Old/New Testament
God Is Always with His People
43 Now this is what the Lord says.
He created you, people of Jacob.
He formed you, people of Israel.
He says, “Don’t be afraid, because I have saved you.
I have called you by name, and you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.
When you cross rivers, you will not drown.
When you walk through fire, you will not be burned.
The flames will not hurt you.
3 This is because I, the Lord, am your God.
I, the Holy One of Israel, am your Savior.
I gave Egypt to pay for you.
I gave Cush and Seba to make you mine.
4 You are precious to me.
I give you honor, and I love you.
So I will give other people in your place.
I will give other nations to save your life.
5 So don’t be afraid. I am with you.
I will gather your children from the east.
I will gather you from the west.
6 I will tell the north: Give my people to me.
I will tell the south: Don’t keep my people in prison.
Bring my sons from far away.
Bring my daughters from faraway places.
7 Bring to me all the people who are mine.
I made them for my glory.
I formed them; I made them.”
Judah Is God’s Witness
8 Bring out the people who have eyes but don’t see.
Bring out those who have ears but don’t hear.
9 All the nations should gather together.
All the people should come together.
Which of their gods said that this would happen?
Which of their gods can tell what happened in the beginning?
They should bring their witnesses to prove they were right.
Then others will say, “It is true.”
10 The Lord says, “You are my witnesses.
You are the servant I chose.
I chose you so you would know and believe me.
I chose you so you would understand that I am the true God.
There was no God before me,
and there will be no God after me.
11 I myself am the Lord.
I am the only Savior.
12 I myself have spoken to you, saved you and told you these things.
It was not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses, and I am God,”
says the Lord.
13 “I have always been God.
No one can save people from my power.
When I do something, no one can change it.”
14 This is what the Lord says.
He is the Holy One of Israel who saves you.
He says, “I will send armies to Babylon for you.
All the Babylonians will be captured.
They will be taken away in their ships they are proud of.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One.
I made Israel. I am your king.”
God Will Save His People Again
16 This is what the Lord says.
He is the one who made a road through the sea.
Even through rough waters he made a path for his people.
17 He is the one who defeated the chariots and horses.
He defeated the mighty armies.
They fell together, and they will never rise again.
They were destroyed as a flame is put out.
18 The Lord says, “Forget what happened before.
Do not think about the past.
19 Look at the new thing I am going to do.
It is already happening. Don’t you see it?
I will make a road in the desert.
I will make rivers in the dry land.
20 Even the wild animals will be thankful to me.
The wild dogs and owls will honor me.
They will honor me when I put water in the desert.
They will honor me when I make rivers in the dry land.
I will do this to give water to my people, the ones I chose.
21 These are the people I made.
And they will sing songs to praise me.
22 “People of Jacob, you have not called to me.
People of Israel, you have become tired of me.
23 You have not brought your sacrifices of sheep to me.
You have not honored me by bringing sacrifices to me.
I did not force you to give sacrifices to me.
I did not force you to burn incense until you became tired.
24 So you did not buy incense for me.
You did not freely bring fat from your sacrifices to me.
Instead you have weighed me down with your many sins.
You have made me tired of your many wrongs.
25 “I, I am the One who forgives all your sins.
I do this to please myself.
I will not remember your sins.
26 But you should remind me.
Let’s meet and decide what is right.
Tell what you have done and show you are right.
27 Your first father sinned.
And your leaders have turned against me.
28 So I will make your holy rulers not holy.
And I will bring destruction on the people of Jacob.
And I will let Israel be insulted.”
The Lord Is the Only God
44 The Lord says, “People of Jacob, you are my servants. Listen to me!
People of Israel, I chose you.”
2 This is what the Lord says. He made you.
He formed you when you were in your mother’s body.
And he will help you.
The Lord says, “People of Jacob, my servants, don’t be afraid.
Israel, I chose you.
3 I will pour out water for the thirsty land.
I will make streams flow on dry land.
I will put my Spirit into your children.
My blessing will be like a stream of water flowing over your family.
4 Your children will grow like a tree in the grass.
They will be like poplar trees growing beside streams of water.
5 One person will say, ‘I belong to the Lord.’
Another will use the name Jacob.
Another will sign his name ‘I am the Lord’s.’
And another will use the name Israel.”
6 The Lord is the king of Israel.
The Lord of heaven’s armies saves Israel.
The Lord says, “I am the beginning and the end.
I am the only God.
7 There is no other God like me.
If there is, then that god should come and prove it.
Who has announced coming events from the beginning?
He should tell what will happen in the future.
8 Don’t be afraid! Don’t worry!
I have always told you what will happen.
You are my witnesses.
There is no other God.
I know of no other Rock. I am the only One.”
False Gods Are Useless
9 Some people make idols, but they are worth nothing.
People love them, but they are useless.
Those people are witnesses for the statues. But those people cannot see.
They know nothing. They don’t know enough to be ashamed.
10 Who made these false gods?
Who made these useless idols?
11 The workmen who made those gods will be ashamed!
Those workmen are only human.
If they all would come together,
they would all be ashamed and afraid.
12 One workman uses tools to heat iron.
He works over hot coals.
He uses his hammer to beat the metal and make a statue.
He uses his powerful arms.
But when he becomes hungry, he loses his power.
If he does not drink water, he becomes tired.
13 Another workman uses a line and a compass
to draw lines on the wood.
Then he uses his chisels to cut a statue from wood.
He uses his calipers to measure the statue.
This way, the workman makes the wood look exactly like a man.
And this statue of a man sits in the house.
14 A man cuts down cedar
or gets cypress or oak trees.
Those trees grew by their own power in the forest.
Or he plants a pine tree, and the rain makes it grow.
15 Then he burns the tree.
He uses some of the wood for a fire to keep himself warm.
He also starts a fire to bake his bread.
But he uses part of the wood to make a god. Then he worships it!
He makes the idol and bows down to it!
16 The man 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. I can see because of the fire’s light.”
17 But the man makes a statue from the wood that is left. He calls it his god.
He bows down to it and worships it.
He prays to it and says,
“You are my god. Save me!”
18 Those people don’t know what they are doing. They don’t understand!
It is as if their eyes are covered so they can’t see.
Their minds don’t understand.
19 They have not thought about these things.
They don’t understand.
They have never thought to themselves,
“I burned half of the wood in the fire.
I used the hot coals to bake my bread.
I cooked and ate my meat.
And I used the wood that was left to make this hated thing.
I am worshiping a block of wood!”
20 He doesn’t know what he is doing.
His confused mind leads him the wrong way.
He cannot save himself.
He cannot say, “This statue I am holding is a false god.”
The Lord Is the True God
21 The Lord says, “People of Jacob, remember these things!
People of Israel, remember you are my servants.
I made you. You are my servants.
So Israel, I will not forget you.
22 I have swept away your sins like a big cloud.
I have removed your sins like a cloud that disappears into the air.
Come back to me because I saved you.”
23 Skies, sing for joy because the Lord did great things!
Earth, shout for joy, even in your deepest parts!
Sing, you mountains, with thanks to God.
Sing, too, you trees in the forest!
The Lord saved the people of Jacob!
The Lord showed his greatness when he saved Israel.
24 The Lord saved you.
He formed you while you were still in your mother’s body.
The Lord says, “I, the Lord, made everything!
I alone stretched out the skies.
I spread out the earth by myself.
25 I show that the lying prophets’ signs are false.
I make fools of those who do magic.
I confuse even wise men.
They think they know much, but I make them look foolish.
26 I make the messages of my servants come true.
I make the advice of my messengers come true.
I say to Jerusalem,
‘People will live in you again!’
I say to the towns of Judah,
‘You will be built again!’
I say to Jerusalem’s ruins,
‘I will repair you.’
27 I tell the deep waters, ‘Become dry!
I will make your streams become dry!’
28 I say of Cyrus,[a] ‘He is my shepherd.
He will do all that I want him to do.
He will say to Jerusalem, “You will be built again!”
He will tell the Temple, “Your foundations will be rebuilt.”’”
Paul’s Work in Thessalonica
2 Brothers, you know that our visit to you was not a failure. 2 Before we came to you, we suffered in Philippi. People there insulted us. You know about that. And when we came to you, many people were against us. But our God helped us to be brave and to tell you his Good News. 3 Our message was a message to encourage you. We were not trying to lie. We had no evil plan. We were not trying to trick you. 4 But we speak the Good News because God tested us and trusted us to do it. When we speak, we are not trying to please men. But we are trying to please God, who tests our hearts. 5 You know that we never tried to influence you by saying nice things about you. We were not trying to get your money. We had no selfishness to hide from you. God knows that this is true. 6 We were not looking for praise from you or anyone else. We are apostles of Christ. When we were with you, we could have used our authority to make you do things.
7 But we were very gentle with you.[a] We were like a mother caring for her little children. 8 Because we loved you, we were happy to share God’s Good News with you. But not only that, we were also happy to share even our own lives with you. 9 Brothers, I know that you remember how hard we worked. We worked night and day so that we would not burden any of you while we preached God’s Good News to you.
10 When we were with you, we lived in a holy and right way, without fault. You know that this is true, and God knows that this is true. 11 You know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. 12 We strengthened you, we comforted you, and we told you to live good lives for God. It is God who calls you to his glorious kingdom.
13 Also, we always thank God because of the way you accepted his message. You heard his message from us, and you accepted it as the word of God, not the words of men. And it really is God’s message. And that message works in you who believe. 14 Brothers, you have been like God’s churches in Christ that are in Judea.[b] God’s people suffered bad things from the other Jews there. And you suffered the same bad things from the people of your own country. 15 Those Jews killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets. And they forced us to leave that country. They do not please God. They are against all people. 16 They try to stop us from teaching the non-Jews so that they may be saved. But those Jews are adding more and more sins to the sins they already have. The anger of God has come to them at last.
Paul Wants to Visit Them Again
17 Brothers, we were separated from you for a short time, but our thoughts were still with you. We wanted very much to see you, and tried very hard to do so. 18 I, Paul, tried to come many times, but Satan stopped us. 19 For you are our hope, our joy, and the crown we will be proud of when our Lord Jesus Christ comes. 20 Truly you are our glory and our joy.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.