451 The Lord says to the man of his selection, to Cyrus, whom I have taken by the right hand, putting down nations before him, and taking away the arms of kings; making the doors open before him, so that the ways into the towns may not be shut; 2 I will go before you, and make the rough places level: the doors of brass will be broken, and the iron rods cut in two: 3 And I will give you the stores of the dark, and the wealth of secret places, so that you may be certain that I am the Lord, who gave you your name, even the God of Israel. 4 Because of Jacob my servant, and Israel whom I have taken for myself, I have sent for you by name, giving you a name of honour, though you had no knowledge of me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God but me: I will make you ready for war, though you had no knowledge of me: 6 So that they may see from the east and from the west that there is no God but me: I am the Lord, and there is no other. 7 I am the giver of light and the maker of the dark; causing blessing, and sending troubles; I am the Lord, who does all these things.
8 Let righteousness come down, O heavens, from on high, and let the sky send it down like rain: let the earth be open to give the fruit of salvation, causing righteousness to come up with it; I the Lord have made it come about. 9 Cursed is he who has an argument with his Maker, the pot which has an argument with the Potter! Will the wet earth say to him who is working with it, What are you doing, that your work has nothing by which it may be gripped? 10 Cursed is he who says to a father, To what are you giving life? or to a woman, What are you in birth-pains with?
11 The Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, says, Will you put a question to me about the things which are to come, or will you give me orders about my sons, and the work of my hands? 12 I have made the earth, forming man on it: by my hands the heavens have been stretched out, and all the stars put in their ordered places. 13 I have sent him out to overcome the nations, and I will make all his ways straight: I will give him the work of building my town, and he will let my prisoners go free, without price or reward, says the Lord of armies. 14 The Lord says, The workmen of Egypt, and the traders of Ethiopia, and the tall Sabaeans, will come over the sea to you, and they will be yours; they will go after you; in chains they will come over: and they will go down on their faces before you, and will make prayer to you, saying, Truly, God is among you; and there is no other God. 15 Truly, you have a secret God, the God of Israel is a Saviour! 16 All those who have gone against him will be put to shame; the makers of images will be made low. 17 But the Lord will make Israel free with an eternal salvation: you will not be put to shame or made low for ever and ever. 18 For this is the word of the Lord who made the heavens; he is God; the maker and designer of the earth; who made it not to be a waste, but as a living-place for man: I am the Lord, and there is no other. 19 I have not given my word in secret, in a place in the underworld; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, Go into a waste land to make request of me: I the Lord say what is true, my word is righteousness.
20 Come together, even come near, you nations who are still living: they have no knowledge who take up their image of wood, and make prayer to a god in whom is no salvation. 21 Give the word, put forward your cause, let us have a discussion together: who has given news of this in the past? who made it clear in early times? did not I, the Lord? and there is no God but me; a true God and a saviour; there is no other. 22 Let your hearts be turned to me, so that you may have salvation, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is no other. 23 By myself have I taken an oath, a true word has gone from my mouth, and will not be changed, that to me every knee will be bent, and every tongue will give honour. 24 Only in the Lord will Jacob overcome and be strong: together all those who were angry with him will be put to shame and come to destruction. 25 In the Lord will all the seed of Israel get their rights, and they will give glory to him.
461 Bel is bent down, Nebo is falling; their images are on the beasts and on the cattle: the things which you took about have become a weight to the tired beast. 2 They are bent down, they are falling together: they were not able to keep their images safe, but they themselves have been taken prisoner. 3 Give ear to me, O family of Jacob, and all the rest of the people of Israel, who have been supported by me from their birth, and have been my care from their earliest days: 4 Even when you are old I will be the same, and when you are grey-haired I will take care of you: I will still be responsible for what I made; yes, I will take you and keep you safe.
5 Who in your eyes is my equal? or what comparison will you make with me? 6 As for those who take gold out of a bag, and put silver in the scales, they give payment to a gold-worker, to make it into a god; they go down on their faces and give it worship. 7 They put him on their backs, and take him up, and put him in his fixed place, from which he may not be moved; if a man gives a cry for help to him, he is unable to give an answer, or get him out of his trouble. 8 Keep this in mind and be shamed; let it come back to your memory, you sinners. 9 Let the things which are past come to your memory: for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like me; 10 Making clear from the first what is to come, and from past times the things which have not so far come about; saying, My purpose is fixed, and I will do all my pleasure; 11 Sending for a bird of strong flight from the east, the man of my purpose from a far country; I have said it, and I will give effect to it; the thing designed by me will certainly be done. 12 Give ear to me, you feeble-hearted, who have no faith in my righteousness: 13 My righteousness is near, it is not far off; salvation will come quickly; and I will make Zion free, and give Israel my glory.
31 At last our desire to have news of you was so strong that, while we ourselves were waiting at Athens, 2 We sent Timothy, our brother and God's servant in the good news of Christ, to give you strength and comfort in your faith; 3 So that no man might be moved by these troubles; because you see that these things are part of God's purpose for us. 4 And when we were with you, we said to you that trouble was before us; and so it came about, as you see. 5 For this reason, when I was no longer able to keep quiet, I sent to get news of your faith, fearing that you might be tested by the Evil One and that our work might come to nothing.
6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has given us good news of your faith and love, and that you have happy memories of us, desiring greatly to see us, even as we do to see you; 7 For this cause, brothers, in all our trouble and grief we were comforted about you because of your faith; 8 For it is life to us if you keep your faith in the Lord unchanged. 9 For how great is the praise which we give to God for you, and how great the joy with which we are glad because of you before our God; 10 Night and day requesting God again and again that we may see your face and make your faith complete.
11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus make a way for us to come to you; 12 And the Lord give you increase of love in fullest measure to one another and to all men, even as our love to you; 13 So that your hearts may be strong and free from all sin before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
