- The grass may wither and the flower may fade,
but the word of our God will endure forever. - Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the eternal God,
the Creator of the earth’s farthest boundaries.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding cannot be scrutinized. - He gives strength to the weary
and new vigor to those who are powerless. - Those who place their hope in the Lord
will regain their strength.
They will soar as with eagles’ wings,
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not become faint. - Who has performed these deeds and accomplished this?
Who has summoned the nations from the beginning?
I, the Lord, am the first,
and I will be there with the last. - Do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and give you help,
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. - For I, the Lord, am your God
and I grasp your right hand.
It is I who say to you,
Do not fear; I will help you. - When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
nor will the waters engulf you.
When you walk through fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not consume you. - Because in my eyes you are precious,
because you are honored and I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you
and nations in return for your life. - I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud
and your sins like a mist.
Return to me,
for I have redeemed you. - Woe to anyone who rises up against his Maker,
or to the pot that is displeased with the potter.
Does the clay say to the one who molds it,
“What are you doing?
Your work makes no sense.” - Even when you reach old age
I will still be the same.
Even when your hair is gray,
I will still carry you.
I have made you and I will uphold you;
I will carry you and save you. - Can a woman forget the infant at her breast;
or feel no compassion for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you.
Behold, I have inscribed your name
on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before my eyes. - I, I alone, am the one who comforts you.
Why then do you fear mortal men who must die,
human beings who must perish like grass? - How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who bears good news and proclaims glad tidings,
announcing salvation and saying to Zion,
“Your God is king.” - He was despised and shunned by others,
a man of sorrows who was no stranger to suffering.
We loathed him and regarded him as of no account,
as one from whom men avert their gaze. - Although it was our afflictions that he bore,
our sufferings that he endured,
we thought of him as stricken,
as struck down by God and afflicted. - But he was pierced for our offenses
and crushed for our iniquity;
the punishment that made us whole fell upon him,
and by his bruises we have been healed. - Although the mountains may be shaken
and the hills may totter,
my steadfast love will not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace will never be shaken,
says the Lord who has compassion on you. - No weapon used against you will prevail,
and you will refute every accusation
that is raised in court against you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
their vindication from me, says the Lord. - Seek the Lord while he still may be found;
call to him when he is close at hand. - Let the wicked abandon their ways
and those who are evil their thoughts.
Let them return to the Lord
so that he may have mercy upon them;
and to our God,
for he is rich in forgiveness. - For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. - As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts above your thoughts. - So shall my word be
that issues forth from my mouth.
It will not return to me unfulfilled,
but it will accomplish my purpose
and achieve what I sent it forth to do.
For thus says the One who is high and exalted,
who lives eternally
and whose name is holy:
I dwell in a high and holy place
but I am with the contrite and the humble,
to revive the spirit of the humble
and to revive the heart of the contrite.See what love
the Father has bestowed on us,
enabling us to be called the children of God,
and that is what we are.
If the world does not recognize us,
that is because it did not know him. Are you not aware that wrongdoers will never inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, extortioners, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God.Next verse!With image