Today's Reading

¹But now thus says the Lord who created you, Jacob, and he who formed you, Israel: "Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name. You are mine.

²When 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 burned, and flame will not scorch you.

³For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I have given Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place.

⁴Since you have been precious and honored in my sight, and I have loved you; therefore I will give people in your place, and nations instead of your life.

⁵Do not be afraid; for I am with you. I will bring your seed from the east, and gather you from the west.

⁶I will tell the north, 'Give them up!' and tell the south, 'Do not hold them back! Bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth-

⁷everyone who is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory, whom I have formed, yes, whom I have made.'"

⁸Bring out the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears.

⁹Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the peoples be assembled. Who among them can declare this, and show us former things? Let them bring their witnesses, that they may be justified; or let them hear, and say, "That is true."

¹⁰"You are my witnesses," says the Lord, "With my servant whom I have chosen; that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, neither will there be after me.

¹¹I myself am the Lord; and besides me there is no savior.

¹²I have declared, I have saved, and I have shown; and there was no strange god among you. Therefore you are my witnesses," says the Lord, "and I am God.

¹³Yes, since the day was I am he; and there is no one who can deliver out of my hand. I will work, and who can hinder it?"

¹⁴Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "For your sake, I have sent to Babylon, and I will bring all of them down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships of their rejoicing.

¹⁵I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King."

¹⁶Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;

¹⁷who brings forth the chariot and horse, the army and the mighty man (they lie down together, they shall not rise; they are extinct, they are quenched like a wick):

¹⁸"Do not remember the former things, and do not consider the things of old.

¹⁹Behold, I will do a new thing. It springs forth now. Do you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

²⁰The animals of the field shall honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; because I give water in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen,

²¹the people which I formed for myself, that they might set forth my praise.

²²Yet you have not called on me, Jacob; but you have been weary of me, Israel.

²³You have not brought me of your sheep for burnt offerings; neither have you honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, nor wearied you with frankincense.

²⁴You have bought me no sweet cane with money, nor have you filled me with the fat of your sacrifices; but you have burdened me with your sins. You have wearied me with your iniquities.

²⁵I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins.

²⁶Put me in remembrance. Let us plead together. Set forth your case, that you may be justified.

²⁷Your first father sinned, and your teachers have transgressed against me.

²⁸Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary; and I will make Jacob a curse, and Israel a reviling."

¹Yet listen now, Jacob my servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen.

²This is what the Lord who made you, and formed you from the womb, who will help you says: "Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant; and you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

³For I will pour water upon the thirsty, and streams on the dry ground. I will pour my Spirit on your seed, and my blessing on your offspring:

⁴and they will spring up among the grass, as willows by the watercourses.

⁵One will say, 'I am the Lord's;' and another will be called by the name of Jacob; and another will write with his hand 'to the Lord,' and honor the name of Israel."

⁶This is what the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts, says: "I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God.

⁷Who is like me? Who will call, and will declare it, and set it in order for me, since I established the ancient people? Let them declare the things that are coming, and that will happen.

⁸Do not fear, neither be afraid. Haven't I declared it to you long ago, and shown it? You are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? Indeed, there is not. I do not know any other Rock."

⁹Everyone who makes an engraved image is vain. The things that they delight in will not profit. Their own witnesses do not see, nor know, that they may be disappointed.

¹⁰Who has fashioned a god, or molds an image that is profitable for nothing?

¹¹Behold, all his fellows will be disappointed; and the workmen are mere men. Let them all be gathered together. Let them stand up. They will fear. They will be put to shame together.

¹²The blacksmith takes an axe, works in the coals, fashions it with hammers, and works it with his strong arm. He is hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water, and is faint.

¹³The carpenter stretches out a line. He marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes. He marks it out with compasses, and shapes it like the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to reside in a house.

¹⁴He cuts down cedars for himself, and takes the cypress and the oak, and strengthens for himself one among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir tree, and the rain nourishes it.

¹⁵Then it will be for a man to burn; and he takes some of it, and warms himself. Yes, he burns it, and bakes bread. Yes, he makes a god, and worships it; he makes it an engraved image, and falls down to it.

¹⁶He burns part of it in the fire. With part of it, he eats meat. He roasts a roast, and is satisfied. Yes, he warms himself, and says, "Aha! I am warm. I have seen the fire."

¹⁷The rest of it he makes into a god, even his engraved image. He bows down to it and worships, and prays to it, and says, "Deliver me; for you are my god!"

¹⁸They do not know, neither do they consider: for he has shut their eyes, that they can't see; and their hearts, that they can't understand.

¹⁹No one thinks, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, "I have burned part of it in the fire. Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals. I have roasted meat and eaten it. Shall I make the rest of it into an abomination? Shall I bow down to a tree trunk?"

²⁰He feeds on ashes. A deceived heart has turned him aside; and he can't deliver his soul, nor say, "Isn't there a lie in my right hand?"

²¹Remember these things, Jacob and Israel; for you are my servant. I have formed you. You are my servant. Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.

²²I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and, as a cloud, your sins. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.

²³Sing, you heavens, for the Lord has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth! Break out into singing, you mountains, O forest, all of your trees, for the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and will glorify himself in Israel.

²⁴Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and he who formed you from the womb: "I am the Lord, who makes all things; who alone stretches out the heavens; who spreads out the earth by myself;

²⁵who foils the omens of the empty talkers, and makes fools of diviners; who turns wise men backward, and makes their knowledge foolish;

²⁶who confirms the word of his servant, and performs the counsel of his messengers; who says of Jerusalem, 'She will be inhabited;' and of the cities of Judah, 'They will be built,' and 'I will raise up its waste places;'

²⁷who says to the deep, 'Be dry,' and 'I will dry up your rivers;'

²⁸Who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure,' even saying of Jerusalem, 'She will be built;' and of the temple, 'Your foundation will be laid.'"

¹Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him, and strip kings of their armor; to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut:

²"I will go before you, and make the rough places smooth. I will break the doors of brass in pieces, and cut apart the bars of iron.

³I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, who call you by your name, even the God of Israel.

⁴For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel my chosen, I have called you by your name. I have surnamed you, though you have not known me.

⁵I am the Lord, and there is none else. Besides me, there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not known me;

⁶that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no one else.

⁷I form the light, and create darkness. I make peace, and create calamity. I am the Lord, who does all these things.

⁸Distil, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open, that it may bring forth salvation, and let it cause righteousness to spring up with it. I, the Lord, have created it.

⁹Woe to him who strives with his Maker- a clay pot among the clay pots of the earth! Shall the clay ask him who fashions it, 'What are you making?' or your work, 'He has no hands?'

¹⁰Woe to him who says to a father, 'What have you become the father of?' or to a mother, 'To what have you given birth?'"

¹¹Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: "You ask me about the things that are to come, concerning my sons, and you command me concerning the work of my hands!

¹²I have made the earth, and created man on it. I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens; and I have commanded all their army.

¹³I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will make straight all his ways. He shall build my city, and he shall let my exiles go free, not for price nor reward," says the Lord of hosts.

¹⁴Thus says the Lord: "The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you, and they shall be yours. They will go after you. They shall come over in chains; and they will bow down to you. They will make supplication to you: 'Surely God is in you; and there is none else. There is no other god.

¹⁵Most certainly you are a God who hid yourself, God of Israel, the Savior.'"

¹⁶They will be disappointed, yes, confounded, all of them. Those who are makers of idols will go into confusion together.

¹⁷Israel will be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation. You will not be disappointed nor confounded to ages everlasting.

¹⁸For thus says the Lord who created the heavens, the God who formed the earth and made it, who established it and did not create it a waste, who formed it to be inhabited: "I am the Lord; and there is no other.

¹⁹I have not spoken in secret, in a place of the land of darkness. I did not say to the seed of Jacob, 'Seek me in vain.' I, the Lord, speak righteousness. I declare things that are right.

²⁰Assemble yourselves and come. Draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations. Those have no knowledge who carry the wood of their engraved image, and pray to a god that can't save.

²¹Declare and bring it forth. Yes, let them take counsel together: who has shown this from ancient time? Who has declared it of old? Haven't I, the Lord? and there is no God else besides me, a just God and a Savior; there is no one besides me.

²²Look to me, and be you saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.

²³By myself have I sworn, the word is gone forth from my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

²⁴Only in the Lord, it is said of me, is righteousness and strength; even to him shall men come; and all those who were incensed against him shall be disappointed.

²⁵In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.

¹If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God.

²Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth.

³For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

⁴When Christ, your life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory.

⁵Put to death, therefore, whatever is worldly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry;

⁶for which things' sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience.

⁷You also once walked in those, when you lived in them;

⁸but now you also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and shameful speaking out of your mouth.

⁹Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings,

¹⁰and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator,

¹¹where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all.

¹²Put on therefore, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance;

¹³bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as the Lord forgave you, so you also do.

¹⁴Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection.

¹⁵And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to God.

¹⁷Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father, through him.

¹⁸Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

¹⁹Husbands, love your wives, and do not be bitter against them.

²⁰Children, obey your parents in all things, for this pleases the Lord.

²¹Fathers, do not provoke your children, so that they won't be discouraged.

²²Servants, obey in all things those who are your masters according to the flesh, not just when they are looking, as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing the Lord.

²³And whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men,

²⁴knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.

²⁵But he who does wrong will receive again for the wrong that he has done, and there is no partiality.

¹Like snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.

²Like a fluttering sparrow, like a darting swallow, so the undeserved curse doesn't come to rest.

³A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools!

⁴Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him.

⁵Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.

⁶One who sends a message by the hand of a fool is cutting off feet and drinking violence.

⁷Like the legs of the lame that hang loose: so is a parable in the mouth of fools.

⁸As one who binds a stone in a sling, so is he who gives honor to a fool.

⁹Like a thornbush that goes into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.

¹⁰As an archer who wounds all, so is he who hires a fool or he who hires those who pass by.

¹¹As a dog that returns to his vomit, so is a fool who repeats his folly.

¹²Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

¹³The sluggard says, "There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion roams the streets!"

¹⁴As the door turns on its hinges, so does the sluggard on his bed.

¹⁵The sluggard buries his hand in the dish. He is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.

¹⁶The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer with discretion.

¹⁷Like one who grabs a dog's ears is one who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own.

¹⁸Like a madman who shoots firebrands, arrows, and death,

¹⁹is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, "Am I not joking?"

²⁰For lack of wood a fire goes out. Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.

²¹As coals are to hot embers, and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindling strife.

²²The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels, they go down into the innermost parts.

²³Like silver dross on an earthen vessel are the lips of a fervent one with an evil heart.

²⁴A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but he harbors evil in his heart.

²⁵When his speech is charming, do not believe him; for there are seven abominations in his heart.

²⁶His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

²⁷Whoever digs a pit shall fall into it. Whoever rolls a stone, it will come back on him.

²⁸A lying tongue hates those it hurts; and a flattering mouth works ruin.