Babylon to Be Destroyed

14Thus 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.

15I am the Lord, your Holy One,

The Creator of Israel, your King.”

16Thus says the Lord,

Who makes a way through the sea

And a path through the mighty waters,

17Who 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.

19Behold, 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.

20The 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.

21The people whom I formed for Myself

Will declare My praise.

The Shortcomings of Israel

22“Yet you have not called on Me, O Jacob;

But you have become weary of Me, O Israel.

23You 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.

24You 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.

26Put Me in remembrance, let us argue our case together;

State your cause, that you may be proved right.

27Your first forefather sinned,

And your spokesmen have transgressed against Me.

28So I will pollute the princes of the sanctuary,

And I will consign Jacob to the ban and Israel to revilement.

The Blessings of Israel

1“But now listen, O Jacob, My servant,

And Israel, whom I have chosen:

2Thus 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.

3For 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;

4And they will spring up among the grass

Like poplars by streams of water.’

5This 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 Me.

7Who 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.

8Do 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 Me,

Or is there any other Rock?

I know of none.’ ”

The Folly of Idolatry

9Those 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. 10Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to no profit? 11Behold, 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.

12The 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. 13Another 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. 14Surely 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. 15Then 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. 16Half 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.” 17But 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.”

18They 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. 19No one recalls, 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!” 20He 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?”

God Forgives and Redeems

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.

22I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud

And your sins like a heavy mist.

Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”

23Shout 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.

24Thus 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 alone,

25Causing the omens of boasters to fail,

Making fools out of diviners,

Causing wise men to draw back

And turning their knowledge into foolishness,

26Confirming 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.

27It is I who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Be dried up!’

And I will make your rivers dry.

28It 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.’ ”

God Uses Cyrus

1Thus 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.

3I 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.

4For 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.

5I am the Lord, and there is no other;

Besides Me there is no God.

I will gird you, though you have not known Me;

6That 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,

7The One forming light and creating darkness,

Causing well-being and creating calamity;

I am the Lord who does all these.

God’s Supreme Power

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’?

10Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’

Or to a woman, ‘To what are you giving birth?’ ”

Paul’s Stewardship

1For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— 2if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; 3that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. 4By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; 6to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, 7of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. 8To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, 9and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; 10so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. 11This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. 13Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.

14For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

20Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

PSALM 68

The God of Sinai and of the Sanctuary.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song.

1Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered,

And let those who hate Him flee before Him.

2As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;

As wax melts before the fire,

So let the wicked perish before God.

3But let the righteous be glad; let them exult before God;

Yes, let them rejoice with gladness.

4Sing to God, sing praises to His name;

Lift up a song for Him who rides through the deserts,

Whose name is the Lord, and exult before Him.

5A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows,

Is God in His holy habitation.

6God makes a home for the lonely;

He leads out the prisoners into prosperity,

Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

7O God, when You went forth before Your people,

When You marched through the wilderness, Selah.

8The earth quaked;

The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;

Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

9You shed abroad a plentiful rain, O God;

You confirmed Your inheritance when it was parched.

10Your creatures settled in it;

You provided in Your goodness for the poor, O God.

11The Lord gives the command;

The women who proclaim the good tidings are a great host:

12“Kings of armies flee, they flee,

And she who remains at home will divide the spoil!”

13When you lie down among the sheepfolds,

You are like the wings of a dove covered with silver,

And its pinions with glistening gold.

14When the Almighty scattered the kings there,

It was snowing in Zalmon.

15A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;

A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.

16Why do you look with envy, O mountains with many peaks,

At the mountain which God has desired for His abode?

Surely the Lord will dwell there forever.

17The chariots of God are myriads, thousands upon thousands;

The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness.

18You have ascended on high, You have led captive Your captives;

You have received gifts among men,

Even among the rebellious also, that the Lord God may dwell there.

Precepts and Warnings

1Do not be envious of evil men,

Nor desire to be with them;

2For their minds devise violence,

And their lips talk of trouble.