Isaiah 39-40
Christian Standard Bible
Hezekiah’s Folly
39 At that time(A) Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah since he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 Hezekiah was pleased with the letters, and he showed the envoys his treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil—and all his armory, and everything that was found in his treasuries.(B) There was nothing in his palace and in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.(C)
3 Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say, and where did they come to you from?”
Hezekiah replied, “They came to me from a distant country, from Babylon.”
4 Isaiah asked, “What have they seen in your palace?”
Hezekiah answered, “They have seen everything in my palace. There isn’t anything in my treasuries that I didn’t show them.”
5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of Armies:(D) 6 ‘Look, the days are coming when everything in your palace and all that your predecessors have stored up until today will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord.(E) 7 ‘Some of your descendants—who come from you, whom you father—will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”
8 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good,” for he thought: There will be peace and security during my lifetime.(F)
God’s People Comforted
40 “Comfort, comfort my people,”(G)
says your God.
2 “Speak tenderly to[a] Jerusalem,
and announce to her
that her time of hard service is over,
her iniquity(H) has been pardoned,(I)
and she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.”(J)
3 A voice of one crying out:
Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness;(K)
make a straight highway for our God in the desert.(L)
4 Every valley will be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill will be leveled;
the uneven ground will become smooth
and the rough places, a plain.(M)
5 And the glory of the Lord will appear,(N)
and all humanity[b] together will see it,(O)
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(P)
6 A voice was saying, “Cry out!”
Another said,[c] “What should I cry out?”
“All humanity is grass,(Q)
and all its goodness is like the flower of the field.(R)
7 The grass withers, the flowers fade
when the breath[d] of the Lord blows on them;[e]
indeed, the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flowers fade,(S)
but the word of our God remains forever.”(T)
9 Zion, herald of good news,
go up on a high mountain.(U)
Jerusalem, herald of good news,(V)
raise your voice loudly.
Raise it, do not be afraid!
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!” (W)
10 See, the Lord God comes with strength,
and his power establishes his rule.(X)
His wages are with him,(Y)
and his reward accompanies him.
11 He protects his flock like a shepherd;(Z)
he gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them in the fold of his garment.
He gently leads those that are nursing.
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand?(AA)
Who has gathered the dust of the earth in a measure
or weighed the mountains on a balance
and the hills on the scales?
13 Who has directed[f] the Spirit of the Lord,
or who gave him counsel?(AB)
14 Who did he consult?
Who gave him understanding(AC)
and taught him the paths of justice?
Who taught him knowledge
and showed him the way of understanding?
15 Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are considered as a speck of dust on the scales;
he lifts up the islands like fine dust.
16 Lebanon’s cedars are not enough for fuel,
or its animals enough for a burnt offering.(AD)
17 All the nations are as nothing before him;
they are considered by him
as empty nothingness.(AE)
18 With whom will you compare God?
What likeness will you set up for comparison with him?(AF)
19 An idol?—something that a smelter casts
and a metalworker plates with gold
and makes silver chains for?(AG)
20 A poor person contributes wood for a pedestal
that will not rot.[g]
He looks for a skilled craftsman
to set up an idol that will not fall over.(AH)
21 Do you not know?(AI)
Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you
from the beginning?
Have you not considered
the foundations of the earth?(AJ)
22 God is enthroned above the circle of the earth;
its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.(AK)
He stretches out the heavens like thin cloth(AL)
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.(AM)
23 He reduces princes to nothing(AN)
and makes judges of the earth like a wasteland.
24 They are barely planted, barely sown,
their stem hardly takes root in the ground
when he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind carries them away like stubble.(AO)
25 “To whom will you compare me,(AP)
or who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
26 Look up and see!
Who created(AQ) these?
He brings out the stars by number;
he calls all of them by name.(AR)
Because of his great power and strength,
not one of them is missing.
27 Jacob, why do you say,
and Israel, why do you assert,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my claim is ignored by my God”?(AS)
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,(AT)
the Creator of the whole earth.
He never becomes faint or weary;
there is no limit to his understanding.(AU)
29 He gives strength to the faint
and strengthens the powerless.
30 Youths may become faint and weary,
and young men stumble and fall,
31 but those who trust in the Lord
will renew their strength;(AV)
they will soar on wings like eagles;(AW)
they will run and not become weary,
they will walk and not faint.
Colossians 4
Christian Standard Bible
4 Masters,(A) deal with your slaves justly and fairly, since you know that you too have a Master in heaven.
Speaking to God and Others
2 Devote yourselves(B) to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us that God may open a door(C) to us for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ,(D) for which I am in chains,(E) 4 so that I may make it known as I should. 5 Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time.(F) 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt,(G) so that you may know how you should answer each person.(H)
Final Greetings
7 Tychicus,(I) our dearly loved brother, faithful(J) minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know how we are[a] and so that he may encourage(K) your hearts.(L) 9 He is coming with Onesimus,(M) a faithful and dearly loved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.
10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark,(N) Barnabas’s(O) cousin (concerning whom you have received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and so does Jesus who is called Justus. These alone of the circumcised are my coworkers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras,(P) who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. He is always wrestling(Q) for you in his prayers, so that you can stand mature and fully assured[b] in everything God wills.(R) 13 For I testify about him that he works hard[c](S) for you, for those in Laodicea,(T) and for those in Hierapolis. 14 Luke, the dearly loved physician, and Demas(U) send you greetings. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters in Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her home.(V) 16 After this letter has been read at your gathering, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17 And tell Archippus,(W) “Pay attention to the ministry you have received in the Lord, so that you can accomplish it.”(X)
18 I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains.(Y) Grace be with you.[d](Z)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
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