The Commission to Cyrus

451 Thus saith Jehovah to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him—and I will loose the loins of kings; to open before him the two-leaved doors, and the gates shall not be shut: 2 I will go before thee, and make the elevated places plain; I will break in pieces the brazen doors, and cut asunder the bars of iron; 3 and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places; that thou mayest know that I, Jehovah, who call thee by name, [am] the God of Israel. 4 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have called thee by thy name; I surnamed thee, though thou didst not know me;

5 I [am] Jehovah, and there is none else; there is no God beside me: I girded thee, and thou hast not known me; 6 —that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the going down, that there is none beside me. I [am] Jehovah, and there is none else; 7 forming the light and creating darkness, making peace and creating evil: I, Jehovah, do all these things.

The LORD the Creator

8 Drop down, [ye] heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and with it let righteousness spring up. I, Jehovah, have created it. 9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let a potsherd [strive] with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that formeth it, What makest thou? Or thy work, He hath no hands? 10 Woe unto him that saith unto [his] father, What begettest thou? Or to [his] mother, What hast thou brought forth?

11 Thus saith Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: Ask me of the things to come; concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands, command ye me. 12 It is I that have made the earth, and created man upon it; it is I, my hands, that have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. 13 It is I that have raised him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways straight: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith Jehovah of hosts. 14 Thus saith Jehovah: The wealth of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall walk after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall bow down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, [saying,] Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, no other God. ... 15 Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. ... 16 They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them; they shall go away in confusion together, the makers of idols. 17 Israel shall be saved by Jehovah with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded, unto the ages of ages. 18 For thus saith Jehovah who created the heavens, God himself who formed the earth and made it, he who established it,—not as waste did he create it: he formed it to be inhabited:—I [am] Jehovah, and there is none else. 19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth; I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek me in vain: I [am] Jehovah, speaking righteousness, declaring things which are right.

Babylon's Idols and the LORD

20 Gather yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations. They have no knowledge that carry the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a ·god that cannot save. 21 Declare and bring [them] near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath caused this to be heard from ancient time? [who] hath declared it long ago? Is it not I, Jehovah? And there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour, there is none besides me. 22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I [am] God, and there is none else. 23 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth [in] righteousness and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. 24 Only in Jehovah, shall one say, have I righteousness and strength. To him shall [men] come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. 25 In Jehovah shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.

461 Bel is bowed down, Nebo bendeth; their idols are upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: the things ye carried are laid on, a burden to the weary [beast]. 2 They bend, they are bowed down together; they could not deliver the burden, and themselves are gone into captivity. 3 Hearken unto me, house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, ye who have been borne from the belly, who have been carried from the womb: 4 Even to old age, I [am] HE, and unto hoary hairs I will carry [you]: It is I that have made, and I will bear, and I will carry, and will deliver.

5 To whom will ye liken me and make me equal, or compare me, that we may be like? 6 —They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance; they hire a goldsmith, and he maketh it a ·god: they fall down, yea, they worship. 7 They bear him on the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place; there he standeth, he doth not remove from his place: yea, one crieth unto him, and he answereth not; he saveth him not out of his trouble. 8 Remember this, and shew yourselves men; call it to mind, ye transgressors. 9 Remember the former things of old; for I [am] God, and there is none else; [I am] God, and there is none like me; 10 declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure; 11 calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. Yea, I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. 12 Hearken unto me, ye stout-hearted, that are far from righteousness: 13 I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not delay; and I will give salvation in Zion, [and] unto Israel my glory.

31 Wherefore, being no longer able to refrain ourselves, we thought good to be left alone in Athens, 2 and sent Timotheus, our brother and fellow-workman under God in the glad tidings of Christ, to confirm you and encourage [you] concerning your faith, 3 that no one might be moved by these afflictions. (For yourselves know that we are set for this; 4 for also, when we were with you, we told you beforehand we are about to be in tribulation, even as also it came to pass, and ye know.) 5 For this reason I also, no longer able to refrain myself, sent to know your faith, lest perhaps the tempter had tempted you and our labour should be come to nothing.

6 But Timotheus having just come to us from you, and brought to us the glad tidings of your faith and love, and that ye have always good remembrance of us, desiring much to see us, even as we also you; 7 for this reason we have been comforted in you, brethren, in all our distress and tribulation, through your faith, 8 because now we live if ye stand firm in [the] Lord. 9 For what thanksgiving can we render to God for you, for all the joy wherewith we rejoice on account of you before our God, 10 night and day beseeching exceedingly to the end that we may see your face, and perfect what is lacking in your faith?

11 But our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you. 12 But you, may the Lord make to exceed and abound in love toward one another, and toward all, even as we also towards you, 13 in order to the confirming of your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.