Study Desk

Don't come near me, you who are evil, so that I can obey my God's commands.

Your rules are always right. Help me understand them so that I can live.

Help me escape this trap, so that I can praise your name. Then good people will celebrate with me, because you took care of me.

Lord , let me live so that people will praise your name. Show me how good you are and save me from my trouble.

The thought of hunger keeps the workers working so that they can eat.

I learned that anything God does will continue forever. People cannot add anything to the work of God, and they cannot take anything away from it. God did this so that people would respect him.

Beautiful woman, where has your lover gone? Which way did your lover go? Tell us so that we can help you look for him.

They say, "We wish God would hurry and do what he plans to do so that we can see it. Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel happen soon so that we can know what it is."

The Lord said, "Write this agreement. Tie it up and seal it so that it cannot be changed. Give these teachings to my followers for safekeeping."

People living along the coast will say, "We trusted those countries to help us. We ran to them so that they would rescue us from the king of Assyria. But look at them. They have been captured, so how can we escape?"

Now write this on a sign so that all people can see it, and write this in a book. Write these things for a future time. This will be far, far in the future:

Then the eyes of the blind will be opened so that they can see, and the ears of the deaf will be opened so that they can hear.

One worker cuts wood to make a statue. He encourages the man who works with gold. Another worker uses a hammer and makes the metal smooth. Then he encourages the man at the anvil. This last worker says, ‘This work is good; the metal will not come off.' Then he nails the statue to a base so that it will not fall over. And it never moves!"

I will do this so that people will see it and know who did it. They will notice what happened. Then they will understand that the Lord 's hand made it happen, that the Holy One of Israel created it all."

Let your idols come in and tell us what will happen. Idols, tell us what happened in the beginning. We will listen closely so that we can make a decision. Tell us what will happen in the future.

What signs did you give in the past to prove that you really are gods? Do something! Do anything, good or bad, so that we can see that you are alive. Then we might fear and respect you.

"Who told us about this before it happened so that we could say he was right? None of your idols told us anything. They didn't say a word, and they cannot hear anything you say.

The Lord says, "You people are my witnesses and the servant I chose. I chose you so that you would help people believe me. I chose you so that you would understand that ‘I Am He'— I am the true God . There was no God before me, and there will be no God after me.

I am doing this so that everyone will know that I am the only God. From the east to the west, people will know that I am the Lord and that there is no other God.

So long ago I told you what would happen. I told you about those things long before they happened. I did this so that you could not say, ‘The gods we made did this. Our idols, our statues, made this happen.'"