431 But now , thus says the Lord , your Creator , O Jacob , And He who formed you, O Israel , "Do not fear , for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name ; you are Mine! 2 "When you pass through the waters , I will be with you; And through the rivers , they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire , you will not be scorched , Nor will the flame burn you. 3 "For I am the Lord your God , The Holy One of Israel , your Savior ; I have given Egypt as your ransom , Cush and Seba in your place . 4 "Since e you are precious in My sight , Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life . 5 "Do not fear , for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east , And gather you from the west . 6 "I will say to the north , 'Give them up!' And to the south , 'Do not hold them back .' Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth , 7 Everyone who is called by My name , And whom I have created for My glory , Whom I have formed , even whom I have made ."
8 Bring out the people who are blind , even though they have eyes , And the deaf , even though they have ears . 9 All the nations have gathered together So that the peoples may be assembled . Who among them can declare this And proclaim to us the former things ? Let them present their witnesses that they may be justified , Or let them hear and say , "It is true ." 10 "You are My witnesses ," declares the Lord , "And My servant whom I have chosen , So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed , And there will be none after Me. 11 "I, even I, am the Lord , And there is no savior besides e Me. 12 "It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed , And there was no strange god among you; So you are My witnesses ," declares the Lord , "And I am God . 13 "Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand ; I act and who can reverse it?"
14 Thus says the Lord your Redeemer , the Holy One of Israel , "For your sake I have sent to Babylon , And will bring them all down as fugitives , Even the Chaldeans , into the ships in which they rejoice . 15 "I am the Lord , your Holy One , The Creator of Israel , your King ." 16 Thus says the Lord , Who makes a way through the sea And a path through the mighty waters , 17 Who brings forth the chariot and the horse , The army and the mighty man (They will lie down together and not rise again; They have been quenched and extinguished like a wick ): 18 " Do not call to mind the former things , Or ponder things of the past . 19 "Behold , I will do something new , Now it will spring forth ; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness , Rivers in the desert . 20 "The beasts of the field will glorify Me, The jackals and the ostriches , Because I have given waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert , To give drink to My chosen people . 21 "The people whom I formed for Myself Will declare My praise .
22 "Yet you have not called on Me, O Jacob ; But you have become weary of Me, O Israel . 23 "You have not brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings , Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices . I have not burdened you with offerings , Nor wearied you with incense . 24 "You have bought Me not sweet cane with money , Nor have you filled Me with the fat of your sacrifices ; Rather you have burdened Me with your sins , You have wearied Me with your iniquities . 25 "I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake , And I will not remember your sins . 26 "Put Me in remembrance , let us argue our case together ; State your cause, that you may be proved right . 27 "Your first forefather sinned , And your spokesmen have transgressed against Me. 28 "So I will pollute the princes of the sanctuary , And I will consign Jacob to the ban and Israel to revilement .
441 "But now listen , O Jacob , My servant , And Israel , whom I have chosen : 2 Thus says the Lord who made you And formed you from the womb , who will help you, ' Do not fear , O Jacob My servant ; And you Jeshurun whom I have chosen . 3 'For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground ; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants ; 4 And they will spring up among the grass Like poplars by streams of water .' 5 "This one will say , 'I am the Lord'S '; And that one will call on the name of Jacob ; And another will write on his hand , 'Belonging to the Lord ,' And will name Israel's name with honor . 6 "Thus says the Lord , the King of Israel and his Redeemer , the Lord of hosts : 'I am the first and I am the last , And there is no God besides e Me. 7 'Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; Yes, let him recount it to Me in order , From the time that I established the ancient nation . And 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 ; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses . Is there any God besides e Me, Or is there any other Rock ? I know of none .' "
9 Those who fashion a graven image are all of them futile , and their precious things are of no profit ; even their own witnesses fail to see or know , so that they will be put to shame . 10 Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to no profit ? 11 Behold , all his companions will be put to shame , for the craftsmen themselves are mere men . Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble , let them together be put to shame . 12 The man shapes iron into a cutting tool and does his work over the coals , fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm . He also gets hungry and his strength fails ; he drinks no water and becomes weary . 13 Another shapes wood , he extends a measuring line ; he outlines it with red chalk . He works it with planes and outlines it with a compass , and makes it like the form of a man , like the beauty of man , so that it may sit in a house . 14 Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a cypress or an oak and raises it for himself among the trees of the forest . He plants a fir , and the rain makes it grow . 15 Then it becomes something for a man to burn , so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also makes a fire to bake bread . He also makes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire ; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied . He also warms himself and says , "Aha ! I am warm , I have seen the fire ." 17 But the rest of it he makes into a god , his graven image . He falls down before it and worships ; he also prays to it and says , "Deliver me, for you are my god ." 18 They do not know , nor do they understand , for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend . 19 No one recalls e e , nor is there 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 I make the rest of it into an abomination , I fall down before a block of wood !" 20 He feeds on ashes ; a deceived heart has turned him aside . And he cannot deliver himself , nor say , " Is there not a lie in my right hand ?"
21 " Remember these things , O Jacob , And Israel , for you are My servant ; I have formed you, you are My servant , O Israel , you will not be forgotten by Me. 22 "I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud And your sins like a heavy mist . Return to Me, for I have redeemed you." 23 Shout for joy , O heavens , for the Lord has done it! Shout joyfully , you lower parts of the earth ; Break forth into a shout of joy , you mountains , O forest , and every tree in it; For the Lord has redeemed Jacob And in Israel He shows forth His glory . 24 Thus says the Lord , your Redeemer , and the one who formed you from the womb , "I, the Lord , am the maker of all things , Stretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out the earth all e alone e , 25 Causing the omens of boasters to fail , Making fools out of diviners , Causing wise men to draw back And turning their knowledge into foolishness , 26 Confirming the word of His servant And performing the purpose of His messengers . It is I who says of Jerusalem , 'She shall be inhabited !' And of the cities of Judah , ' They shall be built .' And I will raise up her ruins again. 27 "It is I who says to the depth of the sea , 'Be dried up!' And I will make your rivers dry . 28 "It is I who says of Cyrus , 'He is My shepherd ! And he will perform all My desire .' And he declares of Jerusalem , ' She will be built ,' And of the temple , 'Your foundation will be laid .' "
21 For you yourselves know , brethren , that our coming to you was not in vain , 2 but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi , as you know , we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition . 3 For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit ; 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel , so we speak , not as pleasing men , but God who examines our hearts . 5 For we never e came with flattering speech , as you know , nor with a pretext for greed - God is witness - 6 nor did we seek glory from men , either from you or from others , even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted e our authority .
7 But we proved to be gentle among e you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children . 8 Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives , because you had become very dear to us. 9 For you recall , brethren , our labor and hardship , how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God . 10 You are witnesses , and so is God , how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers ; 11 just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children , 12 so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory .
13 For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men , but for what it really is, the word of God , which also performs its work in you who believe . 14 For you, brethren , became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea , for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen , even as they did from the Jews , 15 who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets , and drove us out. They are not pleasing to God , but hostile to all men , 16 hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved ; with the result that they always fill up the measure of their sins . But wrath has come upon them to the utmost .
17 But we, brethren , having been taken away from you for a short e while - in person , not in spirit -were all the more eager with great desire to see your face . 18 For we wanted to come to you-I, Paul , more e than once -and yet Satan hindered us. 19 For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation ? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming ? 20 For you are our glory and joy .
