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Babylon to Be Destroyed
14 This is what the Lord your (A)Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says:
“For your sake I have sent to Babylon,
And will bring them all down as fugitives,
[a]Even the (B)Chaldeans, into the (C)ships [b]over which they rejoice.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,
(D)The Creator of Israel, your (E)King.”
16 This is what the Lord says,
He who (F)makes a way through the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
17 Who brings out the (G)chariot and the horse,
The army and the mighty man
(They will lie down together and not rise again;
They have been (H)extinguished, and have gone out like a wick):
18 “(I)Do not call to mind the former things,
Or consider things of the past.
19 Behold, I am going to do something (J)new,
Now it will spring up;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even (K)make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
20 The animals 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 desert,
To give drink to My chosen people.
21 The people whom (N)I formed for Myself
(O)Will declare My praise.
The Shortcomings of Israel
22 “Yet you have not called on Me, Jacob;
But you have become (P)weary of Me, Israel.
23 You have (Q)not brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings,
Nor have you (R)honored Me with your sacrifices.
I have not (S)burdened you with [c]offerings,
Nor wearied you with (T)incense.
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 wrongdoings.
25 “I, I alone, am the one who (W)wipes out your wrongdoings (X)for My own sake,
And I will (Y)not remember your sins.
26 [e]Meet Me in court, (Z)let’s argue our case together;
State your cause, (AA)so that you may be proved right.
27 Your (AB)first [f]forefather sinned,
And your [g](AC)spokesmen have rebelled against Me.
28 So I will profane the [h]officials of the sanctuary,
And I will turn Jacob over to (AD)destruction and Israel to (AE)abuse.
The Blessings of Israel
44 “But now listen, Jacob, My (AF)servant,
And Israel, whom I have chosen:
2 This is what the Lord says, He who made you
And (AG)formed you from the womb, who (AH)will help you:
‘(AI)Do not fear, Jacob My servant,
And [i](AJ)Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3 For (AK)I will pour water on [j]the thirsty land
And streams on the dry ground;
I will (AL)pour out My Spirit on your (AM)offspring,
And My blessing on your descendants;
4 And they will spring up [k]among the grass
Like (AN)poplars by streams of water.’
5 This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
And that one [l]will call on the name of Jacob;
And another will (AO)write [m]on his hand, ‘Belonging to the Lord,’
And will give himself Israel’s name with honor.
6 “This is what the Lord says, He who is the (AP)King of Israel and his (AQ)Redeemer, the Lord of armies:
‘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 proclaim and declare it;
And, let him confront Me
[n]Beginning with My establishing of the ancient [o]nation.
Then let them declare to them the things that are coming
And the events that are going to take place.
8 Do not tremble and do not be afraid;
(AU)Have I not long since announced it 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 Foolishness of Idolatry
9 Those who fashion an idol are all futile, and their treasured things are of no benefit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be (AY)put to shame. 10 Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to (AZ)no benefit? 11 Behold, all his companions will be (BA)put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them be put to shame together.
12 The (BB)craftsman of iron shapes a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, [p]fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and [q]his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. 13 (BC)The craftsman of wood extends a measuring line; he outlines it with a marker. He works it with carving knives and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of (BD)mankind, so that it may sit in a (BE)house. 14 He will cut cedars for himself, and he takes a holm-oak or another oak and lets it grow strong for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a laurel tree, and the rain makes it grow. 15 Then it becomes something for a person to burn, so he takes one of them and gets warm; he also makes a fire and bakes bread. He also (BF)makes a god and worships it; he makes it a carved image and (BG)bows down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat, he roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” 17 Yet the rest of it he (BH)makes into a god, his carved image. He bows down before it and worships; he also (BI)prays to it and says, “Save 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 cannot comprehend. 19 No one [r]remembers, 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 [s]I make the rest of it into an (BM)abomination, [t]I bow down before a block of wood!” 20 He [u](BN)feeds on ashes; a (BO)deceived heart has misled him. And he cannot save [v]himself, nor say, “(BP)Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
God Forgives and Redeems
21 “(BQ)Remember these things, Jacob,
And Israel, for you are (BR)My servant;
I have formed you, you are My servant,
Israel, you will (BS)not be forgotten by Me.
22 I have (BT)wiped out your wrongdoings like a thick cloud
And your sins like a [w]heavy mist.
(BU)Return to Me, for I have (BV)redeemed you.”
23 (BW)Shout for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done it!
Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth;
(BX)Break into a shout of jubilation, you mountains,
Forest, and every tree in it;
For (BY)the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And in Israel He (BZ)shows His glory.
24 This is what the Lord says, He who is your (CA)Redeemer, and the One who (CB)formed you from the womb:
“I, the Lord, am the Maker of all things,
(CC)Stretching out the heavens by Myself
And spreading out the earth [x]alone,
25 (CD)Causing the [y]omens of diviners to fail,
[z]Making fools of fortune-tellers;
(CE)Causing wise men to turn back
And [aa]making their knowledge ridiculous,
26 (CF)Confirming the word of His servant
And [ab]carrying out the purpose of His messengers.
It is I who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’
And of the (CG)cities of Judah, ‘(CH)They shall be built.’
And I will raise her ruins again.
27 I am the One who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Dry up!’
And I will make your rivers (CI)dry up.
28 It is I who says of (CJ)Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd,
And he will carry out all My desire.’
And [ac]he says of Jerusalem, ‘(CK)She will be built,’
And of the temple, ‘[ad]Your foundation will be laid.’”
God Uses Cyrus
45 This is what the Lord says to (CL)Cyrus His anointed,
Whom I have taken by the right (CM)hand,
To (CN)subdue nations before him
And [ae]to (CO)undo the weapons belt on the waist of kings;
To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
2 “I will go before you and (CP)make the [af]rough places smooth;
I will (CQ)shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron (CR)bars.
3 I will give you the [ag](CS)treasures of darkness
And hidden wealth of secret places,
So that you may know that it is I,
The Lord, 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 the Lord, and (CX)there is no one else;
(CY)There is no God except Me.
I will [ah](CZ)arm you, though you have not known Me,
6 So that (DA)people may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
That there is (DB)no one besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no one else,
7 The One (DC)forming light and (DD)creating darkness,
Causing [ai]well-being and (DE)creating disaster;
I am the Lord who does all these things.
God’s Supreme Power
8 “(DF)Drip down, heavens, from above,
And let the clouds pour down righteousness;
Let the (DG)earth open up and salvation bear fruit,
(DH)And righteousness sprout with it.
I, the Lord, have created it.
9 “Woe to the one who (DI)quarrels with [aj]his Maker—
A piece of pottery [ak]among the other earthenware pottery pieces!
Will the (DJ)clay say to the [al]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 fathering?’
Or to a woman, ‘To what are you [am]giving birth?’”
Paul’s Stewardship
3 For this reason I, Paul, (A)the prisoner of (B)Christ Jesus (C)for the sake of you (D)Gentiles— 2 if indeed you have heard of the (E)administration 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 briefly. 4 [a]By referring to this, when you read you can understand (K)my insight [b]into the (L)mystery of Christ, 5 which in other generations was not made known to [c]mankind, as it has now been revealed to His holy (M)apostles and prophets [d]in the Spirit; 6 to be specific, 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 [e]saints, this grace was given, to (W)preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable (X)riches of Christ, 9 and to [f]enlighten all people as to what the plan of the (Y)mystery is which for ages has been (Z)hidden in God, (AA)who created all things; 10 so that the multifaceted (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 [g]eternal purpose which He [h]carried out in (AG)Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and [i](AH)confident (AI)access through faith [j]in Him. 13 Therefore I ask [k]you not (AJ)to become discouraged about my tribulations (AK)in your behalf, [l]since they are your glory.
14 For this reason I (AL)bend my knees before the Father, 15 from whom [m]every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to (AM)the riches of His glory, to be (AN)strengthened with power through His Spirit in (AO)the inner [n]self, 17 so that (AP)Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being (AQ)rooted and (AR)grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with (AS)all the [o]saints what is (AT)the width 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 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 think, (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 [p]forever and ever. Amen.
The God of Sinai and of the Sanctuary.
For the music director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
68 [a]May (A)God arise, [b]may His enemies be scattered,
And [c]may those who hate Him flee from His presence.
2 As (B)smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
As (C)wax melts before a fire,
So the (D)wicked will perish before God.
3 But the (E)righteous will be joyful; they will rejoice before God;
Yes, they will rejoice with gladness.
4 Sing to God, (F)sing praises to His name;
[d](G)Exalt Him who (H)rides through the deserts,
Whose (I)name is [e]the Lord, and be jubilant before Him.
5 A (J)father of the fatherless and a (K)judge [f]for the widows,
Is God in His (L)holy dwelling.
6 God [g](M)makes a home for the lonely;
He (N)leads out the prisoners into prosperity,
Only (O)the rebellious live in parched lands.
7 God, when You (P)went forth before Your people,
When You (Q)marched through the desert, Selah
8 The (R)earth quaked;
The (S)heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;
[h](T)Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 You (U)made plentiful rain fall, God;
You confirmed Your inheritance when it was [i]parched.
10 Your creatures settled in it;
In Your kindness You (V)provided for the poor, God.
11 The Lord gives the [j]command;
The (W)women who proclaim good news are a great army:
12 “(X)Kings of armies flee, they flee,
And she who remains at home will (Y)divide the spoils!”
13 [k]When you lie down (Z)among the sheepfolds,
You are like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And its pinions with [l]glistening gold.
14 When the Almighty (AA)scattered the kings [m]there,
It was snowing in (AB)Zalmon.
15 (AC)The mountain of Bashan is a [n]mountain of God;
The mountain of Bashan is a mountain of many peaks.
16 Why do you look with envy, you mountains of many peaks,
At the mountain God has (AD)desired as His dwelling?
Indeed, (AE)the Lord will dwell there forever.
17 The (AF)chariots of God are [o]myriads, (AG)thousands upon thousands;
[p]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 people,
Even among the rebellious as well, that [q]the Lord God may dwell there.
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