Old/New Testament

Cyrus to Lead

45 This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, whom He has chosen, whose right hand He has held, “I send him to put nations under his power, and to take away the power of kings. And I will open doors in front of him so that gates will not be shut. ² I will go before you and make the hard places smooth. I will break the brass doors to pieces, and cut through their iron gates. ³ I will give you riches hidden in the darkness and things of great worth that are hidden in secret places. Then you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by name. ⁴ For the good of Jacob My servant and Israel My chosen one, I called you by your name. I gave you a name of honor, when you had not known Me. ⁵ I am the Lord, and there is no other. There is no God besides Me. I will give you strength, even though you have not known Me. ⁶ Then men may know from sunrise to sunset that there is no God besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. ⁷ I make light and I make darkness. I bring good and I make trouble. I am the Lord Who does all these things.

⁸ “Send down, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds pour down what is right and good. Let the earth open up and bring the fruit of saving power. And let what is right and good grow with it. I the Lord have made it.

⁹ “It is bad for the one who works against His Maker. He is just a clay pot among the other pots of earth. Will the clay say to the pot-maker, ‘What are you doing?’ or, your work say, ‘He has no hands’? ¹⁰ It is bad for him who says to his father, ‘To what are you giving life?’ or to a woman, ‘To what are you giving birth?’”

¹¹ The Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, says, “Will you ask Me about the things to come for My children? Will you tell Me about the work of My hands? ¹² I made the earth, and made man upon it. I spread out the heavens with My hands, and put all the stars in their places. ¹³ I have sent Cyrus to do what is right and good. And I will make all his ways smooth. He will build My city and without any money will set My people free who were taken away,” says the Lord of All.

¹⁴ The Lord says, “The riches of Egypt and the good things of Cush and the tall Sabeans will come over to you and be yours. They will walk behind you in chains and bow down to you. They will beg you, saying, ‘For sure God is with you, and there is no other God. There is none other.’” ¹⁵ It is true that You are a God Who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the One Who saves! ¹⁶ All of them will be put to shame and troubled. Those who make false gods will go away together in shame. ¹⁷ Israel has been saved forever by the Lord. You will never be put to shame for all time.

¹⁸ This is what the Lord Who made the heavens, the God Who planned and made the earth, and everything in it and did not make it a waste place, but made it a place for people to live in, says, “I am the Lord, and there is no other. ¹⁹ I have not spoken in secret in some dark land. I did not say to the children of Jacob, ‘Look for Me for nothing.’ I the Lord speak the truth. I say what is right.

²⁰ “Gather together and come. Come near together, you who are left of the nations. They have no learning, who carry around their false god made of wood and pray to a god who cannot save. ²¹ Make your need known. Yes, let them talk it over together. Who said this would happen from long ago? Who has been saying it for a long time? Is it not I, the Lord? There is no other God besides Me, a God Who is right and good, a God Who saves. There is none except Me. ²² Look to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is no other. ²³ By Myself I have sworn. The Word has gone out from My mouth in truth, and will not turn back: ‘Every knee will bow down before Me. And every tongue will say that I am God.’ ²⁴ They will say of Me, ‘Strength and what is right and good are only found in the Lord.’ Men will come to Him, and all who were angry at Him will be put to shame. ²⁵ In the Lord all the children of Israel will be made right, and will give praise.”

False Gods and the Living God

46 The false gods, Bel and Nebo, bow down. Their objects of worship were put on animals and cattle and the wagons had heavy loads making it hard for the tired animals. ² They get down, they bow down together. They could not save the heavy load, but are themselves carried away to another land.

³ “Listen to Me, O family of Jacob, and all who are left of the family of Israel. You have been helped by Me before you were born and carried since you were born. ⁴ Even when you are old I will be the same. And even when your hair turns white, I will help you. I will take care of what I have made. I will carry you, and will save you.

⁵ “To whom will you compare Me? With whom will you make Me the same and compare Me, that we should be alike? ⁶ Those who take much gold from the money bag and weigh silver hire one who works with gold, and he makes it into a god. Then they bow down and worship it. ⁷ They lift it upon their shoulders and carry it. They set it in its place and it stands there. It does not move from its place. When one cries to it, it cannot answer. It cannot take him away from his trouble.

⁸ “Remember this and be men. Bring it to mind again, you sinners. ⁹ Remember the things of long ago. For I am God, and there is no other. I am God, and there is no one like Me. ¹⁰ I tell from the beginning what will happen in the end. And from times long ago I tell of things which have not been done, saying, ‘My Word will stand. And I will do all that pleases Me.’ ¹¹ I call a strong and hungry bird from the east, the man from a far country who will do what I have planned. I have spoken, and I will make it happen. I have planned it, and I will do it.

¹² “Listen to Me, you strong-willed people who are far from being right and good. ¹³ I bring near what is right and good. It is not far away. And My saving power is ready now. I will save Zion, and will bring My great power to Israel.

3 When we could wait no longer, we decided it was best to stay in the city of Athens alone. ² And we sent Timothy to you. He works with us for God, teaching the Good News of Christ. We sent him to give strength and comfort to your faith. ³ We do not want anyone to give up because of troubles. You know that we can expect troubles. ⁴ Even when we were with you, we told you that much trouble would come to us. It has come as you can see. ⁵ For this reason, I could wait no longer. I sent Timothy to find out about your faith. I was afraid the devil had tempted you. Then our work with you would be wasted.

⁶ But Timothy has come to us from you. He brought good news about your faith and love. It is good to know that you think well of us and that you would like to see us. We would like to see you also. ⁷ Christian brothers, word about your faith has made us happy even while we are suffering and are in much trouble. ⁸ It is life to us to know that your faith in the Lord is strong. ⁹ How can we give God enough thanks for you for all the joy you give us? ¹⁰ We keep on praying night and day that we may see you again. We want to help your faith to be complete. ¹¹ May our God and Father Himself and the Lord Jesus Christ take us on our way to you. ¹² May the Lord make you grow in love for each other and for everyone. We have this kind of love for you. ¹³ May our God and Father make your hearts strong and without blame. May your hearts be without sin in God’s sight when our Lord Jesus comes again with all those who belong to Him.