Isaiah 39-41; Psalms 118 - Prayer Tents

Envoys from Babylon

39Soon after this, Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent Hezekiah his best wishes and a gift. He had heard that Hezekiah had been very sick and that he had recovered.H6256H4757H1121H1081H4428H894H7971H5612H4503H2396H8085H2470H2388 2Hezekiah was delighted with the Babylonian envoys and showed them everything in his treasure-houses—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the aromatic oils. He also took them to see his armory and showed them everything in his royal treasuries! There was nothing in his palace or kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.H2396H8055H7200H1004H5238H3701H2091H1314H2896H8081H1004H3627H4672H214H1697H1004H4475H2396H7200 3Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did those men want? Where were they from?” Hezekiah replied, “They came from the distant land of Babylon.”H935H3470H5030H4428H2396H559H559H582H370H935H2396H559H935H7350H776H894 4“What did they see in your palace?” asked Isaiah. “They saw everything,” Hezekiah replied. “I showed them everything I own—all my royal treasuries.”H559H7200H1004H2396H559H1004H7200H1697H214H7200 5Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to this message from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies:H559H3470H2396H8085H1697H3068H6635 6‘The time is coming when everything in your palace—all the treasures stored up by your ancestors until now—will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left,’ says the Lord.H3117H935H1004H1H686H3117H5375H894H1697H3498H559H3068 7‘Some of your very own sons will be taken away into exile. They will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of Babylon’s king.’”H1121H3318H3205H3947H5631H1964H4428H894 8Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “This message you have given me from the Lord is good.” For the king was thinking, “At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime.”H559H2396H3470H2896H1697H3068H1696H559H7965H571H3117

Comfort for God’s People

40“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.H5162H5162H5971H559H430 2“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over for all her sins.”H1696H3820H3389H7121H6635H4390H5771H7521H3947H3068H3027H3718H2403 3Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!H6963H7121H4057H6437H1870H3068H3474H6160H4546H430 4Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places.H1516H5375H2022H1389H8213H6121H4334H7406H1237 5Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The Lord has spoken!”H3519H3068H1540H1320H7200H3162H6310H3068H1696 6A voice said, “Shout!” I asked, “What should I shout?” “Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field.H6963H559H7121H559H7121H1320H2682H2617H6731H7704 7The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the Lord. And so it is with people.H2682H3001H6731H5034H7307H3068H5380H403H5971H2682 8The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.”H2682H3001H6731H5034H1697H430H6965H5769 9O Zion, messenger of good news, shout from the mountaintops! Shout it louder, O Jerusalem. Shout, and do not be afraid. Tell the towns of Judah, “Your God is coming!”H6726H1319H5927H1364H2022H3389H1319H7311H6963H3581H7311H3372H559H5892H3063H430 10Yes, the Sovereign Lord is coming in power. He will rule with a powerful arm. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.H136H3069H935H2389H2220H4910H7939H6468H6440 11He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.H7462H5739H7462H6908H2922H2220H5375H2436H5095H5763

The Lord Has No Equal

12Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?H4058H4325H8168H8505H8064H2239H3557H6083H776H7991H8254H2022H6425H1389H3976 13Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?H8505H7307H3068H376H6098H3045 14Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice? Does he need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice?H3289H995H3925H734H4941H3925H1847H3045H1870H8394 15No, for all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket. They are nothing more than dust on the scales. He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand.H1471H4752H1805H2803H7834H3976H5190H339H1851 16All the wood in Lebanon’s forests and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough to make a burnt offering worthy of our God.H3844H369H1767H1197H2416H1767H5930 17The nations of the world are worth nothing to him. In his eyes they count for less than nothing—mere emptiness and froth.H1471H2803H657H8414 18To whom can you compare God? What image can you find to resemble him?H1819H410H1823H6186 19Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold, overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains?H2796H5258H6459H6884H7554H2091H6884H3701H7577 20Or if people are too poor for that, they might at least choose wood that won’t decay and a skilled craftsman to carve an image that won’t fall down!H5533H5534H8641H977H6086H7537H1245H2450H2796H3559H6459H4131 21Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand? Are you deaf to the words of God—the words he gave before the world began? Are you so ignorant?H3045H8085H5046H7218H995H4146H776 22God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them.H3427H2329H776H3427H2284H5186H8064H1852H4969H168H3427 23He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing.H5414H7336H6213H8199H776H8414 24They hardly get started, barely taking root, when he blows on them and they wither. The wind carries them off like chaff.H5193H2232H1503H8327H776H5398H3001H5591H5375H7179 25“To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.H1819H7737H559H6918 26Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.H5375H5869H4791H7200H1254H3318H6635H4557H7121H8034H7230H202H533H3581H376H5737 27O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?H559H3290H1696H3478H1870H5641H3068H4941H5674H430 28Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.H3045H8085H5769H430H3068H1254H7098H776H3286H3021H2714H8394 29He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.H5414H3581H3287H202H7235H6109 30Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.H5288H3286H3021H970H3782H3782 31But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.H6960H3068H2498H3581H5927H83H5404H7323H3021H3212H3286

God’s Help for Israel

41“Listen in silence before me, you lands beyond the sea. Bring your strongest arguments. Come now and speak. The court is ready for your case.H2790H339H3816H2498H3581H5066H1696H7126H3162H4941 2“Who has stirred up this king from the east, rightly calling him to God’s service? Who gives this man victory over many nations and permits him to trample their kings underfoot? With his sword, he reduces armies to dust. With his bow, he scatters them like chaff before the wind.H5782H6664H4217H7121H7272H5414H1471H6440H7287H4428H5414H6083H2719H5086H7179H7198 3He chases them away and goes on safely, though he is walking over unfamiliar ground.H7291H5674H7965H734H935H7272 4Who has done such mighty deeds, summoning each new generation from the beginning of time? It is I, the Lord, the First and the Last. I alone am he.”H6466H6213H7121H1755H7218H3068H7223H314 5The lands beyond the sea watch in fear. Remote lands tremble and mobilize for war.H339H7200H3372H7098H776H2729H7126H857 6The idol makers encourage one another, saying to each other, “Be strong!”H5826H376H7453H559H251H2388 7The carver encourages the goldsmith, and the molder helps at the anvil. “Good,” they say. “It’s coming along fine.” Carefully they join the parts together, then fasten the thing in place so it won’t fall over.H2796H2388H6884H2505H6360H1986H6471H559H2896H1694H2388H4548H4131 8“But as for you, Israel my servant, Jacob my chosen one, descended from Abraham my friend,H3478H5650H3290H977H2233H85H157 9I have called you back from the ends of the earth, saying, ‘You are my servant.’ For I have chosen you and will not throw you away.H2388H7098H776H7121H678H559H5650H977H3988 10Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.H3372H8159H430H553H5826H8551H3225H6664 11“See, all your angry enemies lie there, confused and humiliated. Anyone who opposes you will die and come to nothing.H2734H954H3637H582H7379H6 12You will look in vain for those who tried to conquer you. Those who attack you will come to nothing.H1245H4672H582H4695H4421H657 13For I hold you by your right hand—I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.H3068H430H2388H3225H559H3372H5826 14Though you are a lowly worm, O Jacob, don’t be afraid, people of Israel, for I will help you. I am the Lord, your Redeemer. I am the Holy One of Israel.’H3372H8438H3290H4962H3478H5826H5002H3068H1350H6918H3478 15You will be a new threshing instrument with many sharp teeth. You will tear your enemies apart, making chaff of mountains.H7760H2319H2742H4173H1167H6374H1758H2022H1854H7760H1389H4671 16You will toss them into the air, and the wind will blow them all away; a whirlwind will scatter them. Then you will rejoice in the Lord. You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.H2219H7307H5375H5591H6327H1523H3068H1984H6918H3478 17“When the poor and needy search for water and there is none, and their tongues are parched from thirst, then I, the Lord, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them.H6041H34H1245H4325H3956H5405H6772H3068H6030H430H3478H5800 18I will open up rivers for them on the high plateaus. I will give them fountains of water in the valleys. I will fill the desert with pools of water. Rivers fed by springs will flow across the parched ground.H6605H5104H8205H4599H8432H1237H7760H4057H98H4325H6723H776H4161H4325 19I will plant trees in the barren desert—cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, cypress, fir, and pine.H5414H4057H730H7848H1918H8081H6086H7760H6160H1265H8410H8391H3162 20I am doing this so all who see this miracle will understand what it means—that it is the Lord who has done this, the Holy One of Israel who created it.H7200H3045H7760H7919H3162H3027H3068H6213H6918H3478H1254 21“Present the case for your idols,” says the Lord. “Let them show what they can do,” says the King of Israel.H7126H7379H559H3068H5066H6110H559H4428H3290 22“Let them try to tell us what happened long ago so that we may consider the evidence. Or let them tell us what the future holds, so we can know what’s going to happen.H5066H5046H7136H5046H7223H7760H3820H3045H319H8085H935 23Yes, tell us what will occur in the days ahead. Then we will know you are gods. In fact, do anything—good or bad! Do something that will amaze and frighten us.H5046H857H268H3045H430H3190H7489H8159H7200H3162 24But no! You are less than nothing and can do nothing at all. Those who choose you pollute themselves.H369H6467H659H8441H977 25“But I have stirred up a leader who will come from the north. I have called him by name from the east. I will give him victory over kings and princes. He will trample them as a potter treads on clay.H5782H6828H857H4217H8121H7121H8034H935H5461H2563H3335H7429H2916 26“Who told you from the beginning that this would happen? Who predicted this, making you admit that he was right? No one said a word!H5046H7218H3045H6440H559H6662H5046H8085H8085H561 27I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look! Help is on the way!’ I will send Jerusalem a messenger with good news.H7223H6726H2009H2009H5414H3389H1319 28Not one of your idols told you this. Not one gave any answer when I asked.H7200H376H3289H7592H7725H1697 29See, they are all foolish, worthless things. All your idols are as empty as the wind.H205H4639H657H5262H7307H8414

118Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.H3034H3068H2896H2617H5769 2Let all Israel repeat. “His faithful love endures forever.”H3478H559H2617H5769 3Let Aaron’s descendants, the priests, repeat. “His faithful love endures forever.”H1004H175H559H2617H5769 4Let all who fear the Lord repeat. “His faithful love endures forever.”H3373H3068H559H2617H5769 5In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free.H7121H3050H4712H3050H6030H4800 6The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?H3068H3372H6213H120H6213 7Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me. I will look in triumph at those who hate me.H3068H5826H7200H8130 8It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people.H2896H2620H3068H982H120 9It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.H2896H2620H3068H982H5081 10Though hostile nations surrounded me, I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.H1471H5437H8034H3068H4135 11Yes, they surrounded and attacked me, but I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.H5437H5437H8034H3068H4135 12They swarmed around me like bees; they blazed against me like a crackling fire. But I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.H5437H1682H1846H784H6975H8034H3068H4135 13My enemies did their best to kill me, but the Lord rescued me.H1760H1760H5307H3068H5826 14The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.H3050H5797H2176H3444 15Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!H6963H7440H3444H168H6662H3225H3068H6213H2428 16The strong right arm of the Lord is raised in triumph. The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!H3225H3068H7426H3225H3068H6213H2428 17I will not die; instead, I will live to tell what the Lord has done.H4191H2421H5608H4639H3050 18The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not let me die.H3050H3256H3256H5414H4194 19Open for me the gates where the righteous enter, and I will go in and thank the Lord.H6605H8179H6664H935H3034H3050 20These gates lead to the presence of the Lord, and the godly enter there.H8179H3068H6662H935 21I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory!H3034H6030H3444 22The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.H68H1129H3988H7218H6438 23This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.H3068H6381H5869 24This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.H3117H3068H6213H1523H8055 25Please, Lord, please save us. Please, Lord, please give us success.H3467H577H3068H3068H577H6743 26Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.H1288H935H8034H3068H1288H1004H3068 27The Lord is God, shining upon us. Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar.H410H3068H215H631H2282H5688H7161H4196 28You are my God, and I will praise you! You are my God, and I will exalt you!H410H3034H430H7311 29Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.H3034H3068H2896H2617H5769