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Cyrus, God’s Instrument

45 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
    whose right hand I have grasped
to subdue nations before him
    and to strip kings of their robes,
to open doors before him—
    and the gates shall not be closed:(A)
I will go before you
    and level the mountains;[a]
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
    and cut through the bars of iron;(B)
I will give you the treasures of darkness
    and riches hidden in secret places,
so that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
    the God of Israel, who call you by your name.(C)
For the sake of my servant Jacob
    and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name;
    I give you a title, though you do not know me.(D)
I am the Lord, and there is no other;
    besides me there is no god.
    I arm you, though you do not know me,(E)
so that they may know, from the rising of the sun
    and from the west, that there is no one besides me;
    I am the Lord, and there is no other.(F)
I form light and create darkness,
    I make weal and create woe;
    I the Lord do all these things.(G)

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Footnotes

  1. 45.2 Q ms Gk: MT the swellings

The Question about Paying Taxes

15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. 16 So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one, for you do not regard people with partiality.(A) 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”(B) 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20 Then he said to them, “Whose head is this and whose title?” 21 They answered, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.”(C) 22 When they heard this, they were amazed, and they left him and went away.

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