Old/New Testament
Love for Israel
43 But now, thus says Adonai—
the One who created you, O Jacob,
the One who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you,
I have called you by name, you are Mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you,
or through the rivers,
they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned,
nor will the flame burn you.
3 For I am Adonai your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
4 Since you are precious in My eyes, honored,
because I love you,
I will give a man in exchange for you,
and other peoples for your life.
5 Do not fear, for I am with you.
I will bring your offspring from the east
and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring My sons from far
and My daughters from the ends of the earth.
7 Everyone who is called by My Name,
whom I created for My glory.
I formed him—yes, I made him!”
You Are My Witnesses
8 Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes,
who are deaf, yet have ears.
9 All the nations are gathered together,
and the peoples are assembled.
Who among them can declare this,
and proclaim to us former things?
Let them present their witnesses
so they may be justified,
or let them hear and say, “It’s true.”
10 “You are My witnesses”
—it is a declaration of Adonai—
“and My Servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe Me,
and understand that I am He.
Before Me no God was formed,
and there will none after Me.
11 “I, I am Adonai—
and there is no savior beside Me.[a]
12 I alone declared, saved and proclaimed,
and not some foreign god among you.
So you are My witnesses”
—it is a declaration of Adonai—
“and I am God.
13 From eternity, I am He.
None can deliver from My hand.
I act, and who can reverse it?”
14 Thus says Adonai,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“For your sake I will send to Babylon
and bring down the fleeing Chaldeans, all of them,
in the ships in which they exult.
15 I am Adonai, your Holy One,
the Creator of Israel, your King.”
16 Thus says Adonai,
who makes a way in the sea
and a path in the mighty waters.
17 who drew out chariots and horses,
the army and the warrior
(they will lie down together, and not rise again;
they are extinguished—quenched like a wick):
18 “Do not remember former things,
nor consider things of the past.
19 Here I am, doing a new thing;
Now it is springing up—
do you not know about it?
I will surely make a way in the desert,
rivers in the wasteland.
20 The field animals honor Me
—the jackals and the ostriches—
because I give waters in the desert,
rivers in the wilderness,
to give drink to My chosen people,
21 the people I formed for Myself,
so they might declare My praise.
22 Yet you have not called on Me, Jacob,
for you have been weary of Me, Israel.
23 You have not brought Me sheep for your burnt offerings;
nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices.
I did not compel you to serve offerings
nor wearied you with incense.
24 You have not spent money buying Me aromatic cane,
nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices.
Rather you burdened Me with your sins,
wearied Me with your iniquities.
25 I, I am the One who blots out
your transgressions for My own sake,
and will not remember your sins.
26 Remind me, when we argue our case together—
state your case, so you may be proved right.
27 Your first father sinned,
and your mediators rebelled against Me.
28 So I profaned the Sanctuary officials,
and gave Jacob over to destruction,
and Israel to scorn.
No Profit in Casting Idols
44 “But now listen, Jacob My servant,
Israel, whom I have chosen.”
2 Thus says Adonai who made you,
and formed you from the womb,
who will help you:
“Do not fear, Jacob My servant,
Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land
and streams on the dry ground.
I will pour My Spirit on your offspring,
and My blessing on your descendants.
4 They will spring up among the grass
like willows by flowing streams.
5 This one will say, ‘I am Adonai’s.’
That one will be called by the name Jacob.
Another will write on his hand, ‘Adonai’s’
and will take the name Israel.”
First and Last
6 Thus says Adonai,
Israel’s King and his Redeemer, Adonai-Tzva’ot:
“I am the first, and the last,
and there is no God beside Me.[b]
7 Who is like Me?
Let him proclaim and announce it!
Let him arrange it in order for Me—
as I established the ancient nation.
Let them declare to them
what is coming and future events.
8 Do not dread or be afraid.
Have I not told you and declared it long ago?
So you are My witnesses!
Is there any God beside Me?
Is there any other Rock?
I know of none.
Folly of Idols
9 Those who fashion idols are empty.
Their precious things do not profit.
Their witnesses do not see or know,
so they will be put to shame.
10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol
for no profit?
11 Behold, all his friends will be ashamed,
for the craftsmen are only human.
Let them all assemble.
Let them stand up.
Let them dread.
Let them be put to shame together.
12 The blacksmith takes a tool
and works with it over the coals,
fashioning it with hammers
and working it with his strong arm.
Yet when he is hungry, his strength fails.
When he drinks no water, he gets tired.
13 A carpenter stretches out a line;
he marks it with a pencil;
he shapes it with planes;
he marks it with a compass;
he shapes it like the figure of a man
—like the beauty of a man—
so that it may sit in a shrine.
14 He chops down cedars for himself,
or he takes a cypress or an oak.
He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest.
He plants a pine and rain nourishes it.
15 Then it is something for a man to burn.
so he takes one of them and warms himself.
He also makes a fire to bake bread.
He also makes a god and worships it.
He makes an idol and bows before it.
16 He burns half of it in the fire.
With this half, he eats meat.
He roasts a roast and is satisfied.
He also warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm, I have seen the fire.”
17 Yet with the rest he makes a god, his carved image.
He falls down before it and worships.
He even prays to it and says,
“Deliver me, for you are my god!”
18 They do not know or understand!
For He smeared over their eyes, so they cannot see,
and their hearts, so they cannot understand.
19 No one reflects in his heart,
with no knowledge or discernment
to say, “I burned half of it in the fire
and I also baked bread on its coals.
I roasted meat and ate—
and then I make the rest of it an abomination?
Should I bow before a block of wood?”
20 He is feeding on ashes.
A deceived heart has led him astray,
so he cannot deliver his soul, nor say,
“Isn’t what is in my right hand a fraud?”
21 Remember these things, Jacob,
and Israel, for you are My servant.
I formed you, you are My servant.
Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me!
22 I have blotted out your transgressions
like a thick cloud and your sins like a mist.
Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
23 Sing, O heavens, for Adonai has done it!
Shout, depths of the earth!
Break forth into singing, mountains,
forest, and every tree in it!
For Adonai has redeemed Jacob
and will be glorified through Israel.
24 Thus says Adonai,
your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb:
“I am Adonai, Maker of all things,
stretching out the heavens alone,
spreading the earth abroad by Myself,
25 causing the omens of boasters to fail,
making fools of diviners,
turning wise men backward
and making their knowledge foolish,
26 while confirming the word of His servant,
fulfilling the counsel of His messengers,
saying of Jerusalem, “She will be lived in”
and of the cities of Judah, “They will be built,
and I will raise up their ruins,”
27 while saying to the deep, “Be dry,
I will dry up your rivers,”
28 while saying of Cyrus, “He is My shepherd,
and he shall fulfill all My purpose”
while saying to Jerusalem, “You will be built”
and to the Temple, “Your foundation will be laid.”
Cherishing Spiritual Children
2 For you yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not in vain. 2 On the contrary, after we had first suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know,[a] we had boldness in our God to tell you the Good News of God—even in the midst of much opposition. 3 For our urging is not out of deceit or impure motives or trickery. 4 But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News, so we declare it—not pleasing men but rather God, who examines our hearts.[b]
5 For as you know and God is witness, we never came with a word of flattery or a motive of greed— 6 or seeking glory from people, whether from you or from others, 7 even though we could have thrown our weight around as emissaries of Messiah. Rather, we proved to be infants[c] among you. Like a nursing mother[d] cherishes her children, 8 in this way we were yearning for you. We were delighted to share with you not only the Good News of God but also our very souls, because you had become dear to us.
9 For you recall, brothers and sisters, our labor and hardship—working night and day, so as not to burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the Good News of God. 10 You are witnesses, along with God, of how devoutly and righteously and blamelessly we behaved toward you who believe. 11 For you know how, as a father with his own children, 12 we exhorted and encouraged and urged each one of you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
13 For this reason, we also thank God constantly that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it truly is—the word of God, which does its work in you who believe. 14 For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s communities in Messiah Yeshua that are in Judea—for you suffered the same things at the hands of your own countrymen as they did from the Judean leaders, 15 who killed both the Lord Yeshua and the prophets and drove us out.[e] They are not pleasing to God and hostile to all people, 16 hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they might be saved. As a result, they constantly fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last.
Longing to Visit and Reassure
17 But brothers and sisters, after we were orphaned by separation from you for a short time (in person, not in heart), we were all the more eager in our great longing to see you face to face. 18 For we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, more than once—but satan thwarted us. 19 For who is our hope or joy or crown of boasting[f] before our Lord Yeshua at His coming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy!
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.