Isaiah 43

English Standard Version

Israel's Only Savior

43 But now thus says the Lord,
^(A)he who created you, O Jacob,
    he who formed you, O Israel:
^(B)“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
    ^(C)I have called you by name, you are mine.
²^(D)When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
^(E)when you walk through fire ^(F)you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.
³For ^(G)I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
^(H)I give Egypt as your ransom,
    Cush and ^(I)Seba in exchange for you.
⁴Because you are precious in my eyes,
    and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
    peoples in exchange for your life.
⁵^(J)Fear not, for I am with you;
    ^(K)I will bring your offspring from the east,
    and from the west I will gather you.
⁶I will say to the north, Give up,
    and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring ^(L)my sons from afar
    and ^(M)my daughters from the end of the earth,
⁷everyone who is called by my name,
    whom I created for my glory,
    whom I formed and made.”

⁸Bring out ^(N)the people who are blind, yet have eyes,
    who are deaf, yet have ears!
⁹^(O)All the nations gather together,
    and the peoples assemble.
Who among them can declare this,
    and show us the former things?
Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right,
    and let them hear and say, It is true.
¹⁰^(P)“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
    “and ^(Q)my servant whom I have chosen,
that you may know and believe me
    and understand that I am he.
^(R)Before me no god was formed,
    nor shall there be any after me.
¹¹^(S)I, I am the Lord,
    and besides me there is no savior.
¹²I declared and saved and proclaimed,
    when there was no strange god among you;
    and ^(T)you are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and I am God.
¹³Also ^(U)henceforth I am he;
    there is none who can deliver from my hand;
    I work, and who can turn it back?”

¹⁴Thus says the Lord,
    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
^(V)“For your sake I send to Babylon
    and ^(W)bring them all down as fugitives,
    ^(X)even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice.
¹⁵I am the Lord, your Holy One,
    the Creator of Israel, your King.”

¹⁶Thus says the Lord,
    ^(Y)who makes a way in the sea,
    a path in the mighty waters,
¹⁷who ^(Z)brings forth chariot and horse,
    army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
    ^(AA)they are extinguished, ^(AB)quenched like a wick:
¹⁸^(AC)“Remember not the former things,
    nor consider the things of old.
¹⁹^(AD)Behold, I am doing a new thing;
    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
^(AE)I will make a way in the wilderness
    ^(AF)and rivers in the desert.
²⁰The wild beasts will honor me,
    ^(AG)the jackals and the ostriches,
^(AH)for I give water in the wilderness,
    rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
²¹    the people whom I formed for myself
^(AI)that they might declare my praise.

²²“Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob;
    but ^(AJ)you have been weary of me, O Israel!
²³^(AK)You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings,
    or honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings,
    ^(AL)or wearied you with frankincense.
²⁴You have not bought me sweet cane with money,
    or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins;
    you have wearied me with your iniquities.

²⁵“I, I am he
    ^(AM)who blots out ^(AN)your transgressions for my own sake,
    and I will not remember your sins.
²⁶Put me in remembrance; ^(AO)let us argue together;
    set forth your case, that you may be proved right.
²⁷^(AP)Your first father sinned,
    and ^(AQ)your mediators transgressed against me.
²⁸Therefore ^(AR)I will profane the princes of the sanctuary,
    and ^(AS)deliver Jacob to utter destruction
    and Israel to reviling.

Psalm 22:19-24

English Standard Version

¹⁹But you, O Lord, ^(A)do not be far off!
    O you my help, ^(B)come quickly to my aid!
²⁰Deliver my soul from the sword,
    my precious life from the power of ^(C)the dog!
²¹    Save me from ^(D)the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued^[a] me from the horns of ^(E)the wild oxen!

²²^(F)I will tell of your name to my ^(G)brothers;
    in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
²³You who ^(H)fear the Lord, praise him!
    All you offspring of Jacob, ^(I)glorify him,
    and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
²⁴For he has not despised or abhorred
    the affliction of ^(J)the afflicted,
and he has not ^(K)hidden his face from him,
    but has heard, when he ^(L)cried to him.

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Footnotes

Psalm 22:21 Hebrew answered

2 Thessalonians 1-3

English Standard Version

Greeting

1 ^(A)Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

²Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

³^(B)We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers,^[a] as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. ⁴Therefore ^(C)we ourselves boast about you ^(D)in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith ^(E)in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.

The Judgment at Christ's Coming

⁵This is ^(F)evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be ^(G)considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— ⁶since indeed God considers it ^(H)just ^(I)to repay with affliction those who afflict you, ⁷and to grant ^(J)relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when ^(K)the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven ^(L)with his mighty angels ⁸^(M)in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those ^(N)who do not know God and on those who ^(O)do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹They will suffer the punishment of ^(P)eternal destruction, ^(Q)away from^[b] the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, ¹⁰^(R)when he comes on ^(S)that day ^(T)to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our ^(U)testimony to you ^(V)was believed. ¹¹To this end we ^(W)always pray for you, that our God may ^(X)make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every ^(Y)work of faith by his power, ¹²so that the name of our Lord Jesus ^(Z)may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Man of Lawlessness

2 Now concerning ^(AA)the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our ^(AB)being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers,^[c] ²not to be quickly shaken in mind or ^(AC)alarmed, either ^(AD)by a spirit or a ^(AE)spoken word, or ^(AF)a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that ^(AG)the day of the Lord has come. ³^(AH)Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, ^(AI)unless the rebellion comes first, and ^(AJ)the man of lawlessness^[d] is revealed, ^(AK)the son of destruction,^[e] ⁴who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, ^(AL)proclaiming himself to be God. ⁵Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? ⁶And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. ⁷For ^(AM)the mystery of lawlessness ^(AN)is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. ⁸And then ^(AO)the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus ^(AP)will kill with ^(AQ)the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by ^(AR)the appearance of his coming. ⁹The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan ^(AS)with all power and false signs and wonders, ¹⁰and with all wicked deception for ^(AT)those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ¹¹Therefore ^(AU)God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe ^(AV)what is false, ¹²in order that all may be condemned ^(AW)who did not believe the truth but ^(AX)had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Stand Firm

¹³But ^(AY)we ought always to give thanks to God for you, ^(AZ)brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you ^(BA)as the firstfruits^[f] ^(BB)to be saved, ^(BC)through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. ¹⁴To this he called you through ^(BD)our gospel, ^(BE)so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵So then, brothers, ^(BF)stand firm and hold to ^(BG)the traditions that you were taught by us, either ^(BH)by our spoken word or by ^(BI)our letter.

¹⁶Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, ^(BJ)who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good ^(BK)hope through grace, ¹⁷comfort your hearts and ^(BL)establish them in every good work and word.

Pray for Us

3 Finally, brothers,^[g] ^(BM)pray for us, that ^(BN)the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored,^[h] as happened among you, ²and ^(BO)that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For ^(BP)not all have faith. ³But ^(BQ)the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and ^(BR)guard you against ^(BS)the evil one.^[i] ⁴And ^(BT)we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. ⁵May the Lord ^(BU)direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

Warning Against Idleness

⁶Now we command you, brothers, ^(BV)in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^(BW)that you keep away from any ^(BX)brother ^(BY)who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. ⁷For you yourselves know ^(BZ)how you ought to imitate us, because ^(CA)we were not idle when we were with you, ⁸nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but ^(CB)with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. ⁹It was ^(CC)not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves ^(CD)an example to imitate. ¹⁰For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: ^(CE)If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. ¹¹For we hear that some among you ^(CF)walk in idleness, not busy at work, but ^(CG)busybodies. ¹²Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.^[j]

¹³As for you, brothers, ^(CH)do not grow weary in doing good. ¹⁴If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and ^(CI)have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. ¹⁵^(CJ)Do not regard him as an enemy, but ^(CK)warn him as a brother.

Benediction

¹⁶Now may ^(CL)the Lord of peace himself ^(CM)give you peace at all times in every way. ^(CN)The Lord be with you all.

¹⁷I, Paul, write ^(CO)this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. ¹⁸^(CP)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Footnotes

2 Thessalonians 1:3 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters
2 Thessalonians 1:9 Or destruction that comes from
2 Thessalonians 2:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 13, 15
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Some manuscripts sin
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Greek the son of perdition (a Hebrew idiom)
2 Thessalonians 2:13 Some manuscripts chose you from the beginning
2 Thessalonians 3:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 6, 13
2 Thessalonians 3:1 Or glorified
2 Thessalonians 3:3 Or evil
2 Thessalonians 3:12 Greek to eat their own bread