Isaiah 45-46

New International Version

45 “This is what the Lord says to his anointed,^(A)
    to Cyrus,^(B) whose right hand I take hold^(C) of
to subdue nations^(D) before him
    and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
    so that gates will not be shut:
²I will go before you^(E)
    and will level^(F) the mountains^[a];
I will break down gates^(G) of bronze
    and cut through bars of iron.^(H)
³I will give you hidden treasures,^(I)
    riches stored in secret places,^(J)
so that you may know^(K) that I am the Lord,
    the God of Israel, who summons you by name.^(L)
⁴For the sake of Jacob my servant,^(M)
    of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
    and bestow on you a title of honor,
    though you do not acknowledge^(N) me.
⁵I am the Lord, and there is no other;^(O)
    apart from me there is no God.^(P)
I will strengthen you,^(Q)
    though you have not acknowledged me,
⁶so that from the rising of the sun
    to the place of its setting^(R)
people may know^(S) there is none besides me.^(T)
    I am the Lord, and there is no other.
⁷I form the light and create darkness,^(U)
    I bring prosperity and create disaster;^(V)
    I, the Lord, do all these things.

⁸“You heavens above, rain^(W) down my righteousness;^(X)
    let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide,
    let salvation^(Y) spring up,
let righteousness flourish with it;
    I, the Lord, have created it.

⁹“Woe to those who quarrel^(Z) with their Maker,^(AA)
    those who are nothing but potsherds^(AB)
    among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,^(AC)
    ‘What are you making?’^(AD)
Does your work say,
    ‘The potter has no hands’?^(AE)
¹⁰Woe to the one who says to a father,
    ‘What have you begotten?’
or to a mother,
    ‘What have you brought to birth?’

¹¹“This is what the Lord says—
    the Holy One^(AF) of Israel, and its Maker:^(AG)
Concerning things to come,
    do you question me about my children,
    or give me orders about the work of my hands?^(AH)
¹²It is I who made the earth^(AI)
    and created mankind on it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens;^(AJ)
    I marshaled their starry hosts.^(AK)
¹³I will raise up Cyrus^[b]^(AL) in my righteousness:
    I will make all his ways straight.^(AM)
He will rebuild my city^(AN)
    and set my exiles free,
but not for a price or reward,^(AO)
    says the Lord Almighty.”

¹⁴This is what the Lord says:

“The products^(AP) of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,^[c]
    and those tall Sabeans^(AQ)—
they will come over to you^(AR)
    and will be yours;
they will trudge behind you,^(AS)
    coming over to you in chains.^(AT)
They will bow down before you
    and plead^(AU) with you, saying,
‘Surely God is with you,^(AV) and there is no other;
    there is no other god.^(AW)’”

¹⁵Truly you are a God who has been hiding^(AX) himself,
    the God and Savior^(AY) of Israel.
¹⁶All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;^(AZ)
    they will go off into disgrace together.
¹⁷But Israel will be saved^(BA) by the Lord
    with an everlasting salvation;^(BB)
you will never be put to shame or disgraced,^(BC)
    to ages everlasting.

¹⁸For this is what the Lord says—
he who created the heavens,
    he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,^(BD)
    he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,^(BE)
    but formed it to be inhabited^(BF)—
he says:
“I am the Lord,
    and there is no other.^(BG)
¹⁹I have not spoken in secret,^(BH)
    from somewhere in a land of darkness;^(BI)
I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,^(BJ)
    ‘Seek^(BK) me in vain.’
I, the Lord, speak the truth;
    I declare what is right.^(BL)

²⁰“Gather together^(BM) and come;
    assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant^(BN) are those who carry^(BO) about idols of wood,
    who pray to gods that cannot save.^(BP)
²¹Declare what is to be, present it—
    let them take counsel together.
Who foretold^(BQ) this long ago,
    who declared it from the distant past?^(BR)
Was it not I, the Lord?
    And there is no God apart from me,^(BS)
a righteous God^(BT) and a Savior;^(BU)
    there is none but me.

²²“Turn^(BV) to me and be saved,^(BW)
    all you ends of the earth;^(BX)
    for I am God, and there is no other.^(BY)
²³By myself I have sworn,^(BZ)
    my mouth has uttered in all integrity^(CA)
    a word that will not be revoked:^(CB)
Before me every knee will bow;^(CC)
    by me every tongue will swear.^(CD)
²⁴They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
    are deliverance^(CE) and strength.^(CF)’”
All who have raged against him
    will come to him and be put to shame.^(CG)
²⁵But all the descendants^(CH) of Israel
    will find deliverance^(CI) in the Lord
    and will make their boast in him.^(CJ)

Gods of Babylon

46 Bel^(CK) bows down, Nebo stoops low;
    their idols^(CL) are borne by beasts of burden.^[d]
The images that are carried^(CM) about are burdensome,
    a burden for the weary.
²They stoop and bow down together;
    unable to rescue the burden,
    they themselves go off into captivity.^(CN)

³“Listen^(CO) to me, you descendants of Jacob,
    all the remnant^(CP) of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,^(CQ)
    and have carried^(CR) since you were born.^(CS)
⁴Even to your old age and gray hairs^(CT)
    I am he,^(CU) I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
    I will sustain^(CV) you and I will rescue you.

⁵“With whom will you compare me or count me equal?
    To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?^(CW)
⁶Some pour out gold from their bags
    and weigh out silver on the scales;
they hire a goldsmith^(CX) to make it into a god,
    and they bow down and worship it.^(CY)
⁷They lift it to their shoulders and carry^(CZ) it;
    they set it up in its place, and there it stands.
    From that spot it cannot move.^(DA)
Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;^(DB)
    it cannot save^(DC) them from their troubles.

⁸“Remember^(DD) this, keep it in mind,
    take it to heart, you rebels.^(DE)
⁹Remember the former things,^(DF) those of long ago;^(DG)
    I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me.^(DH)
¹⁰I make known the end from the beginning,^(DI)
    from ancient times,^(DJ) what is still to come.^(DK)
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,^(DL)
    and I will do all that I please.’
¹¹From the east I summon^(DM) a bird of prey;^(DN)
    from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
    what I have planned,^(DO) that I will do.^(DP)
¹²Listen^(DQ) to me, you stubborn-hearted,^(DR)
    you who are now far from my righteousness.^(DS)
¹³I am bringing my righteousness^(DT) near,
    it is not far away;
    and my salvation^(DU) will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion,^(DV)
    my splendor^(DW) to Israel.

Footnotes

Isaiah 45:2 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
Isaiah 45:13 Hebrew him
Isaiah 45:14 That is, the upper Nile region
Isaiah 46:1 Or are but beasts and cattle

Hebrews 4

New International Version

A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God

4 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.^(A) ²For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.^[a]^(B) ³Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,

“So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’”^[b]^(C)

And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. ⁴For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.”^[c]^(D) ⁵And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”^(E)

⁶Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience,^(F) ⁷God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”^[d]^(G)

⁸For if Joshua had given them rest,^(H) God would not have spoken^(I) later about another day. ⁹There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; ¹⁰for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works,^[e]^(J) just as God did from his.^(K) ¹¹Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.^(L)

¹²For the word of God^(M) is alive^(N) and active.^(O) Sharper than any double-edged sword,^(P) it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.^(Q) ¹³Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.^(R) Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Jesus the Great High Priest

¹⁴Therefore, since we have a great high priest^(S) who has ascended into heaven,^[f]^(T) Jesus the Son of God,^(U) let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.^(V) ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest^(W) who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are^(X)—yet he did not sin.^(Y) ¹⁶Let us then approach^(Z) God’s throne of grace with confidence,^(AA) so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Footnotes

Hebrews 4:2 Some manuscripts because those who heard did not combine it with faith
Hebrews 4:3 Psalm 95:11; also in verse 5
Hebrews 4:4 Gen. 2:2
Hebrews 4:7 Psalm 95:7,8
Hebrews 4:10 Or labor
Hebrews 4:14 Greek has gone through the heavens