I have called you back from the ends of the earth, saying,‘ You are my servant.’ For I have chosen you and will not throw you away.

你是我从地极所领来的，从地角所召来的，且对你说：“你是我的仆人；我拣选你，并不弃绝你。

你是我从地极领来，从地角召来的，我对你说：“你是我的仆人；我拣选你，并不弃绝你。”

你是我从地极领来，从地角召来的，我对你说：“你是我的仆人；我拣选你，并不弃绝你。”

我把你从地极带来，从遥远的角落召来。我对你说，‘你是我的仆人，我拣选了你，没有丢弃你。

你是我从地极抓来的，我从地的远方召你来，对你说：“你是我的仆人，我拣选了你，并没有弃绝你。”

你是我从地极领来，从地角召来的；我对你说：“你是我的仆人；我拣选了你，没有弃绝你。”

你是我從地極所領來的，從地角所召來的，且對你說：你是我的僕人；我揀選你，並不棄絕你。

你是我從地極領來，從地角召來的，我對你說：「你是我的僕人；我揀選你，並不棄絕你。」

你是我從地極領來，從地角召來的，我對你說：「你是我的僕人；我揀選你，並不棄絕你。」

我把你從地極帶來，從遙遠的角落召來。我對你說，『你是我的僕人，我揀選了你，沒有丟棄你。

你是我從地極抓來的，我從地的遠方召你來，對你說：“你是我的僕人，我揀選了你，並沒有棄絕你。”

我從地儘邊所抓來的，從地極角所召來的，我對你說：『你是我的僕人；我揀選了你，並不棄絕你。』

你是我從地極領來，從地角召來的；我對你說：「你是我的僕人；我揀選了你，沒有棄絕你。」

我自地極援爾、自天涯召爾、謂曰、爾乃我僕、我已簡爾、未嘗遺棄、

自地極天涯、召之以至、曰、我簡爾為僕、不汝遐棄。

我自地極援引爾、自地之遠方召爾至、謂爾曰、爾乃我之僕、我選爾、不棄爾、

I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said,‘ You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.

I gathered you from one end of the earth to the other. From the farthest places on earth I brought you together. I said,‘ You are my servants.’ I have chosen you. I have not turned my back on you.

you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you,“ You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”;

I brought you from the ends of the earth and called you from its farthest corners. I said to you: You are my servant; I have chosen you; I haven’t rejected you.

You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth And called from its remotest parts, And said to you,‘ You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not rejected you.

You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you,‘ You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away:

thou whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from the corners thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee and not cast thee away;

I brought you from the ends of the earth and called you from its farthest corners. I said to you: You are My servant; I have chosen you and not rejected you.

[ Thou] whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou[ art] my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.

you whom I am bringing back from the earth’s extremities, and have summoned from the remote regions– I told you,“ You are my servant.” I have chosen you and not rejected you.

You whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from its corners, and said to you,‘ You are my servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away.’

The Lord will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the Lord to make you his very own people.

Joshua said to the people,“ This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River, and they worshiped other gods.But I took your ancestor Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him into the land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants through his son Isaac.To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir, while Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.

For you are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure.“ The Lord did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations!

Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you.Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

The Lord will not reject his people; he will not abandon his special possession.

And they sang a new song with these words:“ You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

“ You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him from Ur of the Chaldeans and renamed him Abraham.When he had proved himself faithful, you made a covenant with him to give him and his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites. And you have done what you promised, for you are always true to your word.“ You saw the misery of our ancestors in Egypt, and you heard their cries from beside the Red Sea.You displayed miraculous signs and wonders against Pharaoh, his officials, and all his people, for you knew how arrogantly they were treating our ancestors. You have a glorious reputation that has never been forgotten.You divided the sea for your people so they could walk through on dry land! And then you hurled their enemies into the depths of the sea. They sank like stones beneath the mighty waters.You led our ancestors by a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night so that they could find their way.“ You came down at Mount Sinai and spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and instructions that were just, and decrees and commands that were good.You instructed them concerning your holy Sabbath. And you commanded them, through Moses your servant, to obey all your commands, decrees, and instructions.“ You gave them bread from heaven when they were hungry and water from the rock when they were thirsty. You commanded them to go and take possession of the land you had sworn to give them.“ But our ancestors were proud and stubborn, and they paid no attention to your commands.They refused to obey and did not remember the miracles you had done for them. Instead, they became stubborn and appointed a leader to take them back to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them,even when they made an idol shaped like a calf and said,‘ This is your god who brought you out of Egypt!’ They committed terrible blasphemies.“ But in your great mercy you did not abandon them to die in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud still led them forward by day, and the pillar of fire showed them the way through the night.You sent your good Spirit to instruct them, and you did not stop giving them manna from heaven or water for their thirst.For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell!“ Then you helped our ancestors conquer kingdoms and nations, and you placed your people in every corner of the land. They took over the land of King Sihon of Heshbon and the land of King Og of Bashan.You made their descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and brought them into the land you had promised to their ancestors.“ They went in and took possession of the land. You subdued whole nations before them. Even the Canaanites, who inhabited the land, were powerless! Your people could deal with these nations and their kings as they pleased.Our ancestors captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took over houses full of good things, with cisterns already dug and vineyards and olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate until they were full and grew fat and enjoyed themselves in all your blessings.“ But despite all this, they were disobedient and rebelled against you. They turned their backs on your Law, they killed your prophets who warned them to return to you, and they committed terrible blasphemies.So you handed them over to their enemies, who made them suffer. But in their time of trouble they cried to you, and you heard them from heaven. In your great mercy, you sent them liberators who rescued them from their enemies.“ But as soon as they were at peace, your people again committed evil in your sight, and once more you let their enemies conquer them. Yet whenever your people turned and cried to you again for help, you listened once more from heaven. In your wonderful mercy, you rescued them many times!“ You warned them to return to your Law, but they became proud and obstinate and disobeyed your commands. They did not follow your regulations, by which people will find life if only they obey. They stubbornly turned their backs on you and refused to listen.In your love, you were patient with them for many years. You sent your Spirit, who warned them through the prophets. But still they wouldn’t listen! So once again you allowed the peoples of the land to conquer them.But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are!“ And now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of unfailing love, do not let all the hardships we have suffered seem insignificant to you. Great trouble has come upon us and upon our kings and leaders and priests and prophets and ancestors— all of your people— from the days when the kings of Assyria first triumphed over us until now.Every time you punished us you were being just. We have sinned greatly, and you gave us only what we deserved.Our kings, leaders, priests, and ancestors did not obey your Law or listen to the warnings in your commands and laws.Even while they had their own kingdom, they did not serve you, though you showered your goodness on them. You gave them a large, fertile land, but they refused to turn from their wickedness.“ So now today we are slaves in the land of plenty that you gave our ancestors for their enjoyment! We are slaves here in this good land.The lush produce of this land piles up in the hands of the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They have power over us and our livestock. We serve them at their pleasure, and we are in great misery.”The people responded,“ In view of all this, we are making a solemn promise and putting it in writing. On this sealed document are the names of our leaders and Levites and priests.”

“ Who has stirred up this king from the east, rightly calling him to God’s service? Who gives this man victory over many nations and permits him to trample their kings underfoot? With his sword, he reduces armies to dust. With his bow, he scatters them like chaff before the wind.

“ Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will gather you and your children from east and west.I will say to the north and south,‘ Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel from the distant corners of the earth.

Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.For he has gathered the exiles from many lands, from east and west, from north and south.

And people will come from all over the world— from east and west, north and south— to take their places in the Kingdom of God.

“ But as for you, Israel my servant, Jacob my chosen one, descended from Abraham my friend,

I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you realize what the Scriptures say about this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said,

Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him?

But this is what the Lord says: I would no more reject my people than I would change my laws that govern night and day, earth and sky.I will never abandon the descendants of Jacob or David, my servant, or change the plan that David’s descendants will rule the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Instead, I will restore them to their land and have mercy on them.”