There will be a highway out of Assyria for those of his people Israel who have survived there, just as there was for their ancestors when they left Egypt.

When that time comes, there will be a highway between Egypt and Assyria. The people of these two countries will travel back and forth between them, and the two nations will worship together.

A voice cries out, "Prepare in the wilderness a road for the LORD! Clear the way in the desert for our God!

Fill every valley; level every mountain. The hills will become a plain, and the rough country will be made smooth.

"I will lead my blind people by roads they have never traveled. I will turn their darkness into light and make rough country smooth before them. These are my promises, and I will keep them without fail.

"I will make a highway across the mountains and prepare a road for my people to travel.

My people will come from far away, from the north and the west, and from Aswan in the south."

The LORD says, "Let my people return to me. Remove every obstacle from their path! Build the road and make it ready!

People of Jerusalem, go out of the city And build a road for your returning people! Prepare a highway; clear it of stones! Put up a signal so that the nations can know

Set up signs and mark the road; find again the way by which you left. Come back, people of Israel, come home to the towns you left.

Jesus answered him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me.

He opened for us a new way, a living way, through the curtain---that is, through his own body.

So let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, with hearts that have been purified from a guilty conscience and with bodies washed with clean water.

God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus he has created us for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to do.

God did not call us to live in immorality, but in holiness.

He saved us and called us to be his own people, not because of what we have done, but because of his own purpose and grace. He gave us this grace by means of Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,

For God has revealed his grace for the salvation of all people.

as we wait for the blessed Day we hope for, when the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ will appear.

Try to be at peace with everyone, and try to live a holy life, because no one will see the Lord without it.

Be obedient to God, and do not allow your lives to be shaped by those desires you had when you were still ignorant.

Instead, be holy in all that you do, just as God who called you is holy.

But you are the chosen race, the King's priests, the holy nation, God's own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his own marvelous light.

At one time you were not God's people, but now you are his people; at one time you did not know God's mercy, but now you have received his mercy.

Jerusalem, be strong and great again! Holy city of God, clothe yourself with splendor! The heathen will never enter your gates again.

Be sure to leave Babylonia, all you that carry the Temple equipment. Touch no forbidden thing; keep yourselves holy and leave.

Your people will all do what is right, And will possess the land forever. I planted them, I made them, To reveal my greatness to all.

This is the law of the Temple: All the area surrounding it on the top of the mountain is sacred and holy."

"I, the Sovereign LORD, declare that no uncircumcised foreigner, no one who disobeys me, will enter my Temple, not even a foreigner who lives among the people of Israel."

"Then, Israel, you will know that I am the LORD your God. I live on Zion, my sacred hill. Jerusalem will be a sacred city; foreigners will never conquer it again.

At that time even the harness bells of the horses will be inscribed with the words "Dedicated to the LORD." The cooking pots in the Temple will be as sacred as the bowls before the altar.

Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in all Judah will be set apart for use in the worship of the LORD Almighty. The people who offer sacrifices will use them for boiling the meat of the sacrifices. When that time comes, there will no longer be any merchant in the Temple of the LORD Almighty.

But we wait for what God has promised: new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness will be at home.

But nothing that is impure will enter the city, nor anyone who does shameful things or tells lies. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of the living will enter the city.

they will never be hungry or thirsty. Sun and desert heat will not hurt them, for they will be led by one who loves them. He will lead them to springs of water.

Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, LORD, for you are with me. Your shepherd's rod and staff protect me.

"A virgin will become pregnant and have a son, and he will be called Immanuel" (which means, "God is with us").

That is why they stand before God's throne and serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will protect them with his presence.

because the Lamb, who is in the center of the throne, will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

If you wander off the road to the right or the left, you will hear his voice behind you saying, "Here is the road. Follow it."

The law of the LORD is perfect; it gives new strength. The commands of the LORD are trustworthy, giving wisdom to those who lack it.

Because the LORD is righteous and good, he teaches sinners the path they should follow.

He leads the humble in the right way and teaches them his will.

The explanation of your teachings gives light and brings wisdom to the ignorant.

The road the righteous travel is like the sunrise, getting brighter and brighter until daylight has come.

I walk the way of righteousness; I follow the paths of justice,

I will give them a single purpose in life: to honor me for all time, for their own good and the good of their descendants.

I will make an eternal covenant with them. I will never stop doing good things for them, and I will make them fear me with all their heart, so that they will never turn away from me.

The LORD says, "When that time comes, the people of both Israel and Judah will come weeping, looking for me, their God.

They will ask the way to Zion and then go in that direction. They will make an eternal covenant with me and never break it.

Whoever is willing to do what God wants will know whether what I teach comes from God or whether I speak on my own authority.

But you have had the Holy Spirit poured out on you by Christ, and so all of you know the truth.

But as for you, Christ has poured out his Spirit on you. As long as his Spirit remains in you, you do not need anyone to teach you. For his Spirit teaches you about everything, and what he teaches is true, not false. Obey the Spirit's teaching, then, and remain in union with Christ.