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Rivers in the Wasteland
14 Thus says Yahweh your (A)Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
“For your sake I have sent to Babylon,
And will bring down those who fled—all of them,
[a]Even the (B)Chaldeans—into the (C)ships [b]in which they shouted for joy.
15 I am Yahweh, your Holy One,
(D)The Creator of Israel, your (E)King.”
16 Thus says Yahweh,
Who (F)makes a way through the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
17 Who brings forth the (G)chariot and the horse,
The military force and the mighty man;
They will lie down together and not rise again;
They have been (H)extinguished and quenched like a wick:
18 “(I)Do not remember the former things,
Nor carefully consider things of the past.
19 Behold, I will do something (J)new;
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not know it?
I will even (K)make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the wasteland.
20 The beasts of the field will glorify Me,
The (L)jackals and the ostriches,
Because I have (M)given waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the wasteland,
To give drink to My chosen people.
21 The people whom (N)I formed for Myself
(O)Will recount My praise.
22 “Yet you have not called on Me, O Jacob;
But you have become (P)weary of Me, O Israel.
23 You have (Q)not brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings,
Nor have you (R)glorified Me with your sacrifices.
I have not (S)burdened you with [c]offerings,
Nor wearied you with (T)frankincense.
24 You have not bought Me [d](U)sweet cane with money,
Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices;
Rather you have burdened Me with your sins;
You have (V)wearied Me with your iniquities.
25 “I, even I, am the one who (W)wipes out your transgressions (X)for My own sake,
And I will (Y)not remember your sins.
26 [e]Bring Me to remembrance, (Z)let us enter into judgment together;
Recount your cause, (AA)that you may be proved right.
27 Your (AB)first father sinned,
And your [f](AC)spokesmen have [g]transgressed against Me.
28 So I will [h]profane the [i]princes of the sanctuary,
And I will give Jacob to be (AD)devoted to destruction and Israel to (AE)revilement.
No God Besides Yahweh
44 “But now hear, O Jacob, My (AF)servant,
And Israel, whom I have chosen:
2 Thus says Yahweh who made you
And (AG)formed you from the womb, who (AH)will help you,
‘(AI)Do not fear, O Jacob My servant,
And you (AJ)Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
3 For (AK)I will pour out water on [j]the thirsty ground
And streams on the dry land;
I will (AL)pour out My Spirit on your (AM)seed
And My blessing on your offspring;
4 And they will spring up [k]among the grass
Like (AN)poplars by streams of water.’
5 This one will say, ‘I am Yahweh’s’;
And this one [l]will call on the name of Jacob;
And this one will (AO)write [m]on his hand, ‘Belonging to Yahweh,’
And will name Israel’s name with honor.
6 “Thus says Yahweh, the (AP)King of Israel and his (AQ)Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts:
‘I am the (AR)first, and I am the last,
And there is no God (AS)besides Me.
7 Who is like Me? (AT)Let him call out and declare it;
And let him tell it to Me in order,
[n]From the time that I established the ancient [o]people.
And let them declare to them the things that are to come
And the events that are going to take place.
8 Do not be in dread and do not be afraid;
(AU)Have I not long since caused it to be heard to you and declared it?
And (AV)you are My witnesses.
Is there any God (AW)besides Me,
Or is there any other (AX)Rock?
I know of none.’”
The Futility of Idolatry
9 Those who form [p]a graven image are all of them [q]futile, and their desirable things are of no profit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be (AY)put to shame. 10 Who has formed a god or cast a graven image to (AZ)no profit? 11 Behold, all his companions will be (BA)put to shame. The craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them be in dread, let them together be put to shame.
12 The (BB)man crafts iron into a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, [r]forming it with hammers and working it with his powerful arm. He also gets hungry and has no power; he drinks no water and becomes weary. 13 (BC)Another crafts wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with [s]a stylus. He makes it with planes and outlines it with a compass and makes it like the form of a man, like the glory of (BD)man, so that it may sit in a (BE)house. 14 In order to cut cedars for himself, he takes a [t]cypress or an oak and [u]raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. 15 Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also kindles a fire to bake bread. He also (BF)works to produce a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and (BG)falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm; I have seen the fire.” 17 But the rest of it he (BH)makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also (BI)prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god.”
18 They do not (BJ)know, nor do they understand, for He has (BK)smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they will have no insight. 19 No one causes this to return to his heart, nor is there (BL)knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then [v]I make the rest of it into an (BM)abomination; [w]I fall down before a block of wood!” 20 He [x](BN)feeds on ashes; a (BO)deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver his soul, and he cannot say, “(BP)Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
Yahweh Forgives and Redeems
21 “(BQ)Remember these things, O Jacob,
And Israel, for you are (BR)My servant;
I have formed you, you are My servant;
O Israel, you will (BS)not be forgotten by Me.
22 I have (BT)wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud
And your sins like a cloud.
(BU)Return to Me, for I have (BV)redeemed you.”
23 (BW)Shout for joy, O heavens, for Yahweh has done it!
Make a loud shout, you lower parts of the earth;
(BX)Break forth into a shout of joy, you mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it;
For (BY)Yahweh has redeemed Jacob
And in Israel He (BZ)shows forth His beautiful glory.
24 Thus says Yahweh, your (CA)Redeemer, and the one who (CB)formed you from the womb,
“I, Yahweh, am the maker of all things,
(CC)Stretching out the heavens by Myself
And spreading out the earth [y]all alone,
25 (CD)Causing the [z]omens of boasters to be annulled,
And [aa]making fools out of diviners,
(CE)Causing wise men to turn back,
And [ab]making foolishness out of their knowledge,
26 (CF)Confirming the word of His servant—
And the counsel of His messengers He will complete—
And being the One who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’
And of the (CG)cities of Judah, ‘(CH)They shall be built.’
And I will raise up her waste places again.
27 It is I who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Be dried up!’
And I will make your rivers (CI)dry.
28 It is I who says of (CJ)Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd!
And all My good pleasure he will complete.’
And saying of Jerusalem, ‘(CK)She will be built,’
And of the temple, ‘[ac]Your foundation will be laid.’”
Cyrus, Yahweh’s Anointed
45 Thus says Yahweh to (CL)Cyrus His anointed,
Whom I have taken hold of by his right (CM)hand,
To (CN)subdue nations before him
And [ad]to (CO)loose the loins of kings,
To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
2 “I will go before you and (CP)make the [ae]rough places smooth;
I will (CQ)shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron (CR)bars.
3 I will give you the [af](CS)treasures of darkness
And hidden wealth of secret places,
So that you may know that it is I,
Yahweh, the God of Israel, who (CT)calls you by your name.
4 For the sake of (CU)Jacob My servant,
And Israel My chosen one,
I have also (CV)called you by your name;
I have given you a title of honor
Though you have (CW)not known Me.
5 I am Yahweh, and (CX)there is no other;
(CY)Besides Me there is no God.
I will [ag](CZ)gird you, though you have not known Me,
6 That (DA)they may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
That there is (DB)no one besides Me.
I am Yahweh, and there is no other,
7 The One (DC)forming light and (DD)creating darkness,
Producing peace and (DE)creating calamity;
I am Yahweh who does all these.
Yahweh the Maker
8 “(DF)Drip down, O heavens, from above,
And let the skies pour down righteousness;
Let the (DG)earth open up and salvation bear fruit,
(DH)And righteousness [ah]spring up with it.
I, Yahweh, have created it.
9 “Woe to the one who (DI)contends with his [ai]Maker—
An earthenware vessel [aj]among the vessels of earth!
Will the (DJ)clay say to the [ak]potter, ‘What are you doing?’
Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?
10 Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
Or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor pains?’”
The Mystery of Christ Revealed
3 For this reason I, Paul, (A)the prisoner of (B)Christ Jesus (C)on behalf of you (D)Gentiles— 2 if indeed you heard of the (E)stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; 3 (F)that (G)by revelation there was (H)made known to me (I)the mystery, (J)as I wrote before in brief. 4 About which, when you read you can understand (K)my insight [a]into the (L)mystery of Christ, 5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it was now revealed to His holy (M)apostles and prophets [b]in the Spirit: 6 that the Gentiles are (N)fellow heirs and (O)fellow members of the body, and (P)fellow partakers of the promise in (Q)Christ Jesus through the gospel, 7 (R)of which I was made a (S)minister, according to the gift of (T)God’s grace which was given to me (U)according to the working of His power. 8 To me, (V)the very least of all [c]saints, this grace was given, to (W)proclaim to the Gentiles the good news of the unfathomable (X)riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for all what is the administration of the (Y)mystery which for ages has been (Z)hidden in God (AA)who created all things; 10 so that the manifold (AB)wisdom of God might now be (AC)made known through the church to the (AD)rulers and the authorities in (AE)the heavenly places. 11 This was in (AF)accordance with the [d]eternal purpose which He [e]carried out in (AG)Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and [f](AH)confident (AI)access through faith [g]in Him. 13 Therefore I ask [h]you not (AJ)to lose heart at my afflictions (AK)on your behalf, which are your glory.
Prayer for Spiritual Power
14 For this reason I (AL)bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom [i]every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that He would give you, according to (AM)the riches of His glory, to be (AN)strengthened with power through His Spirit in (AO)the inner man, 17 so that (AP)Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being firmly (AQ)rooted and (AR)grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with (AS)all the [j]saints what is (AT)the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know (AU)the love of Christ which (AV)surpasses knowledge, that you may be (AW)filled up to all the (AX)fullness of God.
20 (AY)Now to Him who is (AZ)able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or understand, (BA)according to the power that works within us, 21 (BB)to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations [k]forever and ever. Amen.
Let God’s Enemies Be Scattered
For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
68 [a]Let (A)God arise, [b]let His enemies be scattered,
And [c]let those who hate Him flee before Him.
2 As (B)smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
As (C)wax melts before the fire,
So let the (D)wicked perish before God.
3 But let the (E)righteous be glad; let them exult before God;
And let them rejoice with gladness.
4 Sing to God, (F)sing praises to His name;
[d](G)Lift up a song for Him who (H)rides through the deserts,
Whose (I)name is [e]Yah, and exult before Him.
5 A (J)father of the fatherless and a (K)judge [f]for the widows,
Is God in His (L)holy habitation.
6 God (M)causes the lonely to inhabit a home;
He (N)leads out the prisoners into prosperity,
Only (O)the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
7 O God, when You (P)went forth before Your people,
When You (Q)marched through the wasteland, [g]Selah.
8 The (R)earth quaked;
The (S)heavens also dripped rain at the presence of God;
[h](T)Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 You (U)caused abundant rain to sprinkle down, O God;
You established Your inheritance when it was [i]parched.
10 Your creatures inhabited it;
You (V)established it in Your goodness for the poor, O God.
11 The Lord gives the word;
The (W)women who proclaim the good news are a great host:
12 “(X)Kings of armies retreat, they retreat,
And she who remains at home will (Y)divide the spoil!”
13 If you men lie down (Z)among the [j]sheepfolds,
You all would be like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And its pinions with glistening gold.
14 When the Almighty (AA)dispersed the kings [k]there,
It was snowing in (AB)Zalmon.
15 A [l](AC)mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.
16 Why do you look with envy, O mountains with many peaks,
At the mountain which God has (AD)prized for His habitation?
Surely (AE)Yahweh will dwell there forever.
17 The (AF)chariots of God are [m]myriads, (AG)thousands upon thousands;
[n]The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness.
18 You have (AH)ascended on high, You have (AI)led captive Your captives;
You have received gifts among men,
Even among the rebellious also, that Yah—God—may dwell there.
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