people will join and become one family—Jacob’s family.
The guard answered,\par “Morning is coming,\par But then night will come again.\par If you have something to ask,\par then come back {\cf2\super [209]} and ask.”\par
You children of Israel turned against God. You should come back to God.
That foolish person uses evil like a tool. He plans ways to take everything from poor people. That foolish person tells lies about the poor people. And his lies keep the poor people from being judged fairly.
Speak kindly to Jerusalem!\par Tell Jerusalem,\par ‘Your time of service is finished.\par You have paid the price for your sins.’”\par The Lord punished Jerusalem—\par twice for every sin she did.\par
“I, I am the One who wipes away all your sins. I do this to please myself. I will not remember your sins.
Your sins were like a big cloud.\par But I wiped away those sins.\par Your sins are gone,\par like a cloud that disappeared into thin air.\par I rescued and protected you,\par so come back to me!”\par
The Lord says,\par “The mountains may disappear,\par and the hills may become dust.\par But my kindness will never leave you.\par I will make peace with you,\par and it will never end.”\par The Lord shows mercy to you.\par And he is the One that said these things.\par
I became very angry\par and hid from you for a short time.\par But I will comfort you with kindness forever.”\par The Lord your Savior said this.\par
“I will tell you the kind of special day I want—a day to make people free. I want a day that you take the burdens off people. I want a day when you make the troubled people free. I want a day when you take the burdens from their shoulders.
Those people use their feet to run to evil. They hurry to kill people that have done nothing wrong. They think evil thoughts. Rioting and stealing is their way of living.
“You people are unfaithful. But Come back to me!” This message was from the Lord.
You sinned, so the rain has not come.\par There have not been any springtime rains.\par But still you refuse to be ashamed.\par The look on your face is like the look\par that a prostitute has when she\par refuses to be ashamed.\par You refuse to be ashamed of what you did.\par
People of Jerusalem, wash the evil\par from your hearts.\par Make your hearts pure so you can be saved.\par Don’t continue making evil plans.\par
Let us check and see what we have done.\par Then let us turn back to the Lord.\par
“So tell the family of Israel these things. Tell them, ‘The Lord my Master says: Come back \{to me\} and leave your filthy idols. Turn away from those terrible false gods.
“You must say to them, ‘The Lord my Master says: On my life, I promise, I don’t enjoy seeing people die—not even evil people! I don’t want them to die. I want those evil people to come back to me. I want them to change their lives so they can really live! So come back to me! Stop doing bad things! Why must you die, family of Israel?’
So, king, please accept my advice. I advise you to stop sinning and do what is right. Stop doing bad things. And be kind to poor people. Then you might continue to be successful.”
God saw the things the people did. God saw that the people stopped doing evil things. So God changed and did not do what he planned. God did not punish the people.
Don’t make secret plans to hurt your neighbors! Don’t make false promises! You must not enjoy doing those things. Why? Because I hate those things!” The Lord said these things.
I will tell you something. Go and learn what it means: ‘I don’t want animal sacrifices; I want you to show kindness to people.’ {\cf2\super [106]} I did not come to invite good people. I came to invite sinners.”
All these bad things begin inside a person, in the mind: bad thoughts, sexual sins, stealing, murder,
All these evil things come from inside a person. These things make a person wrong. {\cf2\super [89]} ”
In the same way, the angels of God are very happy when one sinner changes his heart.”
My son was dead, but now he is alive again! He was lost, but now he is found!’ So they began to have a party.
I tell you that her many sins are forgiven. This is clear, because she showed great love. But the person that feels only a little need to be forgiven will feel only a little love when he is forgiven.”
I began telling people that they should change their hearts and lives and turn back to God. I told the people to do things that show that they really changed their hearts. I told these things first to people in Damascus. Then I went to Jerusalem and to every part of Judea and told these things to the people there. I also went to the non-Jewish people.
So you must change your hearts and lives! Come back to God and he will forgive your sins.