Isaiah 45-46
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.”
The Idols of Babylon and the One True God
46 (BA)Bel bows down; Nebo stoops;
their idols are on beasts and livestock;
these things you carry are borne
as burdens on weary beasts.
2 They stoop; they bow down together;
they cannot save the burden,
but (BB)themselves go into captivity.
3 “Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
(BC)who have been borne by me from before your birth,
carried from the womb;
4 (BD)even to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.
5 (BE)“To whom will you liken me and make me equal,
and compare me, that we may be alike?
6 (BF)Those who lavish gold from the purse,
and weigh out silver in the scales,
hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
(BG)then they fall down and worship!
7 (BH)They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,
they set it in its place, and it stands there;
(BI)it cannot move from its place.
If one cries to it, it does not answer
or save him from his trouble.
8 “Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, (BJ)you transgressors,
9 remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
10 (BK)declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, (BL)‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
11 (BM)calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
(BN)I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it.
12 “Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,
you who are far from righteousness:
13 (BO)I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,
and my salvation will not delay;
(BP)I will put salvation in Zion,
for Israel my 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
Mark 7
English Standard Version
Traditions and Commandments
7 (A)Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes (B)who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were (C)defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,[a] holding to (D)the tradition of (E)the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.[b] And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as (F)the washing of (G)cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.[c]) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to (H)the tradition of (I)the elders, (J)but eat with (K)defiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you (L)hypocrites, as it is written,
(M)“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as (N)doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of (O)rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, (P)‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, (Q)‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)[d]— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus (R)making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
What Defiles a Person
14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, (S)“Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 (T)There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”[e] 17 And when he had entered (U)the house and left the people, (V)his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then (W)are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart (X)but his stomach, and is expelled?”[f] ((Y)Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, (Z)“What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, (AA)murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, (AB)sensuality, (AC)envy, (AD)slander, (AE)pride, (AF)foolishness. 23 (AG)All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
The Syrophoenician Woman's Faith
24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon.[g] And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 (AH)Now the woman was a (AI)Gentile, (AJ)a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be (AK)fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and (AL)throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's (AM)crumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may (AN)go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.
Jesus Heals a Deaf Man
31 (AO)Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to (AP)the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the (AQ)Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him (AR)a man who was deaf and (AS)had a speech impediment, and they begged him to (AT)lay his hand on him. 33 And (AU)taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and (AV)after spitting touched his tongue. 34 And (AW)looking up to heaven, (AX)he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 (AY)And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And (AZ)Jesus[h] charged them to tell no one. But (BA)the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were (BB)astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Footnotes
- Mark 7:3 Greek unless they wash the hands with a fist, probably indicating a kind of ceremonial washing
- Mark 7:4 Greek unless they baptize; some manuscripts unless they purify themselves
- Mark 7:4 Some manuscripts omit and dining couches
- Mark 7:11 Or an offering
- Mark 7:15 Some manuscripts add verse 16: If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear
- Mark 7:19 Greek goes out into the latrine
- Mark 7:24 Some manuscripts omit and Sidon
- Mark 7:36 Greek he
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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