The LORD the Only Redeemer

431 But now thus saith Jehovah, that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called [thee] by thy name; thou art mine. 2 When thou passest through the waters, I [will be] with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. 3 For I [am] Jehovah thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. 4 Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee; and I will give men for thee, and peoples for thy life. 5 Fear not, for I [am] with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; 6 I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the end of the earth, 7 every one that is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory: I have formed him, yea, I have made him.

8 Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. 9 Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the peoples be assembled: who among them declareth this, or causeth us to hear former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified; or let them hear, and say, [It is] truth. 10 Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I [am] HE: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. 11 I, I [am] Jehovah; and besides me there is no saviour. 12 It is I that have declared, and have saved, and have shewed, when there was no strange [god] among you; and ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, that I [am] God. 13 Yea, since the day was, I [am] HE, and there is none that delivereth out of my hand: I will work, and who shall hinder it?

14 Thus saith Jehovah, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought all of them down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. 15 I [am] Jehovah, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. 16 Thus saith Jehovah, who maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters, 17 who bringeth forth chariot and horse, army and power—they lie down together, they shall not rise; they are extinct, they are quenched as tow: 18 —Remember not the former things, neither consider the ancient things: 19 behold, I do a new thing; now it shall spring forth: shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the waste. 20 The beast of the field shall glorify me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I will give waters in the wilderness, rivers in the waste, to give drink to my people, my chosen. 21 This people have I formed for myself: they shall shew forth my praise.

22 —But thou hast not called upon me, Jacob; for thou hast been weary of me, O Israel: 23 thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt-offerings, neither hast thou glorified me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to toil with an oblation, nor wearied thee with incense. 24 Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices; but thou hast made me to toil with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities. 25 —I, I [am] He that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and I will not remember thy sins. 26 Put me in remembrance, let us plead together; rehearse thine own [cause], that thou mayest be justified. 27 Thy first father hath sinned, and thy mediators have rebelled against me. 28 And I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the ban, and Israel to reproaches.

The LORD the Only God

441 And now hear, Jacob, my servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen: 2 thus saith Jehovah, that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, who helpeth thee, Fear not, Jacob, my servant, and thou, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. 3 For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring. 4 And they shall spring up among the grass, as willows by the water-courses. 5 One shall say, I am Jehovah's; and another shall call [himself] by the name of Jacob; and another shall write with his hand: [I am] Jehovah's, and surname [himself] by the name of Israel. 6 Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts: I [am] the first, and I [am] the last, and beside me there is no God. 7 And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? And the coming things, and those that shall happen, let them declare unto them. 8 Fear not, neither be afraid. Have I not caused thee to hear from that time, and have declared it? and ye are my witnesses. Is there a +God beside me? yea, there is no Rock: I know not any.

The Folly of Idolatry

9 They that form a graven image are all of them vanity, and their delectable things are of no profit; and they are their own witnesses: they see not, nor know;—that they may be ashamed. 10 Who hath formed a ·god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing? 11 Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed; and the workmen are but men. Let them all be gathered together, let them stand up: they shall fear, they shall be ashamed together. 12 The iron-smith [hath] a chisel, and he worketh in the coals, and he fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with his strong arm;—but he is hungry, and his strength faileth; he hath not drunk water, and he is faint. 13 The worker in wood stretcheth out a line; he marketh it out with red chalk; he formeth it with sharp tools, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of man: that it may remain in the house. 14 When he heweth him down cedars, he taketh also a holm-oak and a terebinth—he chooseth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth a pine, and the rain maketh [it] grow. 15 And it shall be for a man to burn, and he taketh thereof, and warmeth himself; he kindleth it also, and baketh bread; he maketh also a ·god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto. 16 He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh, he roasteth roast, and is satisfied; yea, he is warm, and saith, Aha, I am become warm, I have seen the fire. 17 And with the remainder thereof he maketh a ·god, his graven image; he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me, for thou art my ·god. 18 They have no knowledge, and understand not; for he hath plastered their eyes, that they may not see; and their hearts, that they may not understand. 19 And none taketh it to heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire, and have also baked bread upon the coals thereof, I have roasted flesh, and eaten [it], and with the rest thereof shall I make an abomination? shall I bow down to a block of wood? 20 He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

The LORD the Redeemer of Israel

21 Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for thou art my servant; I have formed thee: thou art my servant, Israel; thou shalt not be forgotten of me. 22 I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee. 23 Sing, ye heavens; for Jehovah hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, ye mountains, the forest, and every tree therein! For Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel. 24 Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb: I [am] Jehovah, the maker of all things; who alone stretched out the heavens, who did spread forth the earth by myself; 25 —he that frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish; 26 that confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built up, and I will raise up their ruins; 27 that saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers; 28 that saith of Cyrus, [He is] my shepherd, and he shall perform all my pleasure; even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

Paul's Ministry in Thessalonica

21 For ye know yourselves, brethren, our entering in which [we had] to you, that it has not been in vain; 2 but, having suffered before and been insulted, even as ye know, in Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the glad tidings of God with much earnest striving. 3 For our exhortation [was] not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile; 4 but even as we have been approved of God to have the glad tidings entrusted to us, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, who proves our hearts. 5 For we have not at any time been [among you] with flattering discourse, even as ye know, nor with a pretext for covetousness, God [is] witness; 6 nor seeking glory from men, neither from you nor from others, when we might have been a charge as Christ's apostles;

7 but have been gentle in the midst of you, as a nurse would cherish her own children. 8 Thus, yearning over you, we had found our delight in having imparted to you not only the glad tidings of God, but our own lives also, because ye had become beloved of us. 9 For ye remember, brethren, our labour and toil: working night and day, not to be chargeable to any one of you, we have preached to you the glad tidings of God. 10 Ye [are] witnesses, and God, how piously and righteously and blamelessly we have conducted ourselves with you that believe: 11 as ye know how, as a father his own children, we used to exhort each one of you, and comfort and testify, 12 that ye should walk worthy of God, who calls you to his own kingdom and glory.

13 And for this cause we also give thanks to God unceasingly that, having received [the] word of [the] report of God by us, ye accepted, not men's word, but, even as it is truly, God's word, which also works in you who believe. 14 For ye, brethren, have become imitators of the assemblies of God which are in Judaea in Christ Jesus; for ye also have suffered the same things of your own countrymen as also they of the Jews, 15 who have both slain the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and have driven us out by persecution, and do not please God, and [are] against all men, 16 forbidding us to speak to the nations that they may be saved, that they may fill up their sins always: but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.

Paul's Absence and Concern

17 But we, brethren, having been bereaved of you and separated for a little moment in person, not in heart, have used more abundant diligence to see your face with much desire; 18 wherefore we have desired to come to you, even I Paul, both once and twice, and Satan has hindered us. 19 For what [is] our hope, or joy, or crown of boasting? [are] not ye also before our Lord Jesus at his coming? 20 for ye are our glory and joy.