ISAIAH 44

« Isaiah 43 | Isaiah 44 | Isaiah 45 »

Israel the Lord’s Chosen44:1

“But now hear, O Jacob my servant,

Israel whom I have chosen! 2

Thus says the Lord who made you,

who formed you from the womb and will help you:

Fear not, O Jacob my servant,

Jeshurun whom I have chosen. 3

For I will pour water on the thirsty land,

and streams on the dry ground;

I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,

and my blessing on your descendants. 4

They shall spring up among the grass

like willows by flowing streams. 5

This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s,’

another will call on the name of Jacob,

and another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’

and name himself by the name of Israel.” Besides Me There Is No God6

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel

and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:

“I am the first and I am the last;

besides me there is no god. 7

Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.

Let him declare and set it before me,

since I appointed an ancient people.

Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen. 8

Fear not, nor be afraid;

have I not told you from of old and declared it?

And you are my witnesses!

Is there a God besides me?

There is no Rock; I know not any.” The Folly of Idolatry9 All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. 10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? 11 Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.
    12 The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. 13 The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. 14 He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”
    18 They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19 No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” The Lord Redeems Israel21

Remember these things, O Jacob,

and Israel, for you are my servant;

I formed you; you are my servant;

O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. 22

I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud

and your sins like mist;

return to me, for I have redeemed you.
23

Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it;

shout, O depths of the earth;

break forth into singing, O mountains,

O forest, and every tree in it!

For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,

and will be glorified in Israel.
24

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,

who formed you from the womb:

“I am the Lord, who made all things,

who alone stretched out the heavens,

who spread out the earth by myself, 25

who frustrates the signs of liars

and makes fools of diviners,

who turns wise men back

and makes their knowledge foolish, 26

who confirms the word of his servant

and fulfills the counsel of his messengers,

who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’

and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built,

and I will raise up their ruins’; 27

who says to the deep, ‘Be dry;

I will dry up your rivers’; 28

who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,

and he shall fulfill all my purpose’;

saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’

and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”

ISAIAH 45

« Isaiah 44 | Isaiah 45 | Isaiah 46 »

Cyrus, God’s Instrument45:1

Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,

whose right hand I have grasped,

to subdue nations before him

and to loose the belts of kings,

to open doors before him

that gates may not be closed: 2

“I will go before you

and level the exalted places,

I will break in pieces the doors of bronze

and cut through the bars of iron, 3

I will give you the treasures of darkness

and the hoards in secret places,

that you may know that it is I, the Lord,

the God of Israel, who call you by your name. 4

For the sake of my servant Jacob,

and Israel my chosen,

I call you by your name,

I name you, though you do not know me. 5

I am the Lord, and there is no other,

besides me there is no God;

I equip you, though you do not know me, 6

that people may know, from the rising of the sun

and from the west, that there is none besides me;

I am the Lord, and there is no other. 7

I form light and create darkness;

I make well-being and create calamity;

I am the Lord, who does all these things.
8

“Shower, O heavens, from above,

and let the clouds rain down righteousness;

let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;

let the earth cause them both to sprout;

I the Lord have created it.
9

“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,

a pot among earthen pots!

Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’

or ‘Your work has no handles’? 10

Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’

or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”
11

Thus says the Lord,

the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:

“Ask me of things to come;

will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands? 12

I made the earth

and created man on it;

it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,

and I commanded all their host. 13

I have stirred him up in righteousness,

and I will make all his ways level;

he shall build my city

and set my exiles free,

not for price or reward,”

says the Lord of hosts. The Lord, the Only Savior14

Thus says the Lord:

“The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,

and the Sabeans, men of stature,

shall come over to you and be yours;

they shall follow you;

they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.

They will plead with you, saying:

‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other,

no god besides him.’”
15

Truly, you are a God who hides himself,

O God of Israel, the Savior. 16

All of them are put to shame and confounded;

the makers of idols go in confusion together. 17

But Israel is saved by the Lord

with everlasting salvation;

you shall not be put to shame or confounded

to all eternity.
18

For thus says the Lord,

who created the heavens

(he is God!),

who formed the earth and made it

(he established it;

he did not create it empty,

he formed it to be inhabited!):

“I am the Lord, and there is no other. 19

I did not speak in secret,

in a land of darkness;

I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,

‘Seek me in vain.’

I the Lord speak the truth;

I declare what is right.
20

“Assemble yourselves and come;

draw near together,

you survivors of the nations!

They have no knowledge

who carry about their wooden idols,

and keep on praying to a god

that cannot save. 21

Declare and present your case;

let them take counsel together!

Who told this long ago?

Who declared it of old?

Was it not I, the Lord?

And there is no other god besides me,

a righteous God and a Savior;

there is none besides me.
22

“Turn 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;

from my mouth has gone out in righteousness

a word that shall not return:

‘To me every knee shall bow,

every tongue shall swear allegiance.’
24

“Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,

are righteousness and strength;

to him shall come and be ashamed

all who were incensed against him. 25

In the Lord all the offspring of Israel

shall be justified and shall glory.”

PROVERBS 22

« Proverbs 21 | Proverbs 22 | Proverbs 23 »

22:1

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,

and favor is better than silver or gold. 2

The rich and the poor meet together;

the Lord is the Maker of them all. 3

The prudent sees danger and hides himself,

but the simple go on and suffer for it. 4

The reward for humility and fear of the Lord

is riches and honor and life. 5

Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked;

whoever guards his soul will keep far from them. 6

Train up a child in the way he should go;

even when he is old he will not depart from it. 7

The rich rules over the poor,

and the borrower is the slave of the lender. 8

Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity,

and the rod of his fury will fail. 9

Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed,

for he shares his bread with the poor. 10

Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out,

and quarreling and abuse will cease. 11

He who loves purity of heart,

and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend. 12

The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,

but he overthrows the words of the traitor. 13

The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside!

I shall be killed in the streets!” 14

The mouth of forbidden women is a deep pit;

he with whom the Lord is angry will fall into it. 15

Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,

but the rod of discipline drives it far from him. 16

Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth,

or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty. Words of the Wise17

Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise,

and apply your heart to my knowledge, 18

for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,

if all of them are ready on your lips. 19

That your trust may be in the Lord,

I have made them known to you today, even to you. 20

Have I not written for you thirty sayings

of counsel and knowledge, 21

to make you know what is right and true,

that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?
22

Do not rob the poor, because he is poor,

or crush the afflicted at the gate, 23

for the Lord will plead their cause

and rob of life those who rob them. 24

Make no friendship with a man given to anger,

nor go with a wrathful man, 25

lest you learn his ways

and entangle yourself in a snare. 26

Be not one of those who give pledges,

who put up security for debts. 27

If you have nothing with which to pay,

why should your bed be taken from under you? 28

Do not move the ancient landmark

that your fathers have set. 29

Do you see a man skillful in his work?

He will stand before kings;

he will not stand before obscure men.

HEBREWS 10

« Hebrews 9 | Hebrews 10 | Hebrews 11 »

Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All  10:1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
    5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,

“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,

but a body have you prepared for me; 6

in burnt offerings and sin offerings

you have taken no pleasure. 7

Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,

as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’” 8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
    11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
    15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
16

“This is the covenant that I will make with them

after those days, declares the Lord:

I will put my laws on their hearts,

and write them on their minds,” 17 then he adds,

“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” 18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. The Full Assurance of Faith19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
    26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
    32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For,

“Yet a little while,

and the coming one will come and will not delay; 38

but my righteous one shall live by faith,

and if he shrinks back,

my soul has no pleasure in him.” 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.