'God' in the Bible

Hear the word of the Lord [rulers of Jerusalem],You rulers of [another] Sodom,Listen to the law and instruction of our God,You people of [another] Gomorrah.

How the faithful city has become a prostitute [idolatrous, despicable],She who was full of justice!Right standing with God once lodged in her,But now murderers.

Zion will be redeemed with justiceAnd her repentant ones with righteousness.

And many peoples shall come and say,“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,To the house (temple) of the God of Jacob;That He may teach us His waysAnd that we may walk in His paths.”For the law will go out from ZionAnd the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

And the wrath of God will be against all the cedars of Lebanon [west of the Jordan] that are high and lifted up,Against all the oaks of Bashan [east of the Jordan],

“What do you mean by crushing My peopleAnd grinding the face of the poor?”Declares the Lord God of hosts.

Now let me sing for my greatly Beloved [Lord]A song of my Beloved about His vineyard (His chosen people).My greatly Beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile slope (the promised land, Canaan).

For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house (nation) of IsraelAnd the men of Judah are His delightful planting [which He loves].So He looked for justice, but in fact, [He saw] bloodshed and lawlessness;[He looked] for righteousness, but in fact, [He heard] a cry of distress and oppression.

Therefore My people go into exile because they lack knowledge [of God];And their honorable men are famished,And their common people are parched with thirst.

But the Lord of hosts will be exalted in justice,And God, the Holy One, will show Himself holy in righteousness [through His righteous judgments].

for this is what the Lord God says, “It shall not stand nor shall it happen.

And the head (capital) of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son [King Pekah]. If you will not believe [and trust in God and His message], be assured that you will not be established.”’”

“Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God [one that will convince you that God has spoken and will keep His word]; make your request as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven.”

Then Isaiah said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too small a thing for you to try the patience of men, but will you try the patience of my God as well?

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Listen carefully, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will call his name Immanuel (God with us).

“Then it will sweep on into Judah; it will overflow and pass through [the hills],Reaching even to the neck [of which Jerusalem is the head],And its outstretched wings (the armies of Assyria) will fill the width of Your land, O Immanuel.

“Take counsel together [against Judah], but it will come to nothing;Speak the word, but it will not stand,For God is with us (Immanuel).”

When the people [instead of trusting God] say to you, “Consult the mediums [who try to talk to the dead] and the soothsayers who chirp and whisper and mutter,” should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?

They [who consult mediums and soothsayers] will pass through the land deeply distressed and hungry, and when they are hungry, they will become enraged and will curse their king and their God as they look upward.

For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given;And the government shall be upon His shoulder,And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Is the axe able to lift itself over the one who chops with it?Is the saw able to magnify itself over the one who wields it?That would be like a club moving those who lift it,Or like a staff raising him who is not [made of] wood [like itself]!

A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.

“Behold, God, my salvation!I will trust and not be afraid,For the Lord God is my strength and song;Yes, He has become my salvation.”

And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride,Will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.

“But you said in your heart,‘I will ascend to heaven;I will raise my throne above the stars of God;I will sit on the mount of assemblyIn the remote parts of the north.

So it will come to pass when Moab presents himself,When he wearies himself [worshiping] on his high place [of idolatry]And comes to his sanctuary [of Chemosh, god of Moab] to pray,That he will not prevail.

This is the word which the Lord spoke earlier concerning Moab [when Moab’s pride and resistance to God were first known].

“Yet gleanings will be left in the land [of Israel] like the shaking of the olive tree,Two or three olives on the topmost branch,Four or five on the [outermost] branches of the fruitful tree,”Declares the Lord, the God of Israel.

Because you [Judah] have forgotten the God of your salvationAnd have not remembered the Rock of your Stronghold—Therefore you plant lovely plantsAnd set the grounds with vine slips of a strange god,

The nations roar on like the roaring of many waters,But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away,And be chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind,Or like whirling dust before the storm.

The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning the Desert of the Sea (the seasonally flooded plains just south of Babylon):As windstorms in the Negev (the South) sweep through,So it (God’s judgment) comes from the desert, from [the hostile armies of] a terrifying land.

O my threshed people [Judah, who must be judged and trampled down by Babylon], my afflicted of the threshing floor.What I have heard from the Lord of hosts,The God of Israel, I have [joyfully] announced to you [that Babylon is to fall].

and the remainder of the number of archers, the mighty men of the sons of Kedar, will be few; for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.”

For the Lord God of hosts has a day of panic and of tumult, of trampling, of confusionIn the Valley of Vision,A [day of] breaking down wallsAnd a crying [for help] to the mountain.

Then God removed the [protective] covering of Judah;And in that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest (Solomon’s armory).

Therefore in that day the Lord God of hosts called you to weeping, to mourning,To shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth [in humiliation].

But the Lord of hosts revealed Himself in my ears,“This sin absolutely will not be forgiven youUntil you die,” says the Lord God of hosts.

Therefore honor and glorify the Lord in the east [in the region of light],The name of the Lord, the God of Israel [honor His name],In the coastlands and islands of the [Mediterranean] Sea.

O Lord, You are my God;I will exalt You, I will praise and give thanks to Your name;For You have done miraculous things,Plans formed long, long ago, [fulfilled] with perfect faithfulness.

He will swallow up death [and abolish it] for all time.And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,And He will take away the disgrace of His people from all the earth;For the Lord has spoken.

It will be said in that day,“Indeed, this is our God for whom we have waited that He would save us.This is the Lord for whom we have waited;Let us shout for joy and rejoice in His salvation.”

“Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter,The one that remains faithful and trustworthy.

“Trust [confidently] in the Lord forever [He is your fortress, your shield, your banner],For the Lord God is an everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages].

In the night my soul longs for You [O Lord],Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently;For [only] when Your judgments are experienced on the earthWill the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

O Lord our God, other masters besides You have ruled over us;But through You alone we confess Your name.

In the generations to come Jacob will take root;Israel will blossom and sprout,And they will fill the surface of the world with fruit.

Therefore through this the wickedness [the sin, the injustice, the wrongdoing] of Jacob (Israel) will be atoned for and forgiven;And this will be the full price [that God requires] for taking away his sin:When Israel makes all the stones of the [pagan] altars like crushed chalk stones;When the Asherim and the incense altars will not stand.

Therefore the Lord God says this,“Listen carefully, I am laying in Zion a Stone, a tested Stone,A precious Cornerstone for the [secure] foundation, firmly placed.He who believes [who trusts in, relies on, and adheres to that Stone] will not be disturbed or give way [in sudden panic].

Now do not carry on as scoffers,Or the bands which bind you will be made stronger;For I have heard from the Lord God of hosts [a decree]Of decisive destruction on all the earth.

For his God instructs [him correctly] and teaches him properly.

Then I will harass Ariel,And she will be a city of mourning and lamenting (crying out in grief)Yet she will be like an Ariel [an altar hearth] to Me.

For when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst,They will sanctify My Name;They will sanctify the Holy One of JacobAnd will stand in awe and reverent fear of the God of Israel.

For the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel has said this,“In returning [to Me] and rest you shall be saved,In quietness and confident trust is your strength.”But you were not willing,

Therefore the Lord waits [expectantly] and longs to be gracious to you,And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.For the Lord is a God of justice;Blessed (happy, fortunate) are all those who long for Him [since He will never fail them].

For Topheth [in Hinnom] has long been ready;Indeed, it has been prepared for the [Assyrian] king.He has made it deep and wide,A pit of fire with plenty of wood;The breath of the Lord, like a river of brimstone (blazing sulfur), kindles and fans it.

Now the Egyptians are men and not God,And their horses are flesh and not spirit;And the Lord will stretch out His hand,And he (Egypt) who helps will stumble,And he (Judah) who is helped will fall,And all of them will perish together.

Then the Assyrian will fall by a sword not of man,And a sword not of man will devour him.And he will flee from the sword [of God],And his young men will become forced labor.

It will blossom abundantlyAnd rejoice with joy and singing.The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,The majesty of [Mount] Carmel and [the plain] of Sharon.They will see the glory of the Lord,The majesty and splendor of our God.

Say to those with an anxious and panic-stricken heart,“Be strong, fear not!Indeed, your God will come with vengeance [for the ungodly];The retribution of God will come,But He will save you.”

But if you say to me, ‘We trust in and rely on the Lord our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?

It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh [the commander], whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to taunt and defy the living God, and will avenge the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the remnant [of His people] that is left.’”

“You shall say to Hezekiah king of Judah, ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”

“O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.

Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib that he has sent to taunt and defy the living God.

Now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know and fully realize that You alone, Lord, are God.”

Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “For the Lord, the God of Israel says this, ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria,

“Have you not heard [says the God of Israel]That I did it long ago,That I planned it in ancient times?Now I have brought it to pass,That you [king of Assyria] would [be My instrument to] turn fortified cities into ruinous heaps.

It came to pass as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons killed him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat [in Armenia]. And Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.

“Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘For the Lord, the God of David your father says this, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; listen carefully, I will add fifteen years to your life.

“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.

A voice of one is calling out,“Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness [remove the obstacles];Make straight and smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

A voice says, “Call out [prophesy].”Then he answered, “What shall I call out?”[The voice answered:] All humanity is [as frail as] grass, and all that makes it attractive [its charm, its loveliness] is [momentary] like the flower of the field.

The grass withers, the flower fades,But the word of our God stands forever.

O Zion, herald of good news,Get up on a high mountain.O Jerusalem, herald of good news,Lift up your voice with strength,Lift it up, do not fear;Say to the cities of Judah,“Here is your God!”

Listen carefully, the Lord God will come with might,And His arm will rule for Him.Most certainly His reward is with Him,And His restitution accompanies Him.

To whom then will you liken God?Or with what likeness will you compare Him?

He who is too impoverished for such an offering [to give to his god]Chooses a tree that will not rot;He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsmanTo [carve and] set up an idol that will not totter.

It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;[It is He] who stretches out the heavens like a veilAnd spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

Why, O Jacob, do you say, and declare, O Israel,“My way is hidden from the Lord,And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”?

Do you not know? Have you not heard?The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earthDoes not become tired or grow weary;There is no searching of His understanding.

But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him]Will gain new strength and renew their power;They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun];They will run and not become weary,They will walk and not grow tired.

“Who has performed and done this,Calling forth [and guiding the destinies of] the generations [of the nations] from the beginning?‘I, the Lord—the first, and with the last [existing before history began, the ever-present, unchanging God]—I am He.’”

‘Do not fear [anything], for I am with you;Do not be afraid, for I am your God.I will strengthen you, be assured I will help you;I will certainly take hold of you with My righteous right hand [a hand of justice, of power, of victory, of salvation].’

“For I the Lord your God keep hold of your right hand; [I am the Lord],Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’

“The poor and needy are seeking water, but there is none;Their tongues are parched with thirst.I, the Lord, will answer them Myself;I, the God of Israel, will not neglect them.

This is what God the Lord says,He who created the heavens and stretched them out,Who spread out the earth and its produce,Who gives breath to the people on itAnd spirit to those who walk on it,

“For I am the Lord your God,The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;I have given Egypt [to the Babylonians] as your ransom,Cush (ancient Ethiopia) and Seba [its province] in exchange for you.

“You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,“And My servant whom I have chosen,That you may know and believe MeAnd understand that I am He.Before Me there was no God formed,And there will be none after Me.

“I have declared [the future] and saved [the nation] and proclaimed [that I am God],And there was no strange (alien) god among you;Therefore you are My witnesses [among the pagans],” declares the Lord,“That I am God.

“For the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts says this,‘I am the First and I am the Last;And there is no God besides Me.

‘Do not tremble nor be afraid [of the violent upheavals to come];Have I not long ago proclaimed it to you and declared it?And you are My witnesses.Is there a God besides Me?There is no other Rock;I know of none.’”

Who has made a god or cast an idol which is profitable for nothing?

In fact, all his companions will be put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble, let them stand up, let them be terrified, let them together be put to shame.

Then it becomes fuel for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also kindles a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god [from the same wood] and worships it. He makes it into a carved idol [with his own hands] and falls down and worships it!

But from what is left of the wood he makes a god, his carved idol. He falls down before it, he worships it and prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”

They do not know, nor do they understand, for God has muddied their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts (minds) as well so that they cannot understand.

No one remembers, nor has knowledge and understanding [enough] to say [to himself], “I have burned half of this log in the fire, and also baked bread on its coals and have roasted meat and eaten it. Then I make the rest of it into an repulsive thing [to God]; I bow down [to worship] before a block of wood!”

“I will give you the treasures of darkness [the hoarded treasures]And the hidden riches of secret places,So that you may know that it is I,The Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you (Cyrus the Great) by your name.

“I am the Lord, and there is no one else;There is no God except Me.I will embrace and arm you, though you have not known Me,

That people may know from the rising to the setting of the sun [the world over]That there is no one except Me.I am the Lord, and there is no other,