18. The Lord is God. He made the skies and the earth. He put the earth in its place. He did not want the earth to be empty when he made it. He created it to be lived on. “I am the Lord. There is no other God.
19. I have spoken openly, not in secret. I did not hide my words in a dark and secret place. I did not tell the people of Jacob to look for me in empty places. I am the Lord, and I speak the truth. I say only what is right.
20. “You people who escaped from other nations, gather together before me. (These people carry statues of false gods. They pray to useless gods, but they don’t know what they are doing.
21. Tell them to come to me. Let them present their case and discuss these things.) “Who told you about this before it happened? Who told you this so long ago? I, the Lord, am the one who said these things. I am the only God, the one who does what is right. I am the one who saves, and there is no other!
22. So all you people in faraway places, turn to me and be saved, because I am God, and there is no other.
23. “When I make a promise, that promise is true. It will happen. And I swear by my own power that everyone will bow before me and will take an oath to obey me.
24. They will say, ‘Goodness and strength come only from the Lord.’” And all who show their anger against him will be humiliated.