24 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,
who formed you from the womb:
“I am the Lord, who made all things,
who alone nstretched out the heavens,
who spread out the earth by myself,
25 who frustrates the signs of liars
and makes fools of diviners,
who turns wise men back
and omakes their knowledge foolish,
26 who confirms the word of his servant
and fulfills the counsel of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’
and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built,
and I will raise up their ruins’;
27 who says to the deep, ‘Be dry;
I will dry up your rivers’;
28 who says of pCyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,
and he shall fulfill all my purpose’;
saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’
and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”
Cyrus, God’s Instrument
1 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:
2 “I will go before you
and qlevel the exalted places,1
I will rbreak in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my schosen,
I call you by your name,
I name you, though you do not know me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me,
6 that people may know, tfrom the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I form light and create darkness;
I make well-being and create calamity;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
8 “Shower, O heavens, from above,
and let the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
let the earth cause them both to sprout;
I the Lord have created it.
9 “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,
a pot among earthen pots!
Does the uclay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
or ‘Your work has no handles’?
10 Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”
11 Thus says the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:
“Ask me of things to come;
will you command me concerning my vchildren and the work of my hands?2
12 I made the earth
and created man on it;
it was my hands that wstretched out the heavens,
and I commanded all their host.
13 I have xstirred him up in righteousness,
and I will make all his ways level;
he shall ybuild my city
and set my exiles free,
znot for price or reward,”
says the Lord of hosts.
The Pharisees Demand a Sign
11 eThe Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. 12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, f“Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to gthis generation.” 13 And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.
The Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod
14 hNow they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; ibeware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”1 16 And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. 17 And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? jDo you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts khardened? 18 lHaving eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, mhow many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” 20 “And the seven for the four thousand, nhow many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” 21 And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida
22 And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a oblind man and begged him to touch him. 23 And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had pspit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25 Then Jesus2 laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 And he sent him to his home, saying, q“Do not even enter the village.”
Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ
27 rAnd Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they told him, s“John the Baptist; and others say, tElijah; and others, one of the uprophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, v“You are the Christ.” 30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.
Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection
31 wAnd he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be xrejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after ythree days rise again. 32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, z“Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
34 aAnd calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and btake up his cross and cfollow me. 35 dFor whoever would save his life3 will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the egospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to fgain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is gashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he hcomes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
1 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are isome standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
