Old/New Testament
Hezekiah Shows His Treasures
39 (A)At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 Hezekiah [a]was (B)pleased, and showed them all his treasure house, the (C)silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and his whole armory and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. 3 Then Isaiah the (D)prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where have they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come to me from a far (E)country, from Babylon.” 4 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah [b]answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown them.”
5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the (F)word of the Lord of hosts, 6 ‘Behold, the days are coming when (G)all that is in your house and all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day will be carried to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 7 ‘And some of your sons who will issue from you, whom you will beget, (H)will be taken away, and (I)they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 8 (J)Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good.” For he [c]thought, “For there will be peace and truth (K)in my days.”
The Greatness of God
40 “(L)Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.
2 “(M)Speak [d]kindly to Jerusalem;
And call out to her, that her [e](N)warfare has ended,
That her [f](O)iniquity has been removed,
That she has received of the Lord’s hand
(P)Double for all her sins.”
3 (Q)A voice [g]is calling,
“(R)Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
4 “Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
5 [h]Then the (S)glory of the Lord will be revealed,
And (T)all flesh will see it together;
For the (U)mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6 A voice says, “Call out.”
Then [i]he answered, “What shall I call out?”
(V)All flesh is grass, and all its [j]loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The (W)grass withers, the flower fades,
[k]When the (X)breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But (Y)the word of our God stands forever.
9 Get yourself up on a (Z)high mountain,
O Zion, bearer of (AA)good news,
Lift up your voice mightily,
O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;
Lift it up, do not fear.
Say to the (AB)cities of Judah,
“(AC)Here is your God!”
10 Behold, the Lord [l]God will come (AD)with might,
With His (AE)arm ruling for Him.
Behold, His (AF)reward is with Him
And His recompense before Him.
11 Like a shepherd He will (AG)tend His flock,
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in His bosom;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.
12 Who has (AH)measured the [m]waters in the hollow of His hand,
And marked off the heavens by the [n]span,
And [o]calculated the dust of the earth by the measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales?
13 (AI)Who has [p]directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His (AJ)counselor has informed Him?
14 (AK)With whom did He consult and who (AL)gave Him understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge
And informed Him of the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the (AM)nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are regarded as a speck of (AN)dust on the scales;
Behold, He lifts up the [q]islands like fine dust.
16 Even Lebanon is not enough to burn,
Nor its (AO)beasts enough for a burnt offering.
17 (AP)All the nations are as nothing before Him,
They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and [r]meaningless.
18 (AQ)To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare with Him?
19 As for the [s](AR)idol, a craftsman casts it,
A goldsmith (AS)plates it with gold,
And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.
20 He who is too impoverished for such an offering
Selects a (AT)tree that does not rot;
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To [t]prepare [u]an idol that (AU)will not totter.
21 (AV)Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood (AW)from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is He who [v]sits above the [w](AX)circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like (AY)grasshoppers,
Who (AZ)stretches out the heavens like a (BA)curtain
And spreads them out like a (BB)tent to dwell in.
23 He it is who reduces (BC)rulers to nothing,
Who (BD)makes the judges of the earth [x]meaningless.
24 [y]Scarcely have they been planted,
[z]Scarcely have they been sown,
[aa]Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And the (BE)storm carries them away like stubble.
25 “(BF)To whom then will you liken Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
26 (BG)Lift up your eyes on high
And see (BH)who has created these stars,
The (BI)One who leads forth their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the (BJ)greatness of His might and the [ab]strength of His power,
(BK)Not one of them is missing.
27 (BL)Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,
“My way is (BM)hidden from the Lord,
And the (BN)justice due me [ac]escapes the notice of (BO)my God”?
28 (BP)Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The (BQ)Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is (BR)inscrutable.
29 He gives strength to the (BS)weary,
And to him who lacks might He (BT)increases power.
30 Though (BU)youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous (BV)young men stumble badly,
31 Yet those who [ad]wait for the Lord
Will (BW)gain new strength;
They will [ae](BX)mount up with [af]wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
Fellow Workers
4 Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, (A)knowing that you too have a Master in heaven.
2 (B)Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; 3 praying at the same time (C)for us as well, that God will open up to us a (D)door for (E)the word, so that we may speak forth (F)the mystery of Christ, for which I have also (G)been imprisoned; 4 that I may make it clear (H)in the way I ought to speak.
5 [a](I)Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward (J)outsiders, [b](K)making the most of the opportunity. 6 (L)Let your speech always be [c]with grace, as though seasoned with (M)salt, so that you will know how you should (N)respond to each person.
7 (O)As to all my affairs, (P)Tychicus, our (Q)beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord, will bring you information. 8 (R)For I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about our circumstances and that he may (S)encourage your hearts; 9 [d]and with him (T)Onesimus, our faithful and (U)beloved brother, (V)who is one of your number. They will inform you about the whole situation here.
10 (W)Aristarchus, my (X)fellow prisoner, sends you his greetings; and also (Y)Barnabas’s cousin Mark (about whom you received [e]instructions; (Z)if he comes to you, welcome him); 11 and also Jesus who is called Justus; these are the only (AA)fellow workers for the kingdom of God (AB)who are from the circumcision, and they have proved to be an encouragement to me. 12 (AC)Epaphras, (AD)who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always (AE)laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may [f]stand [g](AF)perfect and [h]fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I testify for him that he has [i]a deep concern for you and for those who are in (AG)Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14 (AH)Luke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings, and also (AI)Demas. 15 Greet the brethren who are in (AJ)Laodicea and also [j]Nympha and (AK)the church that is in [k]her house. 16 (AL)When [l]this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part (AM)read [m]my letter that is coming from (AN)Laodicea. 17 Say to (AO)Archippus, “Take heed to the (AP)ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may [n]fulfill it.”
18 [o]I, Paul, (AQ)write this greeting with my own hand. (AR)Remember my [p](AS)imprisonment. (AT)Grace be with you.
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