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Isaiah 44:24-46:13
New International Version
Isaiah 44:24-46:13
New International Version
Jerusalem to Be Inhabited
I am the Lord,
the Maker of all things,
who stretches out the heavens,(D)
who spreads out the earth(E) by myself,
25 who foils(F) the signs of false prophets
and makes fools of diviners,(G)
who overthrows the learning of the wise(H)
and turns it into nonsense,(I)
26 who carries out the words(J) of his servants
and fulfills(K) the predictions of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem,(L) ‘It shall be inhabited,’
of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’
and of their ruins,(M) ‘I will restore them,’(N)
27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry,
and I will dry up(O) your streams,’
28 who says of Cyrus,(P) ‘He is my shepherd
and will accomplish all that I please;
he will say of Jerusalem,(Q) “Let it be rebuilt,”
and of the temple,(R) “Let its foundations(S) be laid.”’
45 “This is what the Lord says to his anointed,(T)
to Cyrus,(U) whose right hand I take hold(V) of
to subdue nations(W) before him
and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
so that gates will not be shut:
2 I will go before you(X)
and will level(Y) the mountains[a];
I will break down gates(Z) of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.(AA)
3 I will give you hidden treasures,(AB)
riches stored in secret places,(AC)
so that you may know(AD) that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.(AE)
4 For the sake of Jacob my servant,(AF)
of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
and bestow on you a title of honor,
though you do not acknowledge(AG) me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;(AH)
apart from me there is no God.(AI)
I will strengthen you,(AJ)
though you have not acknowledged me,
6 so that from the rising of the sun
to the place of its setting(AK)
people may know(AL) there is none besides me.(AM)
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I form the light and create darkness,(AN)
I bring prosperity and create disaster;(AO)
I, the Lord, do all these things.
8 “You heavens above, rain(AP) down my righteousness;(AQ)
let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide,
let salvation(AR) spring up,
let righteousness flourish with it;
I, the Lord, have created it.
9 “Woe to those who quarrel(AS) with their Maker,(AT)
those who are nothing but potsherds(AU)
among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,(AV)
‘What are you making?’(AW)
Does your work say,
‘The potter has no hands’?(AX)
10 Woe 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(AY) of Israel, and its Maker:(AZ)
Concerning things to come,
do you question me about my children,
or give me orders about the work of my hands?(BA)
12 It is I who made the earth(BB)
and created mankind on it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens;(BC)
I marshaled their starry hosts.(BD)
13 I will raise up Cyrus[b](BE) in my righteousness:
I will make all his ways straight.(BF)
He will rebuild my city(BG)
and set my exiles free,
but not for a price or reward,(BH)
says the Lord Almighty.”
14 This is what the Lord says:
“The products(BI) of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,[c]
and those tall Sabeans(BJ)—
they will come over to you(BK)
and will be yours;
they will trudge behind you,(BL)
coming over to you in chains.(BM)
They will bow down before you
and plead(BN) with you, saying,
‘Surely God is with you,(BO) and there is no other;
there is no other god.(BP)’”
15 Truly you are a God who has been hiding(BQ) himself,
the God and Savior(BR) of Israel.
16 All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;(BS)
they will go off into disgrace together.
17 But Israel will be saved(BT) by the Lord
with an everlasting salvation;(BU)
you will never be put to shame or disgraced,(BV)
to ages everlasting.
18 For this is what the Lord says—
he who created the heavens,
he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,(BW)
he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,(BX)
but formed it to be inhabited(BY)—
he says:
“I am the Lord,
and there is no other.(BZ)
19 I have not spoken in secret,(CA)
from somewhere in a land of darkness;(CB)
I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,(CC)
‘Seek(CD) me in vain.’
I, the Lord, speak the truth;
I declare what is right.(CE)
20 “Gather together(CF) and come;
assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant(CG) are those who carry(CH) about idols of wood,
who pray to gods that cannot save.(CI)
21 Declare what is to be, present it—
let them take counsel together.
Who foretold(CJ) this long ago,
who declared it from the distant past?(CK)
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no God apart from me,(CL)
a righteous God(CM) and a Savior;(CN)
there is none but me.
22 “Turn(CO) to me and be saved,(CP)
all you ends of the earth;(CQ)
for I am God, and there is no other.(CR)
23 By myself I have sworn,(CS)
my mouth has uttered in all integrity(CT)
a word that will not be revoked:(CU)
Before me every knee will bow;(CV)
by me every tongue will swear.(CW)
24 They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
are deliverance(CX) and strength.(CY)’”
All who have raged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.(CZ)
25 But all the descendants(DA) of Israel
will find deliverance(DB) in the Lord
and will make their boast in him.(DC)
Gods of Babylon
46 Bel(DD) bows down, Nebo stoops low;
their idols(DE) are borne by beasts of burden.[d]
The images that are carried(DF) about are burdensome,
a burden for the weary.
2 They stoop and bow down together;
unable to rescue the burden,
they themselves go off into captivity.(DG)
3 “Listen(DH) to me, you descendants of Jacob,
all the remnant(DI) of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,(DJ)
and have carried(DK) since you were born.(DL)
4 Even to your old age and gray hairs(DM)
I am he,(DN) I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain(DO) 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?(DP)
6 Some pour out gold from their bags
and weigh out silver on the scales;
they hire a goldsmith(DQ) to make it into a god,
and they bow down and worship it.(DR)
7 They lift it to their shoulders and carry(DS) it;
they set it up in its place, and there it stands.
From that spot it cannot move.(DT)
Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;(DU)
it cannot save(DV) them from their troubles.
8 “Remember(DW) this, keep it in mind,
take it to heart, you rebels.(DX)
9 Remember the former things,(DY) those of long ago;(DZ)
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.(EA)
10 I make known the end from the beginning,(EB)
from ancient times,(EC) what is still to come.(ED)
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,(EE)
and I will do all that I please.’
11 From the east I summon(EF) a bird of prey;(EG)
from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
what I have planned,(EH) that I will do.(EI)
12 Listen(EJ) to me, you stubborn-hearted,(EK)
you who are now far from my righteousness.(EL)
13 I am bringing my righteousness(EM) near,
it is not far away;
and my salvation(EN) will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion,(EO)
my splendor(EP) 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
Isaiah 44:24-46:13
King James Version
Isaiah 44:24-46:13
King James Version
24 Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;
25 That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;
26 That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof:
27 That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers:
28 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
45 Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:
3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
4 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else.
7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.
8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the Lord have created it.
9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
10 Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?
11 Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.
12 I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.
13 I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts.
14 Thus saith the Lord, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God.
15 Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.
16 They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols.
17 But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.
18 For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.
19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
20 Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.
21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
23 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
24 Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
25 In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.
46 Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast.
2 They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.
3 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb:
4 And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
5 To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?
6 They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship.
7 They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.
8 Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors.
9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
12 Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness:
13 I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.
Galatians 4:21-5:6
New International Version
Galatians 4:21-5:6
New International Version
Hagar and Sarah
21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law,(A) are you not aware of what the law says? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman(B) and the other by the free woman.(C) 23 His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh,(D) but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise.(E)
24 These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem that is above(F) is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written:
“Be glad, barren woman,
you who never bore a child;
shout for joy and cry aloud,
you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband.”[a](G)
28 Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise.(H) 29 At that time the son born according to the flesh(I) persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit.(J) It is the same now. 30 But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”[b](K) 31 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman,(L) but of the free woman.(M)
Freedom in Christ
5 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.(N) Stand firm,(O) then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.(P)
2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised,(Q) Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.(R) 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law(S) have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.(T) 5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope.(U) 6 For in Christ Jesus(V) neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value.(W) The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.(X)
Footnotes
- Galatians 4:27 Isaiah 54:1
- Galatians 4:30 Gen. 21:10
Galatians 4:21-5:6
King James Version
Galatians 4:21-5:6
King James Version
21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?
22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.
5 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
Psalm 108:6-13
New International Version
Psalm 108:6-13
New International Version
6 Save us and help us with your right hand,(A)
that those you love may be delivered.
7 God has spoken(B) from his sanctuary:(C)
“In triumph I will parcel out Shechem(D)
and measure off the Valley of Sukkoth.(E)
8 Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet,
Judah(F) is my scepter.
9 Moab(G) is my washbasin,
on Edom(H) I toss my sandal;
over Philistia(I) I shout in triumph.”
10 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Is it not you, God, you who have rejected us
and no longer go out with our armies?(J)
12 Give us aid against the enemy,
for human help is worthless.(K)
13 With God we will gain the victory,
and he will trample down(L) our enemies.
Psalm 108:6-13
King James Version
Psalm 108:6-13
King James Version
6 That thy beloved may be delivered: save with thy right hand, and answer me.
7 God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;
9 Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe; over Philistia will I triumph.
10 Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?
11 Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts?
12 Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.
13 Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.
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