Isaiah 49:1; Isaiah 49:8-10; Isaiah 49:15-18; Jeremiah 17:1; Jeremiah 17:4-5; Jeremiah 17:7-10; Jeremiah 33:1-3; Jeremiah 33:5-9; 2 Corinthians 3:2-6; 2 Corinthians 3:12; 2 Corinthians 3:15-18

Isaiah 49:1

1 Listen to me, all you in distant lands! Pay attention, you who are far away! The LORD called me before my birth; from within the womb he called me by name.

Isaiah 49:8-10

8 This is what the LORD says: “At just the right time, I will respond to you. On the day of salvation I will help you. I will protect you and give you to the people as my covenant with them. Through you I will reestablish the land of Israel and assign it to its own people again.

9 I will say to the prisoners, ‘Come out in freedom,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Come into the light.’ They will be my sheep, grazing in green pastures and on hills that were previously bare.

10 They will neither hunger nor thirst. The searing sun will not reach them anymore. For the LORD in his mercy will lead them; he will lead them beside cool waters.

Isaiah 49:15-18

15 “Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!

16 See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.

17 Soon your descendants will come back, and all who are trying to destroy you will go away.

18 Look around you and see, for all your children will come back to you. As surely as I live,” says the LORD, “they will be like jewels or bridal ornaments for you to display.

Jeremiah 17:1

1 “The sin of Judah is inscribed with an iron chisel— engraved with a diamond point on their stony hearts and on the corners of their altars.

Jeremiah 17:4-5

4 The wonderful possession I have reserved for you will slip from your hands. I will tell your enemies to take you as captives to a foreign land. For my anger blazes like a fire that will burn forever.”

5 This is what the LORD says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the LORD .

Jeremiah 17:7-10

7 “But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.

8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.

9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

10 But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.”

Jeremiah 33:1-3

1 While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the LORD gave him this second message:

2 “This is what the LORD says—the LORD who made the earth, who formed and established it, whose name is the LORD :

3 Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.

Jeremiah 33:5-9

5 You expect to fight the Babylonians, but the men of this city are already as good as dead, for I have determined to destroy them in my terrible anger. I have abandoned them because of all their wickedness.

6 “Nevertheless, the time will come when I will heal Jerusalem’s wounds and give it prosperity and true peace.

7 I will restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel and rebuild their towns.

8 I will cleanse them of their sins against me and forgive all their sins of rebellion.

9 Then this city will bring me joy, glory, and honor before all the nations of the earth! The people of the world will see all the good I do for my people, and they will tremble with awe at the peace and prosperity I provide for them.

2 Corinthians 3:2-6

2 The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you.

3 Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.

4 We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ.

5 It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.

6 He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.

2 Corinthians 3:12

12 Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold.

2 Corinthians 3:15-18

15 Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand.

16 But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.