Old/New Testament
Cyrus, Yahweh’s Anointed
45 Thus says Yahweh to (A)Cyrus His anointed,
Whom I have taken hold of by his right (B)hand,
To (C)subdue nations before him
And [a]to (D)loose the loins of kings,
To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
2 “I will go before you and (E)make the [b]rough places smooth;
I will (F)shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron (G)bars.
3 I will give you the [c](H)treasures of darkness
And hidden wealth of secret places,
So that you may know that it is I,
Yahweh, the God of Israel, who (I)calls you by your name.
4 For the sake of (J)Jacob My servant,
And Israel My chosen one,
I have also (K)called you by your name;
I have given you a title of honor
Though you have (L)not known Me.
5 I am Yahweh, and (M)there is no other;
(N)Besides Me there is no God.
I will [d](O)gird you, though you have not known Me,
6 That (P)they may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
That there is (Q)no one besides Me.
I am Yahweh, and there is no other,
7 The One (R)forming light and (S)creating darkness,
Producing peace and (T)creating calamity;
I am Yahweh who does all these.
Yahweh the Maker
8 “(U)Drip down, O heavens, from above,
And let the skies pour down righteousness;
Let the (V)earth open up and salvation bear fruit,
(W)And righteousness [e]spring up with it.
I, Yahweh, have created it.
9 “Woe to the one who (X)contends with his [f]Maker—
An earthenware vessel [g]among the vessels of earth!
Will the (Y)clay say to the [h]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?’”
11 Thus says (Z)Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, and his [i](AA)Maker:
“[j](AB)Ask Me about the things that are to come [k]concerning My (AC)sons,
And you shall [l]commit to Me (AD)the work of My hands.
12 It is I who (AE)made the earth and created man upon it.
I (AF)stretched out the heavens with My hands,
And I commanded (AG)all their host.
13 I have awakened him in (AH)righteousness,
And I will (AI)make all his ways smooth;
He will (AJ)build My city and will (AK)let My exiles go,
Without any payment or reward,” says Yahweh of hosts.
14 Thus says Yahweh,
“The fruit of the labor of (AL)Egypt and the profit of [m](AM)Ethiopia
And the Sabeans, men of stature,
Will (AN)come over to you and will be yours;
They will walk behind you; they will come over in (AO)chains
And will (AP)bow down to you;
They will make supplication to you:
‘[n]Surely, (AQ)God is [o]with you, and (AR)there is none else,
No other God.’”
15 Truly, You are a God who (AS)hides Himself,
O God of Israel, (AT)Savior!
16 They will be (AU)put to shame and even dishonored, all of them;
The (AV)craftsmen of idols will go away together in dishonor.
17 Israel has been saved by Yahweh
With an (AW)everlasting salvation;
You (AX)will not be put to shame or dishonored
To all eternity.
18 For thus says Yahweh, who (AY)created the heavens (He is the God who (AZ)formed the earth and made it; He established it and did not create it [p]a (BA)formless place, but formed it to be (BB)inhabited),
“I am Yahweh, and (BC)there is none else.
19 (BD)I have not spoken in secret,
In [q]some dark land;
I did not say to the (BE)seed of Jacob,
‘(BF)Seek Me in [r]a formless place’;
I, Yahweh, (BG)speak righteousness,
(BH)Declaring things that are upright.
20 “(BI)Gather yourselves and come;
Draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations;
(BJ)They do not know,
Who (BK)carry about their graven image of wood
And (BL)pray to a god who cannot save.
21 (BM)Declare and draw near with your case;
Indeed, let them consult together.
(BN)Who has made this heard from of old?
Who has long since declared it?
Is it not I, Yahweh?
And there is (BO)no other God besides Me,
A righteous God and a (BP)Savior;
There is none except Me.
22 (BQ)Turn to Me and (BR)be saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 (BS)I have sworn by Myself,
The (BT)word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back,
That to Me (BU)every knee will bow, every tongue will (BV)swear allegiance.
24 They will say of Me, ‘Only (BW)in Yahweh are righteousness and strength.’
Men will come to Him,
And (BX)all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.
25 In Yahweh all the seed of Israel
Will be (BY)justified and will (BZ)boast.”
Babylon’s Idols and the True God
46 (CA)Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over;
Their images are on the beasts and the cattle.
The things [s]that you carry are burdensome,
A load for the weary beast.
2 They stooped over, they have bowed down together;
They could not rescue the load,
But [t]have themselves (CB)gone into captivity.
3 “(CC)Hear Me, O house of Jacob,
And all (CD)the remnant of the house of Israel,
You who have been (CE)burdening Me from [u]birth
And have been carried from the womb;
4 Even to your old age [v](CF)I will be the same,
And even to your [w](CG)graying years I will bear you!
I have [x]done it, and I will carry you;
And I will bear you, and I will rescue you.
5 “(CH)To whom would you liken Me
And make Me equal and compare Me,
That we would be alike?
6 Those who (CI)lavish gold from the purse
And weigh silver on the scale,
They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
They (CJ)fall down, indeed they worship it.
7 They (CK)carry it upon the shoulder and bear it;
They set it in its place, and it stands there.
(CL)It does not move from its place.
Though one may cry to it, it (CM)cannot answer;
It (CN)cannot save him from his distress.
8 “(CO)Remember this, and be [y]assured;
(CP)Cause it to return to your heart, you (CQ)transgressors.
9 Remember the (CR)former things long past,
For I am God, and there is (CS)no other;
I am God, and there is (CT)no one like Me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things which have not been done,
Saying, ‘(CU)My counsel will be established,
And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’,
11 Calling a (CV)bird of prey from the (CW)east,
The man of [z]My counsel from a far country.
Truly I have (CX)spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.
I have formed it, surely I will do it.
Timothy’s Good Report
3 Therefore (A)when we could endure it no longer, we were pleased to be left behind at (B)Athens alone, 2 and we sent (C)Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith, 3 so that no one would be shaken by these afflictions, for you yourselves know that (D)we have been destined for this. 4 For indeed when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction, (E)just as it happened and as you know. 5 For this reason, (F)when I could endure it no longer, I also (G)sent to know about your faith, lest somehow (H)the tempter has tempted you, and (I)our labor be in vain.
6 But now that (J)Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of (K)your faith and love, and that you always (L)remember us kindly, longing to see us just as we also long to see you, 7 for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith; 8 for now we really live, if you (M)stand firm in the Lord. 9 For (N)what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God because of you, 10 as we (O)night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may (P)see your face, and may (Q)complete what is lacking in your faith?
11 (R)Now may (S)our God and Father (T)Himself and Jesus our Lord (U)direct our way to you, 12 and may the Lord cause you to increase and (V)abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you, 13 so that He may (W)strengthen your hearts (X)blameless in holiness, before (Y)our God and Father, at the [a](Z)coming of our Lord Jesus (AA)with all His [b]saints.
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