Greeting

Paul, (A)an apostle of Christ Jesus (B)by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and (C)are faithful[a] in Christ Jesus:

(D)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

(E)Blessed be (F)the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing (G)in the heavenly places, (H)even as he (I)chose us in him (J)before the foundation of the world, that we should be (K)holy and blameless before him. In love (L)he predestined us[b] for (M)adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, (N)according to the purpose of his will, (O)to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in (P)the Beloved. (Q)In him we have (R)redemption (S)through his blood, (T)the forgiveness of our trespasses, (U)according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight (V)making known[c] to us the mystery of his will, (W)according to his purpose, which he (X)set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for (Y)the fullness of time, (Z)to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

11 In him we have obtained (AA)an inheritance, (AB)having been predestined (AC)according to the purpose of him who works all things according to (AD)the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be (AE)to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard (AF)the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, (AG)were sealed with the (AH)promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is (AI)the guarantee[d] of our (AJ)inheritance until (AK)we acquire (AL)possession of it,[e] (AM)to the praise of his glory.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

15 For this reason, (AN)because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love[f] toward all the saints, 16 I (AO)do not cease to give thanks for you, (AP)remembering you in my prayers, 17 that (AQ)the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, (AR)may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 (AS)having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is (AT)the hope to which he has called you, what are (AU)the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, (AV)according to the working of (AW)his great might 20 that he worked in Christ (AX)when he raised him from the dead and (AY)seated him at his right hand (AZ)in the heavenly places, 21 (BA)far above (BB)all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above (BC)every name that is named, not only in (BD)this age but also in the one to come. 22 And (BE)he put all things under his feet and gave him as (BF)head over all things to the church, 23 (BG)which is his body, (BH)the fullness of him (BI)who fills (BJ)all in all.

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Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 1:1 Some manuscripts saints who are also faithful (omitting in Ephesus)
  2. Ephesians 1:5 Or before him in love, 5having predestined us
  3. Ephesians 1:9 Or he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known…
  4. Ephesians 1:14 Or down payment
  5. Ephesians 1:14 Or until God redeems his possession
  6. Ephesians 1:15 Some manuscripts omit your love

Envoys from Babylon

39 (A)At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, (B)sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. And Hezekiah welcomed them gladly. And he showed them his treasure house, (C)the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. (D)There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” Hezekiah said, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.” He said, “What have they seen in your house?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: (E)Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. (F)And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, (G)“There will be peace and security in my days.”

Comfort for God's People

40 (H)Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
(I)Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
    and cry to her
that (J)her warfare[a] is ended,
    that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
    double for all her sins.

(K)A voice cries:[b]
(L)“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
    (M)make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
(N)Every valley shall be lifted up,
    and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
    and the rough places a plain.
(O)And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
    and all flesh shall see it together,
    (P)for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

The Word of God Stands Forever

A voice says, “Cry!”
    And I said,[c] “What shall I cry?”
(Q)All flesh is grass,
    and all its beauty[d] is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades
    when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
    surely the people are grass.
(R)The grass withers, the flower fades,
    but the word of our God will stand forever.

The Greatness of God

Go on up to a high mountain,
    O Zion, (S)herald of good news;[e]
lift up your voice with strength,
    O Jerusalem, herald of good news;[f]
    lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
    “Behold your God!”
10 (T)Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
    and his arm rules for him;
(U)behold, his reward is with him,
    and his recompense before him.
11 (V)He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
    (W)he will gather the lambs in his arms;
(X)he will carry them in his bosom,
    and gently lead those that are with young.

12 (Y)Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
    and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
    and weighed the mountains in scales
    and the hills in a balance?
13 (Z)Who has measured[g] the Spirit of the Lord,
    or what man shows him his counsel?
14 Whom did he consult,
    and who made him understand?
(AA)Who taught him the path of justice,
    and taught him knowledge,
    and showed him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
    and are accounted (AB)as the dust on the scales;
    behold, he takes up (AC)the coastlands like fine dust.
16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
    nor are (AD)its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
17 (AE)All the nations are as nothing before him,
    they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

18 (AF)To whom then will you liken God,
    (AG)or what likeness compare with him?
19 (AH)An idol! A craftsman casts it,
    and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
    and casts for it silver chains.
20 (AI)He who is too impoverished for an offering
    chooses wood[h] that will not rot;
he seeks out a skillful craftsman
    to set up an idol that will not move.

21 (AJ)Do you not know? Do you not hear?
    Has it not been told you from the beginning?
    Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
    and its inhabitants are (AK)like grasshoppers;
(AL)who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
    and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
23 (AM)who brings princes to nothing,
    and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
    scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither,
    (AN)and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

25 (AO)To whom then will you compare me,
    that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:
    who created these?
(AP)He who brings out their host by number,
    calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might
    and because he is strong in power,
    not one is missing.

27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
    and speak, O Israel,
(AQ)“My way is hidden from the Lord,
    (AR)and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is (AS)the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
    (AT)his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
    and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
    and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but (AU)they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings (AV)like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.

Fear Not, for I Am with You

41 (AW)Listen to me in silence, (AX)O coastlands;
    let the peoples renew their strength;
let them approach, then let them speak;
    let us together draw near for judgment.

(AY)Who stirred up one from the east
    whom victory meets at every (AZ)step?[i]
(BA)He gives up nations before him,
    so that he tramples kings underfoot;
he makes them like dust with his sword,
    (BB)like driven stubble with his bow.
He pursues them and passes on safely,
    by paths his feet have not trod.
(BC)Who has performed and done this,
    calling the generations from the beginning?
(BD)I, the Lord, the first,
    and with the last; I am he.

(BE)The coastlands have seen and are afraid;
    the ends of the earth tremble;
    they have drawn near and come.
Everyone helps his neighbor
    and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
(BF)The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith,
    and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
    and they strengthen it with nails (BG)so that it cannot be moved.

But you, Israel, (BH)my servant,
    Jacob, (BI)whom I have chosen,
    the offspring of Abraham, (BJ)my friend;
you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
    and called (BK)from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are (BL)my servant,
    (BM)I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
10 fear not, for I am with you;
    be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
    I will uphold you with (BN)my righteous right hand.

11 (BO)Behold, all who are incensed against you
    shall be put to shame and confounded;
those who strive against you
    shall be as nothing and shall perish.
12 (BP)You shall seek those who contend with you,
    but you shall not find them;
(BQ)those who war against you
    shall be as nothing at all.
13 For I, the Lord your God,
    hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
    I am the one who helps you.”

14 Fear not, you (BR)worm Jacob,
    you men of Israel!
I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord;
    your (BS)Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15 (BT)Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge,
    new, sharp, and having teeth;
you shall thresh (BU)the mountains and crush them,
    and you shall make the hills like chaff;
16 (BV)you shall winnow them, and (BW)the wind shall carry them away,
    and the tempest shall scatter them.
(BX)And you shall rejoice in the Lord;
    in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 40:2 Or hardship
  2. Isaiah 40:3 Or A voice of one crying
  3. Isaiah 40:6 Revocalization based on Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Vulgate; Masoretic Text And someone says
  4. Isaiah 40:6 Or all its constancy
  5. Isaiah 40:9 Or O herald of good news to Zion
  6. Isaiah 40:9 Or O herald of good news to Jerusalem
  7. Isaiah 40:13 Or has directed
  8. Isaiah 40:20 Or He chooses valuable wood
  9. Isaiah 41:2 Or whom righteousness calls to follow?

How Awesome Are Your Deeds

To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm.

66 (A)Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
    sing the glory of his name;
    (B)give to him glorious praise!
Say to God, (C)“How awesome are your deeds!
    So great is your power that your enemies (D)come cringing to you.
(E)All the earth worships you
    and sings praises to you;
    they sing praises to your name.” Selah

(F)Come and see what God has done:
    (G)he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
He (H)turned the sea into dry land;
    they (I)passed through the river on foot.
There did we rejoice in him,
    who rules by his might forever,
whose (J)eyes keep watch on the nations—
    let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah

Bless our God, O peoples;
    let the sound of his praise be heard,
who has kept our soul among the living
    and (K)has not let our feet slip.
10 For you, O God, have (L)tested us;
    you have tried us as silver is tried.
11 You brought us into (M)the net;
    you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
12 you let men (N)ride over our heads;
    we went through fire and through (O)water;
yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.

13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
    I will (P)perform my vows to you,
14 that which my lips uttered
    and my mouth promised (Q)when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals,
    with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah

16 (R)Come and hear, all you who fear God,
    and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
17 I cried to him with my mouth,
    and high praise was on[a] my tongue.[b]
18 If I had (S)cherished iniquity in my heart,
    (T)the Lord would not have listened.
19 But truly (U)God has listened;
    he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

20 Blessed be God,
    because he has not rejected my prayer
    or removed his steadfast love from me!

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 66:17 Hebrew under
  2. Psalm 66:17 Or and he was exalted with my tongue

25 (A)Let your father and mother be glad;
    let (B)her who bore you rejoice.

26 My son, give me your heart,
    and let your eyes observe[a] my ways.
27 For a prostitute is (C)a deep pit;
    (D)an adulteress[b] is a narrow (E)well.
28 (F)She lies in wait like a robber
    and increases the traitors among mankind.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 23:26 Or delight in
  2. Proverbs 23:27 Hebrew a foreign woman

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