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11 This is what the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel(A) and its Maker, says:
“Ask me what is to happen to[a] my sons,(B)
and instruct me about the work of my hands.(C)
12 I made the earth,
and created humans on it.
It was my hands that stretched out the heavens,(D)
and I commanded everything in them.
13 I have stirred him up in righteousness,(E)
and will level all roads for him.
He will rebuild my city,(F)
and set my exiles free,(G)
not for a price or a bribe,”
says the Lord of Armies.
God Alone Is the Savior
14 This is what the Lord says:
“The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush
and the Sabeans, men of stature,(H)
will come over to you(I)
and will be yours;
they will follow you,
they will come over in chains
and bow down to you.
They will confess[b] to you,
‘God is indeed with you,(J) and there is no other;
there is no other God.’”
15 Yes, you are a God who hides,(K)
God of Israel, Savior.(L)
16 All of them are put to shame, even humiliated;(M)
the makers of idols go in humiliation together.
17 Israel will be saved by the Lord
with an everlasting salvation;
you will not be put to shame or humiliated
for all eternity.(N)
18 For this is what the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens,
the God who formed the earth and made it,
the one who established it
(he did not create it to be a wasteland,
but formed it to be inhabited)(O)—
he says, “I am the Lord,
and there is no other.
19 I have not spoken in secret,(P)
somewhere in a land of darkness.
I did not say to the descendants of Jacob:
Seek me in a wasteland.(Q)
I am the Lord, who speaks righteously,(R)
who declares what is right.
20 “Come, gather together,
and approach, you fugitives of the nations.
Those who carry their wooden idols
and pray to a god who cannot save(S)
have no knowledge.(T)
21 Speak up and present your case[c](U)—
yes, let them consult each other.
Who predicted this long ago?
Who announced it from ancient times?
Was it not I, the Lord?
There is no other God but me,
a righteous God and Savior;(V)
there is no one except me.(W)
22 Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth.
For I am God,
and there is no other.
23 By myself I have sworn;(X)
truth has gone from my mouth,(Y)
a word that will not be revoked:
Every knee will bow(Z) to me,
every tongue will swear allegiance.
24 It will be said about me, ‘Righteousness and strength
are found only in the Lord.’”
All who are enraged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.(AA)
25 All the descendants of Israel
will be justified and boast in the Lord.
There Is No One Like God
46 Bel crouches; Nebo cowers.(AB)
Idols depicting them are consigned to beasts and cattle.
The images you carry are loaded,
as a burden for the weary animal.
2 The gods cower; they crouch together;
they are not able to rescue the burden,
but they themselves go into captivity.(AC)
3 “Listen to me, house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been sustained from the womb,
carried along since birth.
4 I will be the same until your old age,(AD)
and I will bear you up when you turn gray.
I have made you, and I will carry you;
I will bear and rescue you.
5 “To whom will you compare me or make me equal?
Who will you measure me with,
so that we should be like each other?(AE)
6 Those who pour out their bags of gold
and weigh out silver on scales—
they hire a goldsmith and he makes it into a god.
Then they kneel and bow down to it.(AF)
7 They lift it to their shoulder and bear it along;(AG)
they set it in its place, and there it stands;
it does not budge from its place.(AH)
They cry out to it but it doesn’t answer;
it saves no one from his trouble.
8 “Remember this and be brave;[d]
take it to heart, you transgressors!
9 Remember what happened long ago,(AI)
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and no one is like me.
10 I declare the end from the beginning,
and from long ago what is not yet done,
saying: my plan will take place,
and I will do all my will.(AJ)
11 I call a bird of prey[e] from the east,(AK)
a man for my purpose from a far country.
Yes, I have spoken; so I will also bring it about.(AL)
I have planned it; I will also do it.
12 Listen to me, you hardhearted,
far removed from justice:
13 I am bringing my justice near;(AM)
it is not far away,
and my salvation will not delay.
I will put salvation in Zion,
my splendor in Israel.
The Fall of Babylon
47 “Go down and sit in the dust,(AN)
Virgin Daughter Babylon.(AO)
Sit on the ground without a throne,
Daughter Chaldea!
For you will no longer be called pampered and spoiled.
2 Take millstones and grind flour;(AP)
remove your veil,
strip off your skirt, bare your thigh,
wade through the streams.
3 Your nakedness will be uncovered,
and your disgrace will be exposed.(AQ)
I will take vengeance;
I will spare no one.”[f]
4 The Holy One of Israel is our Redeemer;(AR)
The Lord of Armies is his name.
5 “Daughter Chaldea,
sit in silence(AS) and go into darkness.
For you will no longer be called mistress of kingdoms.
6 I was angry with my people;
I profaned my possession,
and I handed them over to you.
You showed them no mercy;
you made your yoke very heavy on the elderly.
7 You said, ‘I will be the queen forever.’
You did not take these things to heart
or think about their outcome.
8 “So now hear this, lover of luxury,
who sits securely,(AT)
who says to herself,
‘I am, and there is no one else.
I will never be a widow
or know the loss of children.’(AU)
9 These two things will happen to you
suddenly, in one day:
loss of children and widowhood.
They will happen to you in their entirety,
in spite of your many sorceries(AV)
and the potency of your spells.
10 You were secure in your wickedness;
you said, ‘No one sees me.’(AW)
Your wisdom and knowledge
led you astray.
You said to yourself,
‘I am, and there is no one else.’
11 But disaster will happen to you;
you will not know how to avert it.
And it will fall on you,
but you will be unable to ward it off.[g]
Devastation will happen to you suddenly
and unexpectedly.(AX)
12 So take your stand with your spells
and your many sorceries,
which you have wearied yourself with from your youth.
Perhaps you will be able to succeed;
perhaps you will inspire terror!
13 You are worn out with your many consultations.
So let the astrologers stand and save you—
those who observe the stars,(AY)
those who predict monthly
what will happen to you.
14 Look, they are like stubble;(AZ)
fire burns them.(BA)
They cannot rescue themselves
from the power of the flame.
This is not a coal for warming themselves,
or a fire to sit beside!
15 This is what they are to you—
those who have wearied you
and have traded with you from your youth—
each wanders on his own way;
no one can save you.
Israel Must Leave Babylon
48 “Listen to this, house of Jacob—
those who are called by the name Israel
and have descended from[h] Judah,(BB)
who swear by the name of the Lord(BC)
and declare the God of Israel,
but not in truth or righteousness.
2 For they are named after the holy city,
and lean on the God of Israel;(BD)
his name is the Lord of Armies.
3 I declared the past events long ago;
they came out of my mouth; I proclaimed them.
Suddenly I acted, and they occurred.
4 Because I know that you are stubborn,
and your neck is iron[i]
and your forehead bronze,(BE)
5 therefore I declared to you long ago.
I announced it to you before it occurred,
so you could not claim, ‘My idol caused them;
my carved image and cast idol control them.’(BF)
6 You have heard it. Observe it all.
Will you not acknowledge it?
From now on I will announce new things to you,
hidden things that you have not known.(BG)
7 They have been created now, and not long ago;
you have not heard of them before today,
so you could not claim, ‘I already knew them!’
8 You have never heard; you have never known;
for a long time your ears have not been open.
For I knew that you were very treacherous,
and were known as a rebel from birth.(BH)
9 I will delay my anger for the sake of my name,
and I will restrain myself for your benefit and for my praise,
so that you will not be destroyed.
10 Look, I have refined you,(BI) but not as silver;
I have tested[j] you in the furnace of affliction.
11 I will act for my own sake, indeed, my own,(BJ)
for how can I[k] be defiled?
I will not give my glory to another.(BK)
Unity and Diversity in the Body of Christ
4 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord,(A) urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, 2 with all humility(B) and gentleness, with patience,(C) bearing(D) with one another in love,(E) 3 making every effort to keep the unity(F) of the Spirit(G) through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit(H)—just as you were called to one hope[a](I) at your calling— 5 one Lord,(J) one faith,(K) one baptism, 6 one God(L) and Father(M) of all, who is above all and through all and in all.(N)
7 Now grace was given to each one of us(O) according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 For it says:
9 But what does “he ascended” mean except that he[c] also descended to the lower parts of the earth?[d](R) 10 The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens,(S) to fill all things.(T) 11 And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,(U) 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son,(V) growing into maturity with a stature(W) measured by Christ’s fullness. 14 Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching,(X) by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. 15 But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head(Y)—Christ. 16 From him the whole body, fitted and knit together(Z) by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth(AA) of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.
19 Blessed be the Lord!
Day after day he bears our burdens;
God is our salvation.(A)Selah
20 Our God is a God of salvation,
and escape from death belongs to the Lord my Lord.(B)
21 Surely God crushes the heads of his enemies,
the hairy brow of one who goes on in his guilty acts.(C)
22 The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan;
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea(D)
23 so that your foot may wade[a] in blood
and your dogs’ tongues may have their share
from the enemies.”(E)
24 People have seen your procession, God,
the procession of my God,
my King, in the sanctuary.(F)
25 Singers lead the way,
with musicians following;
among them are young women
playing tambourines.(G)
26 Bless God in the assemblies;
bless the Lord from the fountain of Israel.(H)
27 There is Benjamin, the youngest, leading them,
the rulers of Judah in their assembly,[b]
the rulers of Zebulun, the rulers of Naphtali.(I)
28 Your God has decreed your strength.
Show your strength, God,
you who have acted on our behalf.(J)
29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem,
kings will bring tribute to you.(K)
30 Rebuke the beast in the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.(L)
Trample underfoot those with bars of silver.[c]
Scatter the peoples who take pleasure in war.(M)
31 Ambassadors will come[d] from Egypt;
Cush will stretch out its hands to God.(N)
32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth;
sing praise to the Lord,(O)Selah
33 to him who rides in the ancient, highest heavens.(P)
Look, he thunders with his powerful voice!(Q)
34 Ascribe power to God.
His majesty is over Israel;
his power is among the clouds.(R)
35 God, you are awe-inspiring in your sanctuaries.
The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!(S)
3 A house is built by wisdom,(A)
and it is established by understanding;
4 by knowledge the rooms are filled
with every precious and beautiful treasure.
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