All the rigging on those ships is useless; the sails cannot be spread! We will seize all the wealth of enemy armies, and there will be so much that even the lame can get a share. The LORD himself will be our king; he will rule over us and protect us.

I am the LORD, your holy God. I created you, Israel, and I am your king."

A curse on the cheater who sacrifices a worthless animal to me, when he has in his flock a good animal that he promised to give me! For I am a great king, and people of all nations fear me."

Then the King will say to the people on his right, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father! Come and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world.

Above his head they put the written notice of the accusation against him: "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews."

"I am the LORD, your savior; I am the one who created you. I am the LORD, the Creator of all things. I alone stretched out the heavens; when I made the earth, no one helped me.

The LORD says, "Small and weak as you are, Israel, don't be afraid; I will help you. I, the holy God of Israel, am the one who saves you.

Israel, the LORD who created you says, "Do not be afraid---I will save you. I have called you by name---you are mine.

Israel's holy God, the LORD who saves you, says, "To save you, I will send an army against Babylon; I will break down the city gates, and the shouts of her people will turn into crying.

The holy God of Israel, the LORD who saves you, says: "I am the LORD your God, the one who wants to teach you for your own good and direct you in the way you should go.

Your Creator will be like a husband to you--- the LORD Almighty is his name. The holy God of Israel will save you--- he is the ruler of all the world.

The LORD says to his people, "I will come to Jerusalem to defend you and to save all of you that turn from your sins.

But the one who will rescue them is strong---his name is the LORD Almighty. He himself will take up their cause and will bring peace to the earth, but trouble to the people of Babylonia."

Who was it that made this happen? Who has determined the course of history? I, the LORD, was there at the beginning, and I, the LORD, will be there at the end.

The LORD says, "Listen to me, Israel, the people I have called! I am God, the first, the last, the only God!

"I am the first and the last," says the Lord God Almighty, who is, who was, and who is to come.

It said, "Write down what you see, and send the book to the churches in these seven cities: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea."

When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead man. He placed his right hand on me and said, "Don't be afraid! I am the first and the last.

I am the living one! I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I have authority over death and the world of the dead.

"To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: "This is the message from the one who is the first and the last, who died and lived again.

I am the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

Do not be afraid, my people! You know that from ancient times until now I have predicted all that would happen, and you are my witnesses. Is there any other god? Is there some powerful god I never heard of ?"

"Almighty LORD, God of Israel, seated above the winged creatures, you alone are God, ruling all the kingdoms of the world. You created the earth and the sky.

Now, LORD our God, rescue us from the Assyrians, so that all the nations of the world will know that you alone are God."

"I alone am the LORD your God. No other god may share my glory; I will not let idols share my praise.

"People of Israel, you are my witnesses; I chose you to be my servant, so that you would know me and believe in me and understand that I am the only God. Besides me there is no other god; there never was and never will be.

"I alone am the LORD, the only one who can save you.

I do this so that everyone from one end of the world to the other may know that I am the LORD and that there is no other god.

Come and present your case in court; let the defendants consult one another. Who predicted long ago what would happen? Was it not I, the LORD, the God who saves his people? There is no other god.

"Turn to me now and be saved, people all over the world! I am the only God there is.

The LORD has shown you this, to prove to you that he alone is God and that there is no other.

So remember today and never forget: the LORD is God in heaven and on earth. There is no other god.

"Israel, remember this! The LORD ---and the LORD alone---is our God.

" 'I, and I alone, am God; no other god is real. I kill and I give life, I wound and I heal, and no one can oppose what I do.

No one can deny how great is the secret of our religion: He appeared in human form, was shown to be right by the Spirit, and was seen by angels. He was preached among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, and was taken up to heaven.