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14 The Lord, the Holy One of Israel, saves you, and he says, “I will send armies to Babylon for you. Many people will be captured. Those Chaldeans will be taken away in their own boats. (They are so proud of those boats.)[a] 15 I am the Lord your Holy One. I made Israel. I am your King.”
God Will Save His People Again
16 The Lord is making roads through the sea. He is making a path for his people, even through rough waters. The Lord says, 17 “Those who fight against me with their chariots, horses, and armies will be defeated. They will never rise again. They will be destroyed. They will be put out like the flame in a lamp. 18 So don’t remember what happened in earlier times. Don’t think about what happened a long time ago, 19 because I am doing something new! Now you will grow like a new plant. Surely you know this is true. I will even make a road in the desert, and rivers will flow through that dry land. 20 The wild animals will thank me. The large animals and birds will honor me when I put water in the desert and make rivers flow through that dry land. I will do this to give water to my chosen people. 21 I made them, and they will sing songs of praise to me.
22 “Jacob, you did not pray to me. Israel, you became tired of me. 23 You have not brought your sheep as sacrifices to me. You have not honored me with your sacrifices. I did not force you to give gifts to me like slaves. I did not force you to burn incense until you became tired. 24 So you did not use your money to buy things to honor me. But you did force me to be like your slave. You sinned until the bad things you did made me very tired.
25 “I, I am the one who wipes away all your sins. I do this to please myself. I will not remember your sins. 26 But you should remember me. Let’s meet together and decide what is right. Tell your story and prove that you are innocent. 27 Your first father sinned, and your lawyers[b] committed crimes against me. 28 I will make your Temple leaders unfit to serve there. I will destroy Jacob.[c] Bad things will happen to Israel.
The Lord Is the Only God
44 “Jacob, you are my servant. Israel, I chose you. Listen to me! 2 I am the Lord, and I made you. I am the one who created you. I have helped you since you were in your mother’s womb. Jacob, my servant, don’t be afraid. Jeshurun,[d] I chose you.
3 “I will pour water for thirsty people, and streams will flow through the desert. I will pour my Spirit on your children, and I will bless[e] your family. 4 They will sprout like grass in the spring and grow like trees by streams of water.
5 “One man will call himself, ‘I am the Lord’s.’ Another will use the name, ‘Jacob.’ Another man will sign his name as ‘The Lord’s Hand.’ And another will use the name, ‘Israel.’”
6 The Lord is the king of Israel. The Lord All-Powerful is the one who will set Israel free. And he says, “I am the only God. There are no other gods. I am the Beginning and the End. 7 There is no other God like me. If there is, that god should speak now. Let him lay out everything he has done since the time I made these ancient people. Let him show me the signs he gave long ago that prove he knew what would happen in the future.
8 “Don’t be afraid! Don’t worry. I am the one who always told you what would happen. You are my proof.[f] There is no other God; I am the only one. There is no other ‘Rock’; I know I am the only one.”
False Gods Are Useless
9 Some people make idols, but they are worthless. They love their statues, which are useless. Those who serve as witnesses for these statues cannot even see. They don’t know enough to be ashamed.
10 Who made these false gods? Who covered these useless statues? 11 Workers made them, and the workers are only human. If they all would come together before me, we could discuss this. Then they would all be ashamed and afraid.
12 One worker uses his tools to heat iron over hot coals. Then he uses his hammer to beat the metal to shape it into a statue. He uses his own powerful arms, but when he gets hungry, he loses his strength. If he does not drink water, he becomes weak.
13 Another worker uses his string line[g] and compass[h] to draw lines on the wood to show where he should cut. Then he uses his chisels[i] and cuts a statue from the wood. He uses his calipers[j] to measure the statue. In this way the worker makes the wood look exactly like a man, and this statue of a man does nothing but sit in the house.
14 To split the cedar tree, the worker took some oak or cypress wedges. To make sure he had plenty of wood, he planted some pines. But it was the rain that made them grow.
15 When the man wanted a fire, he took some of the wood to keep him warm. He also used some of it to bake his bread. But then he used that same wood to make a statue to worship as a god! That god is only a statue that he made, but he bows down to it! 16 He burns half of the wood in the fire. He uses the fire to cook his meat, and he eats the meat until he is full. He burns the wood to keep himself warm. He says, “Good! Now I am warm, and I can see by the light of the fire.” 17 There is a little of the wood left, so he makes a statue and calls it his god. He bows down before it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “You are my god, save me!”
18 People like that don’t know what they are doing! They don’t understand. It is as if they have mud in their eyes so they cannot see. Their minds cannot understand. 19 They don’t realize what they are doing. They aren’t smart enough to think, “I burned half of the wood in the fire. I used the hot coals to bake my bread and cook the meat I ate. And I used the wood that was left to make this terrible thing. I am worshiping a block of wood!”
20 Someone like that is deceived. They don’t know what they are doing.[k] They cannot save themselves, and they will not admit, “This statue I am holding is a lie!”
The Lord, the True God, Helps Israel
21 “Jacob, remember these things!
Israel, remember, you are my servant.
I made you, and you are my servant.
So, Israel, don’t forget me.
22 Your sins were like a big cloud,
but I wiped them all away.
Your sins are gone,
like a cloud that disappeared into thin air.
I rescued and protected you,
so come back to me.”
23 Skies, rejoice for what the Lord has done.
Earth, shout for joy down to your deepest parts!
Start singing, you mountains
and all you trees in the forest!
Yes, the Lord has saved Jacob.
He has shown his glory by rescuing Israel.
24 The one who rescued you is the Lord,
the one who formed you in your mother’s womb.
He says, “I, the Lord, made everything.
I put the skies there myself.
I spread out the earth before me.”
25 False prophets tell lies, but the Lord shows that their lies are false. He makes fools of those who do magic. He confuses even the wise. They think they know a lot, but he makes them look foolish. 26 The Lord sends his servants to tell his messages to the people, and he makes those messages come true. He sends messengers to tell the people what they should do, and he proves that the advice is good.
God Chooses Cyrus to Rebuild Judah
The Lord says to Jerusalem, “People will live in you again.”
He says to the cities of Judah, “You will be rebuilt.”
He says to them, “I will repair your ruins.”
27 He tells the deep waters, “Become dry!
I will make your streams dry too.”
28 He says to Cyrus, “You are my shepherd.
You will do what I want.
You will say to Jerusalem, ‘You will be rebuilt!’
You will tell the Temple, ‘Your foundations will be put in place!’”
God Chooses Cyrus to Make Israel Free
45 This is what the Lord said to Cyrus, his chosen king[l]:
“I took you by your right hand to help you defeat nations,
to strip other kings of their power,
and to open city gates that will not be closed again.
2 I will go in front of you
and make the mountains flat.
I will break the city gates of bronze
and cut the iron bars on the gates.
3 I will give you the wealth that is stored in secret places.
I will give you those hidden treasures.
Then you will know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who calls you by name.
4 I do this for my servant, Jacob.
I do it for my chosen people, Israel.
Cyrus, I am calling you by name.
You don’t know me, but I know you.[m]
5 I am the Lord, the only God.
There is no other God except me.
I put your clothes on you,[n]
but still you don’t know me.
6 I am doing this so that everyone will know
that I am the only God.
From the east to the west, people will know that I am the Lord
and that there is no other God.
7 I made the light and the darkness.
I bring peace, and I cause trouble.
I, the Lord, do all these things.
8 “May the clouds in the skies above
pour goodness on the earth like rain.
May the earth open up
to let salvation grow.
And may goodness grow with that salvation,
which I, the Lord, created.
God Controls His Creation
9 “Look at these people! They are arguing with the one who made them. Look at them argue with me. They are like pieces of clay from a broken pot. Clay does not say to the one molding it, ‘Man, what are you doing?’ Things that are made don’t have the power to question the one who makes them. 10 A father gives life to his children, and they cannot ask, ‘Why are you giving me life?’ They cannot question their mother and ask, ‘Why are you giving birth to me?’”
Paul’s Work for the Non-Jewish People
3 So I, Paul, am a prisoner because I serve Christ Jesus for you who are not Jews. 2 Surely you know that God gave me this work through his grace to help you. 3 God let me know his secret plan by showing it to me. I have already written a little about this. 4 And if you read what I wrote, you can see that I understand the secret truth about Christ. 5 People who lived in other times were not told that secret truth. But now, through the Spirit, God has made it known to his holy apostles and prophets. 6 And this is the secret truth: that by hearing the Good News, those who are not Jews will share with the Jews in the blessings God has for his people. They are part of the same body, and they share in the promise God made through Christ Jesus.
7 By God’s special gift of grace, I became a servant to tell that Good News. He gave me that grace by using his power. 8 I am the least important of all God’s people. But he gave me this gift—to tell the non-Jewish people the Good News about the riches Christ has. These riches are too great to understand fully. 9 And God gave me the work of telling all people about the plan for his secret truth. That secret truth has been hidden in him since the beginning of time. He is the one who created everything. 10 His purpose was that all the rulers and powers in the heavenly places will now know the many different ways he shows his wisdom. They will know this because of the church. 11 This agrees with the plan God had since the beginning of time. He did what he planned, and he did it through Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In Christ we come before God with freedom and without fear. We can do this because of our faith in Christ. 13 So I ask you not to be discouraged because of what is happening to me. My sufferings are for your benefit—for your honor and glory.
The Love of Christ
14 So I bow in prayer before the Father. 15 Every family in heaven and on earth gets its true name from him. 16 I ask the Father with his great glory to give you the power to be strong in your spirits. He will give you that strength through his Spirit. 17 I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray that your life will be strong in love and be built on love. 18 And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is. 19 Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with everything God has for you.
20 With God’s power working in us, he can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of. 21 To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever. Amen.
To the director: A praise song of David.
68 God, get up and scatter your enemies!
May all your enemies run from you.
2 May your enemies be scattered
like smoke blown away by the wind.
May your enemies be destroyed
like wax melting in a fire.
3 But let good people be happy.
Let them gather before God and enjoy themselves together.
4 Sing to God! Sing praises to his name!
Prepare the way for the one who rides on the clouds.
His name is Yah.[a]
Worship before him with joy.
5 God, who lives in his holy palace, is a father to orphans,
and he takes care of widows.
6 God provides homes for those who are lonely.
He frees people from prison and makes them happy.
But those who turn against him will live in the desert.
7 God, you led your people out of Egypt.
You marched across the desert. Selah
8 The ground shook and rain poured from the sky
when God, the God of Israel, came to Sinai.
9 God, you sent the rain
to make a tired, old land strong again.
10 Your people[b] came back to live there,
and you provided good things for the poor.
11 My Lord gave the command,
and many people went to tell the good news:
12 “The armies of powerful kings ran away!
At home, the women divide the things brought from the battle.
13 Those who stayed home will share in the wealth—
metal doves with wings covered in silver and feathers sparkling with gold.”
14 God All-Powerful scattered the kings
like snow falling on Mount Zalmon.
15 Mount Bashan is a great mountain
with many high peaks.
16 But, Bashan, why are you jealous of Mount Zion?
That is where God has chosen to live.
The Lord will live there forever.
17 With his millions of chariots,
the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place.
18 You went up to your high place,
leading a parade of captives.
You received gifts from people,[c]
even those who turned against you.
The Lord God went up there to live.
— 19 —
24 Don’t be jealous of evil people. Have no desire to be around them. 2 In their hearts they plan to do evil. All they talk about is making trouble.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International