Isaiah 45 - 46 - Legacy Standard Bible

Isaiah 45 - 46

Cyrus, Yahweh’s Anointed

Thus says Yahweh to Cyrus His anointed,

Whom I have taken hold of by his 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:

“I will go before you and make the rough places smooth;

I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars.

I will give you the treasures of darkness

And hidden wealth of secret places,

So that you may know that it is I,

Yahweh, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.

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.

I am Yahweh, and there is no other;

Besides Me there is no God.

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

That they may know from the rising to the setting of the sun

That there is no one besides Me.

I am Yahweh, and there is no other,

The One forming light and creating darkness,

Producing peace and creating calamity;

I am Yahweh who does all these.

Yahweh the Maker

“Drip down, O heavens, from above,

And let the skies pour down righteousness;

Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit,

And righteousness spring up with it.

I, Yahweh, have created it.

“Woe to the one who contends 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’?

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

Or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor pains?’”

11 Thus says Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:

“Ask Me about the things that are to come concerning My sons,

And you shall commit to Me the work of My hands.

It is I who made the earth and created man upon it.

I stretched out the heavens with My hands,

And I commanded all their host.

I have awakened him in righteousness,

And I will make all his ways smooth;

He will build My city and will let My exiles go,

Without any payment or reward,” says Yahweh of hosts.

14 Thus says Yahweh,

“The fruit of the labor of Egypt and the profit of Ethiopia

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.’”

Truly, You are a God who hides Himself,

O God of Israel, Savior!

They will be put to shame and even dishonored, all of them;

The craftsmen of idols will go away together in dishonor.

Israel has been saved by Yahweh

With an everlasting salvation;

You will not be put to shame or dishonored

To all eternity.

18 For thus says Yahweh, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it; He established it and did not create it a formless place, but formed it to be inhabited),

“I am Yahweh, and there is none else.

I have not spoken in secret,

In some dark land;

I did not say to the seed of Jacob,

‘Seek Me in a formless place’;

I, Yahweh, speak righteousness,

Declaring things that are upright.

“Gather yourselves and come;

Draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations;

They do not know,

Who carry about their graven image of wood

And pray to a god who cannot save.

Declare and draw near with your case;

Indeed, let them consult together.

Who has made this heard from of old?

Who has long since declared it?

Is it not I, Yahweh?

And there is no other God besides Me,

A righteous God and a Savior;

There is none except Me.

Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;

For I am God, and there is no other.

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.

They will say of Me, ‘Only in Yahweh are righteousness and strength.’

Men will come to Him,

And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.

In Yahweh all the seed of Israel

Will be justified and will boast.”

Babylon’s Idols and the True God

Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over;

Their images are on the beasts and the cattle.

The things that you carry are burdensome,

A load for the weary beast.

They stooped over, they have bowed down together;

They could not rescue the load,

But have themselves gone into captivity.

“Hear Me, O house of Jacob,

And all the remnant of the house of Israel,

You who have been burdening Me from birth

And have been carried from the womb;

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 rescue you.

“To whom would you liken Me

And make Me equal and compare Me,

That we would be alike?

Those who lavish gold from the purse

And weigh silver on the scale,

They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;

They fall down, indeed they worship it.

They carry it upon the shoulder and bear 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 save him from his distress.

“Remember this, and be assured;

Cause it to return to your heart, you transgressors.

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,

Declaring the end from the beginning,

And from ancient times things which have not been done,

Saying, ‘My counsel will be established,

And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’,

Calling a bird of prey from the east,

The man of My counsel from a far country.

Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.

I have formed it, surely I will do it.

“Hear Me, you stubborn of heart,

Who are far from righteousness.

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.

John 10 - 11

I Am the Good Shepherd

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he brings all his own out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will never follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them. 7 So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. 11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees—and the wolf snatches and scatters them— 13 because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, 15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep, which are not from this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it away from Me, but from Myself, I lay it down. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.” 19 A division occurred again among the Jews because of these words. 20 And many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?” 21 Others were saying, “These are not the words of someone demon-possessed. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

I and the Father Are One

22 At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; 23 it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the Portico of Solomon. 24 The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us openly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these bear witness of Me. 26 But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish—ever; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” 31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” 33 The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Has it not been written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), 36 do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and continue knowing that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” 39 Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He eluded their grasp. 40 And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there. 41 And many came to Him and were saying, “While John did no sign, yet everything John said about this man was true.” 42 And many believed in Him there.

The Death and Resurrection of Lazarus

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 And it was the Mary who anointed the Lord with perfume, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 So the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” 4 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days in the place where He was. 7 Then after this He *said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples *said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 He said these things, and after that He *said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him.” 12 The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be saved from his sickness.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of actual sleep. 14 So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.” 16 Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.” 17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away; 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them about their brother. 20 Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. 21 Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You.” 23 Jesus *said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha *said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die—ever. Do you believe this?” 27 She *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, the One who comes into the world.” 28 And when she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she *got up quickly and was coming to Him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him. 31 Then the Jews—who were with her in the house and consoling her—when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, they followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to cry there. 32 Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus therefore saw her crying, and the Jews who came with her also crying, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, 34 and said, “Where have you laid him?” They *said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?” 38 So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, *came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus *said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, *said to Him, “Lord, by this time he smells, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus *said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41 So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the crowd standing around I said this, so that they may believe that You sent Me.” 43 And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” 44 The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus *said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” 45 Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.

The Leaders Plot to Kill Jesus

47 Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Sanhedrin together, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is doing many signs. 48 If we let Him go on like this, all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, 50 nor do you take into account that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” 51 Now he did not say this from himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day on they planned together to kill Him. 54 Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk openly among the Jews, but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples. 55 Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem from the region before the Passover to purify themselves. 56 So they were seeking Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That He will not come to the feast at all?” 57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him.

Psalm 72

Give the King Your Judgments

Of Solomon.

O God, give the king Your judgments,

And Your righteousness to the king’s son.

May he render judgment to Your people with righteousness

And Your afflicted with justice.

Let the mountains lift up peace to the people,

And the hills, in righteousness.

May he give justice to the afflicted of the people,

Save the children of the needy,

And crush the oppressor.

Let them fear You while the sun endures,

And as long as the moon, from generation to all generations.

May he come down like rain upon the mown grass,

Like showers that water the earth.

May the righteous flourish in his days,

And abundance of peace until the moon is no more.

May he also have dominion from sea to sea

And from the River to the ends of the earth.

Let the desert creatures kneel before him,

And his enemies lick the dust.

Let the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands bring a present;

The kings of Sheba and Seba offer tribute.

And let all kings bow down to him,

All nations serve him.

For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help,

The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.

He will have compassion on the poor and needy,

And the lives of the needy he will save.

He will redeem their life from oppression and violence,

And their blood will be precious in his sight;

So may he live! And may they give to him the gold of Sheba;

And let each pray for him continually;

Let each bless him all day long.

May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains;

May its fruit wave like the cedars of Lebanon;

And may those from the city blossom like vegetation of the earth.

May his name endure forever;

May his name increase as long as the sun shines;

Let all nations be blessed in him;

Let all nations call him blessed.

Blessed be Yahweh God, the God of Israel,

Who alone works wondrous deeds.

And blessed be His glorious name forever;

And may the whole earth be filled with His glory.

Amen, and Amen.

The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are completed.