Old/New Testament
The Lord Is the Eternal Creator
41 The Lord says,
“Faraway countries, be quiet and listen to me!
Nations be brave.[a]
Come to me and speak.
We will meet together
and decide who is right.
2 Who woke up the man who is coming from the east?
He called Justice to march with him.
He uses his sword to crush nations.
He uses his bow and conquers kings—
they run away like straw blown by the wind.
3 He chases armies and is never hurt.
He goes places he has never been before.
4 Who was able to make all this happen?
Who controlled the lives of everyone from the beginning?
I, the Lord, am the one.
I was here at the beginning,
and I will be here when all things are finished.
5 People along the coast saw this,
and they were frightened.
Nations at the ends of the earth
shook with fear.
They have come near.
They have arrived.
6 “Workers help each other. They encourage each other to be strong. 7 One worker cuts wood to make a statue. He encourages the man who works with gold. Another worker uses a hammer and makes the metal smooth. Then he encourages the man at the anvil.[b] This last worker says, ‘This work is good; the metal will not come off.’ Then he nails the statue to a base so that it will not fall over. And it never moves!”
Only the Lord Can Save Us
8 The Lord says, “You, Israel, are my servant.
Jacob, I chose you.
You are from the family of my friend, Abraham.
9 You were in a faraway country,
but I reached out to you.
I called you from that faraway place.
I said, ‘You are my servant.’
I chose you,
and I have not rejected you.
10 Don’t worry—I am with you.
Don’t be afraid—I am your God.
I will make you strong and help you.
I will support you with my right hand that brings victory.
11 Look, some people are angry with you,
but they will be ashamed and disgraced.
Your enemies will be lost and disappear.
12 You will look for the people who were against you,
but you will not be able to find them.
Those who fought against you
will disappear completely.
13 I am the Lord your God,
who holds your right hand.
And I tell you, ‘Don’t be afraid!
I will help you.’
14 People of Israel, descendants of Jacob, you may be weak and worthless,[c]
but do not be afraid.
I myself will help you.”
This is what the Lord himself says.
“I am the Holy One of Israel,
the one who saves you.
15 Look, I have made you like a new threshing board with many sharp teeth.
You will trample mountains and crush them.
You will make the hills[d] like chaff.
16 You will throw them into the air,
and the wind will blow them away and scatter them.
Then you will be happy in the Lord.
You will be proud of the Holy One of Israel.
17 “The poor and needy look for water,
but they cannot find any.
Their tongues are dry with thirst.
I, the Lord, will answer their prayers.
I, the God of Israel, will not leave them to die.
18 I will make rivers flow on dry hills.
I will make springs of water flow through the valleys.
I will change the desert into a lake filled with water.
There will be springs of water in that dry land.
19 I will make trees grow in the desert.
There will be cedar, acacias, olive trees, cypress, fir trees, and pines.
20 I will do this so that people will see it and know who did it.
They will notice what happened.
Then they will understand that the Lord’s hand made it happen,
that the Holy One of Israel created it all.”
The Lord Challenges the False Gods
21 The Lord, the king of Jacob, says, “Come, present your arguments. Show me your proof. 22 Let your idols come in and tell us what will happen. Idols, tell us what happened in the beginning. We will listen closely so that we can make a decision. Tell us what will happen in the future. 23 What signs did you give in the past to prove that you really are gods? Do something! Do anything, good or bad, so that we can see that you are alive. Then we might fear and respect you.
24 “Look, you false gods are worthless. You cannot do anything. Only some horrible fool[e] would want to worship you.”
The Lord Proves He Is the Only God
25 “I called someone in the north[f] to come.
He is coming from the east where the sun rises,
and he honors my name.
He tramples kings
the way a potter softens clay with his feet.
26 “Who told us about this before it happened
so that we could say he was right?
None of your idols told us anything.
They didn’t say a word,
and they cannot hear anything you say.
27 I, the Lord, was the first one to tell Zion about these things.
I sent a messenger to Jerusalem to say,
‘Look, your people are coming back!’”
28 I looked at those false gods.
Not one of them said anything.
They had no advice to offer.
I asked them questions,
but they didn’t say a word.
29 Those gods are all less than nothing.
They cannot do anything.
They are worthless.
The Lord’s Special Servant
42 “Here is my servant,
the one I support.
He is the one I have chosen,
and I am very pleased with him.
I have filled him with my Spirit,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry out or shout
or try to make himself heard in the streets.
3 He will not break even a crushed reed.[g]
He will not put out even the weakest flame.
He will bring true justice.
4 He will not grow weak or give up
until he has brought justice to the world.
And people in faraway places will hope to receive his teachings.”
The Lord Is Ruler and Maker of the World
5 The Lord, the true God, said these things. (He created the sky and spread it out over the earth. He formed the earth and everything it produced. He breathes life into all the people on earth. He gives a spirit to everyone who walks on the earth.)
6 “I, the Lord, was right to call you.
I will hold your hand and protect you.
You will be the sign of my agreement with the people.
You will be a light for the other nations.
7 You will make the blind able to see.
You will free those who are held as captives.
You will lead those who live in darkness out of their prison.
8 “I am Yahweh.
That is my name.
I will not give my glory to another.
I will not let statues take the praise that should be mine.
9 In the past, I told you what would happen,
and it happened!
Now I am telling you something new,
and I am telling you now, before it happens.”
A Song of Praise to the Lord
10 Sing a new song[h] to the Lord;
praise him everywhere on earth—
all you who sail on the seas,
everything in the sea,
and all you people in faraway places!
11 Deserts and cities, villages of Kedar,
praise the Lord!
People living in Sela, sing for joy!
Sing from the top of your mountain.
12 Give glory to the Lord.
Praise him, all you people in faraway lands!
13 The Lord will go out like a strong soldier.
Like a man going into battle, he will be full of excitement.
He will shout with a loud cry,
and he will defeat his enemies.
God Is Very Patient
14 “For a long time I have said nothing.
I have controlled myself and kept quiet.
But now I will cry out like a woman giving birth.
My breathing is getting faster and louder.
15 I will destroy the hills and mountains.
I will dry up all the plants that grow there.
I will change rivers to dry land
and dry up pools of water.
16 Then I will lead the blind along a path they never knew
to places where they have never been before.
I will change darkness into light for them.
I will make the rough ground smooth.
I will do these things for them;
I will not abandon my people.
17 But some of them have left me.
They say to their gold statues, ‘You are my gods.’
They trust their false gods,
but they will be disappointed and shamed.
Israel Refused to Listen to God
18 “Deaf people, listen to me!
Blind people, look and see!
19 In all the world, no one is more blind than my servant.[i]
No one is more deaf than my messenger.
No one is more blind than my chosen people,
the servant of the Lord.
20 My people see what they should do,
but they do not obey me.
They can hear with their ears,
but they refuse to listen to me.”
21 The Lord wants them to do what is right.
He wants them to honor his wonderful teachings.[j]
22 But look at his people.
Others have defeated them and have stolen from them.
The young men are afraid.
They are locked in prisons.
People have taken advantage of them,
and there is no one to protect them.
Others take their money,
and there is no one to say, “Give it back!”
23 Will any of you pay attention to this warning? Will you ever learn to listen? 24 Who let Jacob be defeated? Who let others take what belonged to Israel? The Lord allowed them to do this. We sinned against him, so he let people take away our wealth. The people did not want to live the way he wanted. They refused to listen to his teaching. 25 So he poured out his anger on them and brought wars against them. It was as if there were fires all around them, but they didn’t know what was happening. It was as if they were burning, but they didn’t try to understand.
1 Greetings from Paul, Silas, and Timothy.
To the church of those in Thessalonica, who are in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace and peace be yours.
The Life and Faith of the Thessalonians
2 We always remember you when we pray, and we thank God for all of you. 3 Every time we pray to God our Father, we thank him for all that you have done because of your faith. And we thank him for the work you have done because of your love. And we thank him that you continue to be strong because of your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
4 Brothers and sisters, God loves you. And we know that he has chosen you to be his people. 5 When we brought the Good News to you, we came with more than words. We brought that Good News with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with the sure knowledge that it was true. Also you know how we lived when we were with you. We lived that way to help you. 6 And you became like us and like the Lord. You suffered much, but still you accepted the teaching with joy. The Holy Spirit gave you that joy.
7 You became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord’s teaching has spread from you throughout Greece and beyond. In fact, your faith in God has become known everywhere, so we never have to tell anyone about it. 9 People everywhere are already telling the story about the good way you accepted us when we were there with you. They tell about how you stopped worshiping idols and changed to serve the living and true God. 10 And you began waiting for God’s Son to come from heaven—the Son God raised from death. He is Jesus, who saves us from God’s angry judgment that is coming.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International