451 Thus says the Lord to Cyrus His anointed , Whom I have taken by the right hand , To subdue nations before him And to loose the loins of kings ; To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut : 2 "I will go before you and make the rough places smooth ; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars . 3 "I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places , So that you may know that it is I, The Lord , the God of Israel , who calls you by your name . 4 "For the sake of Jacob My servant , And Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name ; I have given you a title of honor Though you have not known Me.
5 "I am the Lord , and there is no other ; Besides Me there is no God . I will gird you, though you have not known Me; 6 That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord , and there is no other , 7 The One forming light and creating darkness , Causing well-being and creating calamity ; I am the Lord who does all these .
8 " Drip down , O heavens , from above , And let the clouds pour down righteousness ; Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit , And righteousness spring up with it. I, the Lord , have created it. 9 "Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker - An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth ! Will the clay say to the 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 , 'To what are you giving birth ?' "
11 Thus says the Lord , the Holy One of Israel , and his Maker : " Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons , And you shall commit to Me the work of My hands . 12 "It is I who made the earth , and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands And I ordained all their host . 13 "I have aroused him in righteousness And I will make all his ways smooth ; He will build My city and will let My exiles go free , Without any payment or reward ," says the Lord of hosts . 14 Thus says the Lord , "The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush And the Sabeans , men of stature , Will come over to you and will be yours; They will walk behind you, they will come over in chains And will bow down to you; They will make supplication to you: 'Surely , God is with you, and there is none else , No other God .' " 15 Truly , You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel , Savior ! 16 They will be put to shame and even humiliated , all of them; The manufacturers of idols will go away together in humiliation . 17 Israel has been saved by the Lord With an everlasting salvation ; You will not be put to shame or humiliated To all eternity . 18 For thus says the Lord , who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place , but formed it to be inhabited ), "I am the Lord , and there is none else . 19 " I have not spoken in secret , In some dark land ; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob , ' Seek Me in a waste place '; I, the Lord , speak righteousness , Declaring things that are upright .
20 " Gather yourselves and come ; Draw near together , you fugitives of the nations ; They have no knowledge , Who carry about their wooden idol And pray to a god who cannot save . 21 " Declare and set forth your case; Indeed , let them consult together . Who has announced this from of old ? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the Lord ? And there is no other God besides e Me, A righteous God and a Savior ; There is none except Me. 22 " Turn to Me and be saved , all the ends of the earth ; For I am God , and there is no other . 23 " I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back , That to Me every knee will bow , every tongue will swear allegiance. 24 "They will say of Me, 'Only in the Lord are righteousness and strength .' Men will come to Him, And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame . 25 "In the Lord all the offspring of Israel Will be justified and will glory ."
461 Bel has bowed down , Nebo stoops over ; Their images are consigned to the beasts and the cattle . The things 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 burden , But have themselves gone into captivity . 3 " Listen to Me, O house of Jacob , And all the remnant of the house of Israel , You who have been borne by Me from birth And have been carried from the womb ; 4 Even to your old age I will be the same , And even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; And I will bear you and I will deliver you.
5 " To whom would you liken Me And make Me equal and compare Me, That we would be alike ? 6 "Those who lavish gold from the purse And weigh silver on the scale Hire a goldsmith , and he makes it into a god ; They bow down , indeed they worship it. 7 "They lift it upon the shoulder and carry it; They set it in its place and it stands there. It does not move from its place . Though one may cry to it, it cannot answer ; It cannot deliver him from his distress . 8 " Remember this , and be assured ; Recall it to mind , you transgressors . 9 "Remember the former things long past , For I am God , and there is no other ; I am God , and there is no one like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning , And from ancient times things which have not been done , Saying , ' My purpose will be established , And I will accomplish all My good pleasure '; 11 Calling a bird of prey from the east , The man of My purpose from a far country . Truly I have spoken ; truly I will bring it to pass . I have planned it, surely I will do it. 12 " Listen to Me, you stubborn-minded e , Who are far from righteousness . 13 "I bring near My righteousness , it is not far off; And My salvation will not delay . And I will grant salvation in Zion , And My glory for Israel .
31 Therefore when we could endure it no longer , we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone , 2 and we sent 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 disturbed by these afflictions ; for you yourselves know that 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 ; and so it came to pass , as you know . 5 For this reason , when I could endure it no longer , I also sent to find out about your faith , for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain .
6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love , and that you always think e kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you, 7 for this reason , brethren , in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith ; 8 for now we really live , if you stand firm in the Lord . 9 For what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God on your account , 10 as we night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face , and may complete what is lacking in your faith ?
11 Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; 12 and may the Lord cause e you to increase and abound in love for one another , and for all people , just as we also do for you; 13 so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints .
