Isaiah 41:21-29

New King James Version

The Futility of Idols

²¹“Present your case,” says the Lord.
“Bring forth your strong reasons,” says the ^(A)King of Jacob.
²²“Let^(B) them bring forth and show us what will happen;
Let them show the ^(C)former things, what they were,
That we may ^[a]consider them,
And know the latter end of them;
Or declare to us things to come.
²³^(D)Show the things that are to come hereafter,
That we may know that you are gods;
Yes, ^(E)do good or do evil,
That we may be dismayed and see it together.
²⁴Indeed ^(F)you are nothing,
And your work is nothing;
He who chooses you is an abomination.

²⁵“I have raised up one from the north,
And he shall come;
From the ^[b]rising of the sun ^(G)he shall call on My name;
^(H)And he shall come against princes as though mortar,
As the potter treads clay.
²⁶^(I)Who has declared from the beginning, that we may know?
And former times, that we may say, ‘He is righteous’?
Surely there is no one who shows,
Surely there is no one who declares,
Surely there is no one who hears your words.
²⁷^(J)The first time ^(K)I said to Zion,
‘Look, there they are!’
And I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings.
²⁸^(L)For I looked, and there was no man;
I looked among them, but there was no counselor,
Who, when I asked of them, could answer a word.
²⁹^(M)Indeed they are all ^[c]worthless;
Their works are nothing;
Their molded images are wind and confusion.

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Footnotes

Isaiah 41:22 Lit. set our heart on them
Isaiah 41:25 East
Isaiah 41:29 So with MT, Vg.; DSS, Syr., Tg. nothing; LXX omits first line

1 John 1:1-2:6

New King James Version

What Was Heard, Seen, and Touched^(A)

1 That ^(B)which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have ^(C)seen with our eyes, ^(D)which we have looked upon, and ^(E)our hands have handled, concerning the ^(F)Word of life— ²^(G)the life ^(H)was manifested, and we have seen, ^(I)and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was ^(J)with the Father and was manifested to us— ³that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is ^(K)with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. ⁴And these things we write to you ^(L)that ^[a]your joy may be full.

Fellowship with Him and One Another

⁵^(M)This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that ^(N)God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. ⁶^(O)If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷But if we ^(P)walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and ^(Q)the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

⁸If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we ^(R)confess our sins, He is ^(S)faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to ^(T)cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we say that we have not sinned, we ^(U)make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

The Test of Knowing Christ

2 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, ^(V)we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ²And ^(W)He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but ^(X)also for the whole world.

The Test of Knowing Him

³Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a ^(Y)liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵But ^(Z)whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God ^[b]is perfected ^(AA)in him. By this we know that we are in Him. ⁶^(AB)He who says he abides in Him ^(AC)ought himself also to walk just as He walked.