Isaiah 41:8-20

New International Version

⁸“But you, Israel, my servant,^(A)
    Jacob, whom I have chosen,^(B)
    you descendants of Abraham^(C) my friend,^(D)
⁹I took you from the ends of the earth,^(E)
    from its farthest corners I called^(F) you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’;^(G)
    I have chosen^(H) you and have not rejected you.
¹⁰So do not fear,^(I) for I am with you;^(J)
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen^(K) you and help^(L) you;
    I will uphold you^(M) with my righteous right hand.^(N)

¹¹“All who rage^(O) against you
    will surely be ashamed and disgraced;^(P)
those who oppose^(Q) you
    will be as nothing and perish.^(R)
¹²Though you search for your enemies,
    you will not find them.^(S)
Those who wage war against you
    will be as nothing^(T) at all.
¹³For I am the Lord your God
    who takes hold of your right hand^(U)
and says to you, Do not fear;
    I will help^(V) you.
¹⁴Do not be afraid,^(W) you worm^(X) Jacob,
    little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help^(Y) you,” declares the Lord,
    your Redeemer,^(Z) the Holy One^(AA) of Israel.
¹⁵“See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,^(AB)
    new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains^(AC) and crush them,
    and reduce the hills to chaff.^(AD)
¹⁶You will winnow^(AE) them, the wind will pick them up,
    and a gale^(AF) will blow them away.^(AG)
But you will rejoice^(AH) in the Lord
    and glory^(AI) in the Holy One^(AJ) of Israel.

¹⁷“The poor and needy search for water,^(AK)
    but there is none;
    their tongues are parched with thirst.^(AL)
But I the Lord will answer^(AM) them;
    I, the God of Israel, will not forsake^(AN) them.
¹⁸I will make rivers flow^(AO) on barren heights,
    and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert^(AP) into pools of water,^(AQ)
    and the parched ground into springs.^(AR)
¹⁹I will put in the desert^(AS)
    the cedar and the acacia,^(AT) the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers^(AU) in the wasteland,
    the fir and the cypress^(AV) together,^(AW)
²⁰so that people may see and know,^(AX)
    may consider and understand,^(AY)
that the hand^(AZ) of the Lord has done this,
    that the Holy One^(BA) of Israel has created^(BB) it.

Read full chapter

Colossians 1:1-20

New International Version

1 Paul, an apostle^(A) of Christ Jesus by the will of God,^(B) and Timothy^(C) our brother,

²To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters^[a] in Christ:

Grace^(D) and peace to you from God our Father.^[b]^(E)

Thanksgiving and Prayer

³We always thank God,^(F) the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love^(G) you have for all God’s people^(H)— ⁵the faith and love that spring from the hope^(I) stored up for you in heaven^(J) and about which you have already heard in the true message^(K) of the gospel ⁶that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit^(L) and growing throughout the whole world^(M)—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. ⁷You learned it from Epaphras,^(N) our dear fellow servant,^[c] who is a faithful minister^(O) of Christ on our^[d] behalf, ⁸and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.^(P)

⁹For this reason, since the day we heard about you,^(Q) we have not stopped praying for you.^(R) We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will^(S) through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,^[e]^(T) ¹⁰so that you may live a life worthy^(U) of the Lord and please him^(V) in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,^(W) ¹¹being strengthened with all power^(X) according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,^(Y) ¹²and giving joyful thanks to the Father,^(Z) who has qualified you^[f] to share in the inheritance^(AA) of his holy people in the kingdom of light.^(AB) ¹³For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness^(AC) and brought us into the kingdom^(AD) of the Son he loves,^(AE) ¹⁴in whom we have redemption,^(AF) the forgiveness of sins.^(AG)

The Supremacy of the Son of God

¹⁵The Son is the image^(AH) of the invisible God,^(AI) the firstborn^(AJ) over all creation. ¹⁶For in him all things were created:^(AK) things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;^(AL) all things have been created through him and for him.^(AM) ¹⁷He is before all things,^(AN) and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸And he is the head^(AO) of the body, the church;^(AP) he is the beginning and the firstborn^(AQ) from among the dead,^(AR) so that in everything he might have the supremacy. ¹⁹For God was pleased^(AS) to have all his fullness^(AT) dwell in him, ²⁰and through him to reconcile^(AU) to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven,^(AV) by making peace^(AW) through his blood,^(AX) shed on the cross.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Colossians 1:2 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in 4:15.
Colossians 1:2 Some manuscripts Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
Colossians 1:7 Or slave
Colossians 1:7 Some manuscripts your
Colossians 1:9 Or all spiritual wisdom and understanding
Colossians 1:12 Some manuscripts us