¹⁸ For the Lord is God,
    and he created the heavens and earth
    and put everything in place.
He made the world to be lived in,
    not to be a place of empty chaos.
“I am the Lord,” he says,
    “and there is no other.
¹⁹ I publicly proclaim bold promises.
    I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner.
I would not have told the people of Israel^[a] to seek me
    if I could not be found.
I, the Lord, speak only what is true
    and declare only what is right.