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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.
Israel Encouraged
41 “(BY)Coastlands, listen to Me (BZ)in silence,
And let the peoples (CA)gain new strength;
(CB)Let them come forward, then let them speak;
(CC)Let us come together for judgment.
2 “(CD)Who has aroused one from the east
Whom He (CE)calls in righteousness to His [ag]feet?
He (CF)delivers up nations before him
And subdues kings.
He makes them like (CG)dust with his sword,
As the wind-driven (CH)chaff with his bow.
3 “He pursues them, passing on in safety,
By a way he had not been [ah]traversing with his feet.
4 “(CI)Who has performed and accomplished it,
Calling forth the generations from the beginning?
‘(CJ)I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. (CK)I am He.’”
5 The (CL)coastlands have seen and are afraid;
The (CM)ends of the earth tremble;
They have drawn near and have come.
6 Each one helps his neighbor
And says to his brother, “Be strong!”
7 So the (CN)craftsman encourages the (CO)smelter,
And he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil,
Saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
And he fastens it with nails,
(CP)So that it will not totter.
8 “But you, Israel, (CQ)My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Descendant of (CR)Abraham My (CS)friend,
9 You whom I have [ai](CT)taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its (CU)remotest parts
And said to you, ‘You are (CV)My servant,
I have (CW)chosen you and not rejected you.
10 ‘Do not (CX)fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely (CY)I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous (CZ)right hand.’
11 “Behold, (DA)all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
(DB)Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.
12 “(DC)You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them,
Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.
13 “For I am the Lord your God, (DD)who upholds your right hand,
Who says to you, ‘(DE)Do not fear, I will help you.’
14 “Do not fear, you (DF)worm Jacob, you men of Israel;
I will help you,” declares the Lord, “[aj]and (DG)your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15 “Behold, I have made you a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges;
(DH)You will thresh the (DI)mountains and pulverize them,
And will make the hills like chaff.
16 “You will (DJ)winnow them, and the wind will carry them away,
And the storm will scatter them;
But you will (DK)rejoice in the Lord,
You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
The Blessings of Redemption
1 Paul, (A)an apostle of (B)Christ Jesus [a](C)by the will of God,
To the [b](D)saints who are [c]at (E)Ephesus and (F)who are faithful in (G)Christ Jesus: 2 (H)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 (I)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in (J)the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as (K)He chose us in Him before (L)the foundation of the world, that we would be (M)holy and blameless before [d]Him. (N)In love 5 [e]He (O)predestined us to (P)adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, (Q)according to the [f]kind intention of His will, 6 (R)to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in (S)the Beloved. 7 (T)In [g]Him we have (U)redemption (V)through His blood, the (W)forgiveness of our trespasses, according to (X)the riches of His grace 8 which He [h]lavished on [i]us. In all wisdom and insight 9 He [j](Y)made known to us the mystery of His will, (Z)according to His [k]kind intention which He (AA)purposed in Him 10 with a view to an administration [l]suitable to (AB)the fullness of the times, that is, (AC)the summing up of all things in Christ, things [m]in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him 11 [n]also we [o](AD)have obtained an inheritance, having been (AE)predestined (AF)according to His purpose who works all things (AG)after the counsel of His will, 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in [p]Christ would be (AH)to the praise of His glory. 13 In [q]Him, you also, after listening to (AI)the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also [r]believed, you were (AJ)sealed in [s]Him with (AK)the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is [t](AL)given as a pledge of (AM)our inheritance, with a view to the (AN)redemption of (AO)God’s own possession, (AP)to the praise of His glory.
15 For this reason I too, (AQ)having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and [u]your love for (AR)all the [v]saints, 16 (AS)do not cease giving thanks for you, (AT)while making mention of you in my prayers; 17 that the (AU)God of our Lord Jesus Christ, (AV)the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of (AW)wisdom and of (AX)revelation in the [w]knowledge of Him. 18 I pray that (AY)the eyes of your heart [x]may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the (AZ)hope of His (BA)calling, what are (BB)the riches of the glory of (BC)His inheritance in (BD)the [y]saints, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. (BE)These are in accordance with the working of the (BF)strength of His might 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He (BG)raised Him from the dead and (BH)seated Him at His right hand in (BI)the heavenly places, 21 far above (BJ)all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every (BK)name that is named, not only in (BL)this age but also in the one to come. 22 And He (BM)put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as (BN)head over all things to the church, 23 which is His (BO)body, the (BP)fullness of Him who (BQ)fills (BR)all in all.
Praise for God’s Mighty Deeds and for His Answer to Prayer.
For the choir director. A Song. A Psalm.
66 (A)Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
2 Sing the (B)glory of His name;
Make His (C)praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How (D)awesome are Your works!
Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will [a](E)give feigned obedience to You.
4 “(F)All the earth will worship You,
And will (G)sing praises to You;
They will sing praises to Your name.” [b]Selah.
5 (H)Come and see the works of God,
Who is (I)awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men.
6 He (J)turned the sea into dry land;
They passed through (K)the river on foot;
There let us (L)rejoice in Him!
7 He (M)rules by His might forever;
His (N)eyes keep watch on the nations;
Let not the rebellious (O)exalt themselves. Selah.
8 Bless our God, O peoples,
And [c](P)sound His praise abroad,
9 Who [d](Q)keeps us in life
And (R)does not allow our feet to [e]slip.
10 For You have (S)tried us, O God;
You have (T)refined us as silver is refined.
11 You (U)brought us into the net;
You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins.
12 You made men (V)ride over our heads;
We went through (W)fire and through water,
Yet You (X)brought us out into a place of abundance.
13 I shall (Y)come into Your house with burnt offerings;
I shall (Z)pay You my vows,
14 Which my lips uttered
And my mouth spoke when I was (AA)in distress.
15 I shall (AB)offer to You burnt offerings of fat beasts,
With the smoke of (AC)rams;
I shall make an offering of [f]bulls with male goats. Selah.
16 (AD)Come and hear, all who [g]fear God,
And I will (AE)tell of what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And [h]He was (AF)extolled with my tongue.
18 If I [i](AG)regard wickedness in my heart,
The (AH)Lord [j]will not [k]hear;
19 But certainly (AI)God has heard;
He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.
20 (AJ)Blessed be God,
Who (AK)has not turned away my prayer
Nor His lovingkindness from me.
25 Let your (A)father and your mother be glad,
And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.