Old/New Testament
Cyrus: God’s Deliverer
45 This is what the Lord says to his anointed, Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped
to subdue nations before him,
as I strip kings of their armor,[a]
to open doors[b] before him
and gates that cannot keep closed:
2 “I myself will go before you,
and he[c] will make the mountains[d] level;
I’ll shatter bronze doors
and cut through iron bars.
3 I’ll give you concealed treasures[e]
and riches hidden in secret places,
so that you’ll know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who calls you by name.
4 For the sake of Jacob my servant,
Israel[f] my chosen,
I’ve called you,
and he has established you with a name,[g]
although you have not acknowledged me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other besides me:
and there are no gods.[h]
I’m strengthening you,
although you have not acknowledged me,
6 so that from the sun’s rising[i] to the west
people may know that there is none besides me.
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.”
God is Sovereign
7 “I form light and create darkness,
I make goodness[j] and create disaster.
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
8 “Shout,[k] you skies above, and you clouds,
and let righteousness stream down.[l]
I am[m] the one who says to the earth, ‘Let salvation blossom,
and let righteousness sprout forth.’[n]
9 “Woe to the one who quarrels with his makers,[o]
a mere potsherd with the potsherds of the[p] earth!
Woe to the one who says[q] to the one forming him,
‘What are you making?’
or ‘Your work has no human[r] hands?’!
10 Woe to the[s] one who says to his father,
‘What are you begetting?’
or to a woman, ‘To what are you giving birth?’!”
11 This is what the Lord[t] says,
the Creator of the signs:
“Question me about my children,[u]
or give me orders about the work of my hands.
12 I myself made the earth
and personally created humankind upon it.
My own hands stretched out the skies;
I marshaled all their starry hosts.”
God will Bless Cyrus
13 “I have aroused him[v] in righteousness,
and I’ll make all his pathways smooth.
It is he who will rebuild my city
and set my exiles free,
but not for a price nor reward, ”
says the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
14 This is what the Lord says:
“The wealth of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia,
those[w] Sabeans, men of great heights.[x]
They’ll come over to you and will be yours;
They’ll trudge behind you—
coming over in chains, they’ll bow down to you.
They’ll plead with you,
‘Surely God is in you;
and there is no other God at all.’”
God as Savior of Israel
15 “Truly you are a God who hides himself,
O God of Israel, the Savior.
16 All of them will be put to shame—indeed, disgraced!
The makers of idols will go off in disgrace together.
17 But Israel will be saved by the Lord
with everlasting salvation;
you won’t be put to shame or disgraced ever again.”
18 For this is what the Lord says,
who created the heavens—
he is God,
and[y] the one who formed the earth and made it,
and[z] he is the one who established it;
he didn’t create it for[aa] chaos,
but formed it to be inhabited—
“I am the Lord and there is no other.
19 I didn’t speak in secret,
from somewhere in a land of darkness;
I didn’t say to Jacob’s descendants,
‘Seek me in chaos.’
I, the Lord, speak truth,
declaring what is right.
20 “Gather together and come;
draw near and enter,[ab]
your fugitives from the nations.
Those who carry around their wooden idols
know nothing,
nor do those who keep praying to a god
that cannot save.
21 Explain and present a case!
Yes, let them take counsel together.
Who announced this long ago,
who declared it from the distant past?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no other God besides me,
a righteous God and Savior;
and[ac] there is none besides me.
22 Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth.
For I am God, and there is no other.
Every Knee will Bow
23 By myself I have sworn—
from my mouth has gone out integrity,
a promise[ad] that won’t be revoked:
‘To me every knee will bow,
and[ae] every tongue will swear.’
24 One will say of me,[af]
‘Only in the Lord are victories and might.’
All who raged against him will come[ag] to him
and will be put to shame.
25 In the Lord all the descendants of Israel
will triumph and make their boast.”
God is Unique and Eternal
46 “Bel[ah] bows down, Nebo[ai] stoops low.
Their idols are on beasts, on[aj] livestock.
Your loads are more burdensome than their reports.[ak]
2 They stoop, they bow down together,
and[al] they are not able to rescue the burden,
but they themselves go off[am] into captivity.
3 “Listen[an] to me, house of Jacob,
and all you remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been upheld from before your birth,
and who have been carried from the womb.
4 Even[ao] until your[ap] old age, I am the one,
and I’ll carry you even until your gray hairs come.[aq]
It is I who have created,[ar] and I who will carry,
and it is I who will bear and save.
5 “To whom will you compare me,
count me equal,[as] or liken me,
so that I[at] may be compared?
6 Those who pour out gold in[au] a purse,
weigh silver in a balance,
hire a goldsmith in order to make[av] a god,
and then[aw] they bow down and even worship it.
7 And[ax] they lift it on their shoulders, carry it,
set it up in its place, and there it stands.
It cannot move[ay] from that spot.
One may even call to[az] it, but it cannot answer
nor save him from his distress.
8 “Remember this, and stand firm;
take it again to heart, you rebels.
9 Remember the former things from long ago,
Because I am God, and there is no one else;
I am God, and there is none like me.
10 I declare from the beginning things to follow,[ba]
and from ancient times things that have not yet been done;
saying, ‘My purpose will stand,
and he[bb] will accomplish everything that I please.’
11 I am calling a bird of prey from the east,
and from a far country a man with his[bc] purpose.
Indeed, I’ve spoken;
I will certainly make it happen;
I’ve planned it;[bd]
and I will certainly carry it out.
3 Therefore, when we could stand it no longer, we decided to remain alone in Athens 2 and send Timothy, our brother who works with us for God in the gospel of the Messiah,[a] to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 3 so that no one would be shaken by these persecutions, for which you are aware that we were destined. 4 In fact, when we were with you, we told you ahead of time that we were going to suffer persecution. And as you know, that is what happened. 5 But when I could stand it no longer, I sent Timothy[b] to find out about your faith. I was afraid that the tempter had tempted you in some way, and that our work had been a waste of time.
Paul Rejoices about the Thessalonians
6 But Timothy has just now returned from visiting[c] you and has told us the good news about your faith and love. He also told us that you always have fond memories of us and want to see us, just as we want to see you. 7 That’s why, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we have been encouraged about you by your faith. 8 For now we can go on living, as long as you continue to stand firm in the Lord. 9 How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we have in God’s presence because of you? 10 We pray very hard night and day that we may see you again face to face, so that we may equip you with[d] whatever is lacking in your faith.
11 Now may our God and Father and our Lord Jesus provide a way for us to visit you. 12 May the Lord greatly increase your love[e] for each other and for all people, just as we love you.[f] 13 Then your hearts will be strong, blameless, and holy in the presence of God, who is our Father, when our Lord Jesus appears with all his saints.[g]
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