“‘Now, see that I, and only I, am God! There is no other God! I put people to death, and I let people live. I can hurt people, and I can make them well. No one can save another person from my power!
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me. He has chosen me to tell good news to the poor. He sent me to tell prisoners that they are free and to tell the blind that they can see again. He sent me to free those who have been treated badly
I will make you strong. The people will think you are strong, like a wall made of bronze. The people of Judah will fight against you, but they will not defeat you. They will not defeat you, because I am with you. I will help you, and I will save you.” This message is from the Lord.
I have heard Ephraim crying: ‘Lord, you punished me, and I learned my lesson. I was like a calf that was never trained. Please stop punishing me, and I will come back to you. You really are the Lord my God.
Confuse them. Make them unable to understand what they hear and see. If you don’t do this, they might really look with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their minds. Then they might come back to me and be healed!”
It was foolish to worship idols on the hills. All the loud parties on the mountains were wrong. Surely the salvation of Israel comes from the Lord our God.
And I will bring your health back and heal your wounds,” says the Lord, “because other people said you were outcasts. They said, ‘No one cares about Zion.’”