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Isaiah 45

 ¹ "This is what the LORD says to his anointed,
       to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of
       to subdue nations before him
       and to strip kings of their armor,
       to open doors before him
       so that gates will not be shut:

 ² I will go before you
       and will level the mountains ^[a] ;
       I will break down gates of bronze
       and cut through bars of iron.

 ³ I will give you the treasures of darkness,
       riches stored in secret places,
       so that you may know that I am the LORD,
       the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

 ⁴ For the sake of Jacob my servant,
       of Israel my chosen,
       I summon you by name
       and bestow on you a title of honor,
       though you do not acknowledge me.

 ⁵ I am the LORD, and there is no other;
       apart from me there is no God.
       I will strengthen you,
       though you have not acknowledged me,

 ⁶ so that from the rising of the sun
       to the place of its setting
       men may know there is none besides me.
       I am the LORD, and there is no other.

 ⁷ I form the light and create darkness,
       I bring prosperity and create disaster;
       I, the LORD, do all these things.

 ⁸ "You heavens above, rain down righteousness;
       let the clouds shower it down.
       Let the earth open wide,
       let salvation spring up,
       let righteousness grow with it;
       I, the LORD, have created it.

 ⁹ "Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker,
       to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground.
       Does the clay say to the potter,
       'What are you making?'
       Does your work say,
       'He has no hands'?

 ¹⁰ Woe to him who says to his father,
       'What have you begotten?'
       or to his mother,
       'What have you brought to birth?'

 ¹¹ "This is what the LORD says—
       the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:
       Concerning things to come,
       do you question me about my children,
       or give me orders about the work of my hands?

 ¹² It is I who made the earth
       and created mankind upon it.
       My own hands stretched out the heavens;
       I marshaled their starry hosts.

 ¹³ I will raise up Cyrus ^[b] in my righteousness:
       I will make all his ways straight.
       He will rebuild my city
       and set my exiles free,
       but not for a price or reward,
       says the LORD Almighty."

 ¹⁴ This is what the LORD says:
       "The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, ^[c]
       and those tall Sabeans—
       they will come over to you
       and will be yours;
       they will trudge behind you,
       coming over to you in chains.
       They will bow down before you
       and plead with you, saying,
       'Surely God is with you, and there is no other;
       there is no other god.' "

 ¹⁵ Truly you are a God who hides himself,
       O God and Savior of Israel.

 ¹⁶ All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;
       they will go off into disgrace together.

 ¹⁷ But Israel will be saved by the LORD
       with an everlasting salvation;
       you will never be put to shame or disgraced,
       to ages everlasting.

 ¹⁸ For this is what the LORD says—
       he who created the heavens,
       he is God;
       he who fashioned and made the earth,
       he founded it;
       he did not create it to be empty,
       but formed it to be inhabited—
       he says:
       "I am the LORD,
       and there is no other.

 ¹⁹ I have not spoken in secret,
       from somewhere in a land of darkness;
       I have not said to Jacob's descendants,
       'Seek me in vain.'
       I, the LORD, speak the truth;
       I declare what is right.

 ²⁰ "Gather together and come;
       assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
       Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood,
       who pray to gods that cannot save.

 ²¹ Declare what is to be, present it—
       let them take counsel together.
       Who foretold this long ago,
       who declared it from the distant past?
       Was it not I, the LORD ?
       And there is no God apart from me,
       a righteous God and a Savior;
       there is none but me.

 ²² "Turn to me and be saved,
       all you ends of the earth;
       for I am God, and there is no other.

 ²³ By myself I have sworn,
       my mouth has uttered in all integrity
       a word that will not be revoked:
       Before me every knee will bow;
       by me every tongue will swear.

 ²⁴ They will say of me, 'In the LORD alone
       are righteousness and strength.' "
       All who have raged against him
       will come to him and be put to shame.

 ²⁵ But in the LORD all the descendants of Israel
       will be found righteous and will exult.

Isaiah 46

Gods of Babylon

 ² They stoop and bow down together;
       unable to rescue the burden,
       they themselves go off into captivity.

 ³ "Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
       all you who remain of the house of Israel,
       you whom I have upheld since you were conceived,
       and have carried since your birth.

 ⁴ Even to your old age and gray hairs
       I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
       I have made you and I will carry you;
       I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

 ⁵ "To whom will you compare me or count me equal?
       To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?

 ⁶ Some pour out gold from their bags
       and weigh out silver on the scales;
       they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god,
       and they bow down and worship it.

 ⁷ They lift it to their shoulders and carry it;
       they set it up in its place, and there it stands.
       From that spot it cannot move.
       Though one cries out to it, it does not answer;
       it cannot save him from his troubles.

 ⁸ "Remember this, fix it in mind,
       take it to heart, you rebels.

 ⁹ Remember the former things, those of long ago;
       I am God, and there is no other;
       I am God, and there is none like me.

 ¹⁰ I make known the end from the beginning,
       from ancient times, what is still to come.
       I say: My purpose will stand,
       and I will do all that I please.

 ¹¹ From the east I summon a bird of prey;
       from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
       What I have said, that will I bring about;
       what I have planned, that will I do.

 ¹² Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted,
       you who are far from righteousness.

 ¹³ I am bringing my righteousness near,
       it is not far away;
       and my salvation will not be delayed.
       I will grant salvation to Zion,
       my splendor to Israel.

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1 Thessalonians 3

 ¹So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. ²We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God's fellow worker^[a]in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, ³so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them. ⁴In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know. ⁵For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent Timothy to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.

Timothy's Encouraging Report

 ¹¹Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. ¹²May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. ¹³May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.