- For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing.
- O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!
- I am the Lord, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?
- Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.
- O Israel, my faithless people,
come home to me again,
for I am merciful.
I will not be angry with you forever. - This is what the Lord says:
“Stop at the crossroads and look around.
Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it.
Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.
But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’” - But I will be merciful only if you stop your evil thoughts and deeds and start treating each other with justice; only if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows; only if you stop your murdering; and only if you stop harming yourselves by worshiping idols. Then I will let you stay in this land that I gave to your ancestors to keep forever.
- This is what I told them: ‘Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Do everything as I say, and all will be well!’
- Their ways are futile and foolish.
They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol.
They decorate it with gold and silver
and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails
so it won’t fall over.
Their gods are like
helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field!
They cannot speak,
and they need to be carried because they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of such gods,
for they can neither harm you nor do you any good. - But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
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. - The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?
But I, the Lord, search all hearts
and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards,
according to what their actions deserve. - O Lord, if you heal me, I will be truly healed;
if you save me, I will be truly saved.
My praises are for you alone! - “Can anyone hide from me in a secret place?
Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?”
says the Lord. - “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
- In those days when you pray, I will listen.
- If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.
See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
I will advise you and watch over you.”Next verse!With image