Isaiah 41; Isaiah 42; 1 Thessalonians 1

1 The Lord says, "Faraway countries, listen to me. Let the nations become strong. Come to me and speak; we will meet together to decide who is right.

2 "Who caused the one to come from the east? Who gives him victories everywhere he goes? The one who brought him gives nations over to him and defeats kings. He uses his sword, and kings become like dust. He uses his bow, and they are blown away like chaff.

3 He chases them and is never hurt, going places he has never been before.

4 Who caused this to happen? Who has controlled history since the beginning? I, the Lord, am the one. I was here at the beginning, and I will be here when all things are finished."

5 All you faraway places, look and be afraid; all you places far away on the earth, shake with fear. Come close and listen to me.

6 The workers help each other and say to each other, "Be strong!"

7 The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and the workman who smooths the metal with a hammer encourages the one who shapes the metal. He says, "This metal work is good." He nails the statue to a base so it can't fall over.

8 The Lord says, "People of Israel, you are my servants. People of Jacob, I chose you. You are from the family of my friend Abraham.

9 I took you from places far away on the earth and called you from a faraway country. I said, 'You are my servants.' I have chosen you and have not turned against you.

10 So don't worry, because I am with you. Don't be afraid, because I am your God. I will make you strong and will help you; I will support you with my right hand that saves you.

11 "All those people who are angry with you will be ashamed and disgraced. Those who are against you will disappear and be lost.

12 You will look for your enemies, but you will not find them. Those who fought against you will vanish completely.

13 I am the Lord your God, who holds your right hand, and I tell you, 'Don't be afraid. I will help you.'

14 You few people of Israel who are left, do not be afraid even though you are weak as a worm. I myself will help you," says the Lord. "The one who saves you is the Holy One of Israel.

15 Look, I have made you like a new threshing board with many sharp teeth. So you will walk on mountains and crush them; you will make the hills like chaff.

16 You will throw them into the air, and the wind will carry them away; a windstorm will scatter them. Then you will be happy in the Lord; you will be proud of the Holy One of Israel.

17 "The poor and needy people look for water, but they can't find any. Their tongues are dry with thirst. But I, the Lord, will answer their prayers; I, the God of Israel, will not leave them to die.

18 I will make rivers flow on the dry hills and springs flow through the valleys. I will change the desert into a lake of water and the dry land into fountains of water.

19 I will make trees grow in the desert -- cedars, acacia, myrtle, and olive trees. I will put pine, fir, and cypress trees growing together in the desert.

20 People will see these things and understand; they will think carefully about these things and learn that the Lord's power did this, that the Holy One of Israel made these things."

21 The Lord says, "Present your case." The King of Jacob says, "Tell me your arguments.

22 Bring in your idols to tell us what is going to happen. Have them tell us what happened in the beginning. Then we will think about these things, and we will know how they will turn out. Or tell us what will happen in the future.

23 Tell us what is coming next so we will believe that you are gods. Do something, whether it is good or bad, and make us afraid.

24 You gods are less than nothing; you can't do anything. Those who worship you should be hated.

25 "I have brought someone to come out of the north. I have called by name a man from the east, and he knows me. He walks on kings as if they were mud, just as a potter walks on the clay.

26 Who told us about this before it happened? Who told us ahead of time so we could say, 'He was right'? None of you told us anything; none of you told us before it happened; no one heard you tell about it.

27 I, the Lord, was the first one to tell Jerusalem that the people were coming home. the good news.

28 I look at the idols, but there is not one that can answer. None of them can give advice; none of them can answer my questions.

29 Look, all these idols are false. They cannot do anything; they are worth nothing.

1 "Here is my servant, the one I support. He is the one I chose, and I am pleased with him. I have put my Spirit upon him, and he will bring justice to all nations.

2 He will not cry out or yell or speak loudly in the streets.

3 He will not break a crushed blade of grass or put out even a weak flame. He will truly bring justice;

4 he will not lose hope or give up until he brings justice to the world. And people far away will trust his teachings."

5 God, the Lord, said these things. He created the skies and stretched them out. He spread out the earth and everything on it. He gives life to all people on earth, to everyone who walks on the earth.

6 The Lord says, "I, the Lord, called you to do right, and I will hold your hand and protect you. You will be the sign of my agreement with the people, a light to shine for all people.

7 You will help the blind to see. You will free those who are in prison, and you will lead those who live in darkness out of their prison.

8 "I am the Lord. That is my name. I will not give my glory to another; I will not let idols take the praise that should be mine.

9 The things I said would happen have happened, and now I tell you about new things. Before those things happen, I tell you about them."

10 Sing a new song to the Lord; sing his praise everywhere on the earth. Praise him, you people who sail on the seas and you animals who live in them. Praise him, you people living in faraway places.

11 The deserts and their cities should praise him. The settlements of Kedar should praise him. The people living in Sela should sing for joy; they should shout from the mountaintops.

12 They should give glory to the Lord. People in faraway lands should praise him.

13 The Lord will march out like a strong soldier; he will be excited like a man ready to fight a war. He will shout out the battle cry and defeat his enemies.

14 The Lord says, "For a long time I have said nothing; I have been quiet and held myself back. But now I will cry out and strain like a woman giving birth to a child.

15 I will destroy the hills and mountains and dry up all their plants. I will make the rivers become dry land and dry up the pools of water.

16 Then I will lead the blind along a way they never knew; I will guide them along paths they have not known. I will make the darkness become light for them, and the rough ground smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not leave my people.

17 But those who trust in idols, who say to their statues, 'You are our gods' will be rejected in disgrace.

18 "You who are deaf, hear me. You who are blind, look and see.

19 No one is more blind than my servant Israel or more deaf than the messenger I send. No one is more blind than the person I own or more blind than the servant of the Lord.

20 Israel, you have seen much, but you have not obeyed. You hear, but you refuse to listen."

21 The Lord made his teachings wonderful, because he is good.

22 These people have been defeated and robbed. They are trapped in pits or locked up in prison. Like robbers, enemies have taken them away, and there is no one to save them. Enemies carried them off, and no one said, "Bring them back."

23 Will any of you listen to this? Will you listen carefully in the future?

24 Who let the people of Jacob be carried off? The Lord allowed this to happen, because we sinned against him. We did not live the way he wanted us to live and did not obey his teaching.

25 So he became very angry with us and brought terrible wars against us. It was as if the people of Israel had fire all around them, but they didn't know what was happening. It was as if they were burning, but they didn't pay any attention.

1 From Paul, Silas, and Timothy. To the church in Thessalonica, the church in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you.

2 We always thank God for all of you and mention you when we pray.

3 We continually recall before God our Father the things you have done because of your faith and the work you have done because of your love. And we thank him that you continue to be strong because of your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

4 Brothers and sisters, God loves you, and we know he has chosen you,

5 because the Good News we brought to you came not only with words, but with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with sure knowledge that it is true. Also you know how we lived when we were with you in order to help you.

6 And you became like us and like the Lord. You suffered much, but still you accepted the teaching with the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit.

7 So you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Southern Greece.

8 And the Lord's teaching spread from you not only into Macedonia and Southern Greece, but now your faith in God has become known everywhere. So we do not need to say anything about it.

9 People everywhere are telling about the way you accepted us when we were there with you. They tell how you stopped worshiping idols and began serving the living and true God.

10 And you wait for God's Son, whom God raised from the dead, to come from heaven. He is Jesus, who saves us from God's angry judgment that is sure to come.