Isaiah 45
English Standard Version
Cyrus, God's Instrument
45 Thus says the Lord to (A)his anointed, to Cyrus,
(B)whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and (C)to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:
2 “I will go before you
and (D)level the exalted places,[a]
(E)I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
3 (F)I will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, (G)who call you by your name.
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
(H)I call you by your name,
(I)I name you, though you do not know me.
5 (J)I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
(K)I equip you, though you do not know me,
6 (L)that people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I form light and create darkness;
I make well-being and (M)create calamity;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
8 (N)“Shower, O heavens, from above,
and (O)let the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
let the earth cause them both to sprout;
I the Lord have created it.
9 (P)“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,
a pot among earthen pots!
(Q)Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
or ‘Your work has no handles’?
10 Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”
11 Thus says (R)the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:
(S)“Ask me of things to come;
will you command me (T)concerning my children and (U)the work of my hands?[b]
12 (V)I made the earth
and created man on it;
it was my hands (W)that stretched out the heavens,
and (X)I commanded all their host.
13 (Y)I have stirred him up in righteousness,
(Z)and I will make all his ways level;
(AA)he shall build my city
(AB)and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,”
says the Lord of hosts.
The Lord, the Only Savior
14 Thus says the Lord:
(AC)“The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,
and the Sabeans, men of stature,
shall come over to you (AD)and be yours;
they shall follow you;
they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.
They will plead with you, saying:
‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other,
no god besides him.’”
15 (AE)Truly, you are a God who hides himself,
O God of Israel, the Savior.
16 (AF)All of them are put to shame and confounded;
the makers of idols go in confusion together.
17 But Israel is saved by the Lord
with everlasting salvation;
(AG)you shall not be put to shame or confounded
to all eternity.
18 (AH)For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he (AI)did not create it empty,
(AJ)he formed it to be inhabited!):
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 (AK)I did not speak in secret,
in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
(AL)‘Seek me in vain.’[c]
I the Lord speak (AM)the truth;
I declare what is right.
20 (AN)“Assemble yourselves and come;
draw near together,
you survivors of the nations!
(AO)They have no knowledge
who (AP)carry about their wooden idols,
(AQ)and keep on praying to a god
that cannot save.
21 (AR)Declare and present your case;
let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God (AS)and a Savior;
there is none besides me.
22 “Turn to me and be saved,
(AT)all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 (AU)By myself I have sworn;
from my mouth has gone out in (AV)righteousness
a word that shall not return:
(AW)‘To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear allegiance.’[d]
24 (AX)“Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
are righteousness and (AY)strength;
to him shall come and be ashamed
(AZ)all who were incensed against him.
25 In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
shall be justified and shall glory.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 45:2 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint level the mountains
- Isaiah 45:11 A slight emendation yields will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands?
- Isaiah 45:19 Hebrew in emptiness
- Isaiah 45:23 Septuagint every tongue shall confess to God
Song of Solomon 6:1-5
English Standard Version
Others
6 Where has your beloved gone,
O (A)most beautiful among women?
Where has your beloved turned,
that we may seek him with you?
Together in the Garden of Love
She
2 My beloved has gone down to his (B)garden
to (C)the beds of spices,
to (D)graze[a] in the gardens
and to gather (E)lilies.
3 (F)I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine;
he grazes among the lilies.
Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other
He
4 You are beautiful as (G)Tirzah, (H)my love,
(I)lovely as (J)Jerusalem,
(K)awesome as an army with banners.
5 Turn away your eyes from me,
for they overwhelm me—
(L)Your hair is like a flock of goats
leaping down the slopes of Gilead.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 6:2 Or to pasture his flock; also verse 3
Hebrews 9
English Standard Version
The Earthly Holy Place
9 Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and (A)an earthly place of holiness. 2 For (B)a tent[a] was prepared, the first section, in which were (C)the lampstand and (D)the table and (E)the bread of the Presence.[b] It is called the Holy Place. 3 Behind (F)the second curtain was a second section[c] called the Most Holy Place, 4 having the golden (G)altar of incense and (H)the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was (I)a golden urn holding the manna, and (J)Aaron's staff that budded, and (K)the tablets of the covenant. 5 Above it were (L)the cherubim of glory overshadowing (M)the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
6 These preparations having thus been made, (N)the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, 7 but into the second only (O)the high priest goes, and he but (P)once a year, and not without taking blood, (Q)which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. 8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that (R)the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing 9 (which is symbolic for the present age).[d] According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered (S)that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, 10 but deal only with (T)food and drink and (U)various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.
Redemption Through the Blood of Christ
11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest (V)of the good things that have come,[e] then through (W)the greater and more perfect tent ((X)not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he (Y)entered (Z)once for all into the holy places, not by means of (AA)the blood of goats and calves but (AB)by means of his own blood, (AC)thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if (AD)the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with (AE)the ashes of a heifer, sanctify[f] for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will (AF)the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit (AG)offered himself without blemish to God, (AH)purify our[g] conscience (AI)from dead works (AJ)to serve the living God.
15 Therefore he is (AK)the mediator of a new covenant, so that (AL)those who are called may (AM)receive the promised eternal inheritance, (AN)since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.[h] 16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For (AO)a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. 18 Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated (AP)without blood. 19 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took (AQ)the blood of calves and goats, (AR)with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, (AS)“This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” 21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both (AT)the tent and all the vessels used in worship. 22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and (AU)without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
23 Thus it was necessary for (AV)the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places (AW)made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God (AX)on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as (AY)the high priest enters (AZ)the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, (BA)he has appeared (BB)once for all (BC)at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as (BD)it is appointed for man to die once, and (BE)after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once (BF)to bear the sins of (BG)many, will appear (BH)a second time, (BI)not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly (BJ)waiting for him.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 9:2 Or tabernacle; also verses 11, 21
- Hebrews 9:2 Greek the presentation of the loaves
- Hebrews 9:3 Greek tent; also verses 6, 8
- Hebrews 9:9 Or which is symbolic for the age then present
- Hebrews 9:11 Some manuscripts good things to come
- Hebrews 9:13 Or For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies
- Hebrews 9:14 Some manuscripts your
- Hebrews 9:15 The Greek word means both covenant and will; also verses 16, 17
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
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