34:1 Come near, you nations, and listen!
Pay attention, you people!
The earth and everything it contains must listen,
the world and everything that lives in it.
34:2 For the Lord is angry at all the nations
and furious with all their armies.
He will annihilate them and slaughter them.
34:3 Their slain will be left unburied,
their corpses will stink;
the hills will soak up their blood.
34:4 All the stars in the sky will fade away,
the sky will roll up like a scroll;
all its stars will wither,
like a leaf withers and falls from a vine
or a fig withers and falls from a tree.
34:5 He says,
Look, it now descends on Edom,
on the people I will annihilate in judgment.”
34:6 The Lord’s sword is dripping with blood,
it is covered
it drips
and is covered
For the Lord is holding a sacrifice
a bloody
34:7 Wild oxen will be slaughtered
as well as strong bulls.
Their land is drenched with blood,
their soil is covered with fat.
34:8 For the Lord has planned a day of revenge,
a time when he will repay Edom for her hostility toward Zion.
34:9 Edom’s
and her soil into brimstone;
her land will become burning pitch.
34:10 Night and day it will burn;
its smoke will ascend continually.
Generation after generation it will be a wasteland
and no one will ever pass through it again.
34:11 Owls and wild animals
all kinds of wild birds
The Lord
the measuring line of ruin
and the plumb line
34:12 Her nobles will have nothing left to call a kingdom
and all her officials will disappear.
34:13 Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns;
thickets and weeds will grow
Jackals will settle there;
ostriches will live there.
34:14 Wild animals and wild dogs will congregate there;
wild goats will bleat to one another.
Yes, nocturnal animals
and make for themselves a nest.
34:15 Owls
they will hatch them and protect them.
Yes, hawks
each with its mate.
34:16 Carefully read the scroll of the Lord!
Not one of these creatures will be missing,
none will lack a mate.
For the Lord has issued the decree,
and his own spirit gathers them.
34:17 He assigns them their allotment;
he measures out their assigned place.
They will live there
they will settle in it through successive generations.
35:1 Let the desert and dry region be happy;
let the wilderness
35:2 Let it richly bloom;
let it rejoice and shout with delight!
It is given the grandeur
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon.
They will see the grandeur of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.
35:3 Strengthen the hands that have gone limp,
steady the knees that shake!
35:4 Tell those who panic,
“Be strong! Do not fear!
Look, your God comes to avenge!
With divine retribution he comes to deliver you.”
35:5 Then blind eyes will open,
deaf ears will hear.
35:6 Then the lame will leap like a deer,
the mute tongue will shout for joy;
for water will flow
streams in the wilderness.
35:7 The dry soil will become a pool of water,
the parched ground springs of water.
Where jackals once lived and sprawled out,
grass, reeds, and papyrus will grow.
35:8 A thoroughfare will be there –
it will be called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not travel on it;
it is reserved for those authorized to use it
fools
35:9 No lions will be there,
no ferocious wild animals will be on it
they will not be found there.
Those delivered from bondage will travel on it,
35:10 those whom the Lord has ransomed will return that way.
They will enter Zion with a happy shout.
Unending joy will crown them,
happiness and joy will overwhelm
grief and suffering will disappear.
36:1 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign,
36:4 The chief adviser said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: “What is your source of confidence?
36:11 Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic,
36:13 The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect,
36:22 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn in grief
37:5 When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah,
37:6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘This is what the Lord says: “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard – these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me.
37:8 When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning.
37:14 Hezekiah took the letter
37:21 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Because you prayed to me concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria,
“The virgin daughter Zion
despises you – she makes fun of you;
daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head after you.
37:23 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?
At whom have you shouted
and looked so arrogantly?
At the Holy One of Israel!
37:24 Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master,
‘With my many chariots I climbed up
the high mountains,
the slopes of Lebanon.
I cut down its tall cedars
and its best evergreens.
I invaded its most remote regions,
its thickest woods.
37:25 I dug wells
and drank water.
With the soles of my feet I dried up
all the rivers of Egypt.’
37:26
Long ago I worked it out,
in ancient times I planned
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins.
37:27 Their residents are powerless;
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field
or green vegetation.
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops
when it is scorched by the east wind.
37:28 I know where you live
and everything you do
and how you rage against me.
37:29 Because you rage against me
and the uproar you create has reached my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose,
and my bridle between your lips,
and I will lead you back
the way you came.”
37:30
37:32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;
survivors will come out of Mount Zion.
The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies
37:33 So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
‘He will not enter this city,
nor will he shoot an arrow here.
He will not attack it with his shielded warriors,
nor will he build siege works against it.
37:34 He will go back the way he came –
he will not enter this city,’ says the Lord.
37:35 I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”’”
37:36 The Lord’s messenger
38:1 In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness.
38:4 The Lord told Isaiah,
38:9 This is the prayer of King Hezekiah of Judah when he was sick and then recovered from his illness:
38:10 “I thought,
‘In the middle of my life
I am deprived
38:11 “I thought,
‘I will no longer see the Lord
I will no longer look on humankind with the inhabitants of the world.
38:12 My dwelling place
like a shepherd’s tent.
I rolled up my life like a weaver rolls cloth;
from the loom he cuts me off.
You turn day into night and end my life.
38:13 I cry out
like a lion he shatters all my bones;
you turn day into night and end my life.
38:14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,
I coo
my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky.
O sovereign master,
help me!
38:15 What can I say?
He has decreed and acted.
I will walk slowly all my years because I am overcome with grief.
38:16 O sovereign master, your decrees can give men life;
may years of life be restored to me.
Restore my health
38:17 “Look, the grief I experienced was for my benefit.
You delivered me
For you removed all my sins from your sight.
38:18 Indeed
death does not
Those who descend into the pit do not anticipate your faithfulness.
38:19 The living person, the living person, he gives you thanks,
as I do today.
A father tells his sons about your faithfulness.
38:20 The Lord is about to deliver me,
and we will celebrate with music
for the rest of our lives in the Lord’s temple.”
39:1 At that time Merodach-Baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been ill and had recovered.
39:2 Hezekiah welcomed
40:1 “Comfort, comfort my people,”
says your
40:2 “Speak kindly to
that her time of warfare is over,
that her punishment is completed.
For the Lord has made her pay double
40:3 A voice cries out,
“In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord;
construct in the desert a road for our God.
40:4 Every valley must be elevated,
and every mountain and hill leveled.
The rough terrain will become a level plain,
the rugged landscape a wide valley.
40:5 The splendor
and all people
For
40:6 A voice says, “Cry out!”
Another asks,
The first voice responds:
and all their promises
40:7 The grass dries up,
the flowers wither,
when the wind sent by the Lord
Surely humanity
40:8 The grass dries up,
the flowers wither,
but the decree of our God is forever reliable.”
40:9 Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion!
Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem!
Shout, don’t be afraid!
Say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
40:10 Look, the sovereign Lord comes as a victorious warrior;
his military power establishes his rule.
Look, his reward is with him;
his prize goes before him.
40:11 Like a shepherd he tends his flock;
he gathers up the lambs with his arm;
he carries them close to his heart;
he leads the ewes along.
40:12 Who has measured out the waters
or carefully
or carefully weighed
or weighed the mountains in a balance,
or the hills on scales?
40:13 Who comprehends
or gives him instruction as his counselor?
40:14 From whom does he receive directions?
Who
or imparts knowledge to him,
or instructs him in skillful design?
40:15 Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales.
He lifts
40:16 Not even Lebanon could supply enough firewood for a sacrifice;
its wild animals would not provide enough burnt offerings.
40:17 All the nations are insignificant before him;
they are regarded as absolutely nothing.
40:18 To whom can you compare God?
To what image can you liken him?
40:19 A craftsman casts
a metalsmith overlays it with gold
and forges silver chains for it.
40:20 To make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot;
he then seeks a skilled craftsman
to make
40:21 Do you not know?
Do you not hear?
Has it not been told to you since the very beginning?
Have you not understood from the time the earth’s foundations were made?
40:22 He is the one who sits on the earth’s horizon;
its inhabitants are like grasshoppers before him.
He is the one who stretches out the sky like a thin curtain,
and spreads it out
40:23 He is the one who reduces rulers to nothing;
he makes the earth’s leaders insignificant.
40:24 Indeed, they are barely planted;
yes, they are barely sown;
yes, they barely take root in the earth,
and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up,
and the wind carries them away like straw.
40:25 “To whom can you compare me? Whom do I resemble?”
says the Holy One.
40:26 Look up at the sky!
Who created all these heavenly lights?
He is the one who leads out their ranks;
he calls them all by name.
Because of his absolute power and awesome strength,
not one of them is missing.
40:27 Why do you say, Jacob,
Why do you say, Israel,
“The Lord is not aware of what is happening to me,
My God is not concerned with my vindication”?
40:28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is an eternal God,
the creator of the whole earth.
He does not get tired or weary;
there is no limit to his wisdom.
40:29 He gives strength to those who are tired;
to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy.
40:30 Even youths get tired and weary;
even strong young men clumsily stumble.
40:31 But those who wait for the Lord’s help
they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings,
they run without growing weary,
they walk without getting tired.
41:1 “Listen to me in silence, you coastlands!
Let the nations find renewed strength!
Let them approach and then speak;
let us come together for debate!
41:2 Who stirs up this one from the east?
Who
He hands nations over to him,
and enables him to subdue
He makes them like dust with his sword,
like windblown straw with his bow.
41:3 He pursues them and passes by unharmed;
he advances with great speed.
41:4 Who acts and carries out decrees?
Who
I, the Lord, am present at the very beginning,
and at the very end – I am the one.
41:5 The coastlands
the whole earth
they approach and come.
41:6 They help one another;
one says to the other, ‘Be strong!’
41:7 The craftsman encourages the metalsmith,
the one who wields the hammer encourages
He approves the quality of the welding,
and nails it down so it won’t fall over.”
41:8 “You, my servant Israel,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
offspring of Abraham my friend,
41:9 you whom I am bringing back
and have summoned from the remote regions –
I told you, “You are my servant.”
I have chosen you and not rejected you.
41:10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you!
Don’t be frightened, for I am your God!
I strengthen you –
yes, I help you –
yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand!
41:11 Look, all who were angry at you will be ashamed and humiliated;
your adversaries
41:12 When you will look for your opponents,
your enemies
41:13 For I am the Lord your God,
the one who takes hold of your right hand,
who says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid, I am helping you.’
41:14 Don’t be afraid, despised insignificant Jacob,
men of
I am helping you,” says the Lord,
your protector,
41:15 “Look, I am making you like
new and double-edged.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them;
you will make the hills like straw.
41:16 You will winnow them and the wind will blow them away;
the wind will scatter them.
You will rejoice in the Lord;
you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.
41:17 The oppressed and the poor look for water, but there is none;
their tongues are parched from thirst.
I, the Lord, will respond to their prayers;
I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
41:18 I will make streams flow down the slopes
and produce springs in the middle of the valleys.
I will turn the desert into a pool of water
and the arid land into springs.
41:19 I will make cedars, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees grow in the wilderness;
I will make evergreens, firs, and cypresses grow together in the desert.
41:20 I will do this so
so they will pay attention and understand
that the Lord’s power
and that the Holy One of Israel has brought it into being.”
41:21 “Present your argument,” says the Lord.
“Produce your evidence,”
41:22 “Let them produce evidence! Let them tell us what will happen!
Tell us about your earlier predictive oracles,
so we may examine them
Or decree for us some future events!
41:23 Predict how future events will turn out,
so we might know you are gods.
Yes, do something good or bad,
so we might be frightened and in awe.
41:24 Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent;
the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting.
41:25 I have stirred up one out of the north
one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name.
He steps on
like a potter treading the clay.
41:26 Who decreed this from the beginning, so we could know?
Who announced it
Indeed, none of them decreed it!
Indeed, none of them announced it!
Indeed, no one heard you say anything!
41:27 I first decreed to Zion, ‘Look, here’s what will happen!’
I sent a herald to Jerusalem.
41:28 I look, but there is no one,
among them there is no one who serves as an adviser,
that I might ask questions and receive answers.
41:29 Look, all of them are nothing,
their accomplishments are nonexistent;
their metal images lack any real substance.
42:1
my chosen one in whom I take pleasure.
I have placed my spirit on him;
he will make just decrees
42:2 He will not cry out or shout;
he will not publicize himself in the streets.
42:3 A crushed reed he will not break,
a dim wick he will not extinguish;
he will faithfully make just decrees.
42:4 He will not grow dim or be crushed
before establishing justice on the earth;
the coastlands
42:5 This is what the true God,
the one who created the sky and stretched it out,
the one who fashioned the earth and everything that lives on it,
the one who gives breath to the people on it,
and life to those who live on it:
42:6 “I, the Lord, officially commission you;
I take hold of your hand.
I protect you
and a light
42:7 to open blind eyes,
to release prisoners
those who live in darkness from prisons.
42:8 I am the Lord! That is my name!
I will not share my glory with anyone else,
or the praise due me with idols.
42:9 Look, my earlier predictive oracles have come to pass;
now I announce new events.
Before they begin to occur,
I reveal them to you.”
42:10 Sing to the Lord a brand new song!
Praise him
you who go down to the sea, and everything that lives in it,
you coastlands
42:11 Let the desert and its cities shout out,
the towns where the nomads of Kedar live!
Let the residents of Sela shout joyfully;
let them shout loudly from the mountaintops.
42:12 Let them give the Lord the honor he deserves;
let them praise his deeds in the coastlands.
42:13 The Lord emerges like a hero,
like a warrior he inspires himself for battle;
he shouts, yes, he yells,
he shows his enemies his power.
42:14 “I have been inactive
I kept quiet and held back.
Like a woman in labor I groan;
I pant and gasp.
42:15 I will make the trees on the mountains and hills wither up;
I will dry up all their vegetation.
I will turn streams into islands,
and dry up pools of water.
42:16 I will lead the blind along an unfamiliar way;
I will guide them down paths they have never traveled.
I will turn the darkness in front of them into light,
and level out the rough ground.
This is what I will do for them.
I will not abandon them.
42:17 Those who trust in idols
will turn back and be utterly humiliated,
those who say to metal images, ‘You are our gods.’”
42:18 “Listen, you deaf ones!
Take notice,
42:19 My servant is truly blind,
my messenger is truly deaf.
My covenant partner,
42:20 You see
their ears are open, but do not hear.”
42:21 The Lord wanted to exhibit his justice
by magnifying his law and displaying it.
42:22 But these people are looted and plundered;
all of them are trapped in pits
and held captive
They were carried away as loot with no one to rescue them;
they were carried away as plunder, and no one says, “Bring that back!”
42:23 Who among you will pay attention to this?
Who will listen attentively in the future?
42:24 Who handed Jacob over to the robber?
Who handed Israel over to the looters?
Was it not the Lord, against whom we sinned?
They refused to follow his commands;
they disobeyed his law.
42:25 So he poured out his fierce anger on them,
along with the devastation
Its flames encircled them, but they did not realize it;
it burned against them, but they did notice.
43:1 Now, this is what the Lord says,
the one who created you, O Jacob,
and formed you, O Israel:
“Don’t be afraid, for I will protect
I call you by name, you are mine.
43:2 When you pass through the waters, I am with you;
when you pass
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not harm
43:3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
I have handed over Egypt as a ransom price,
Ethiopia and Seba
43:4 Since you are precious and special in my sight,
and I love you,
I will hand over people in place of you,
nations in place of your life.
43:5 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
From the east I will bring your descendants;
from the west I will gather you.
43:6 I will say to the north, ‘Hand them over!’
and to the south, ‘Don’t hold any back!’
Bring my sons from distant lands,
and my daughters from the remote regions of the earth,
43:7 everyone who belongs to me,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed – yes, whom I made!
43:8 Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes,
those who are deaf, even though they have ears!
43:9 All nations gather together,
the peoples assemble.
Who among them announced this?
Who predicted earlier events for us?
Let them produce their witnesses to testify they were right;
let them listen and affirm, ‘It is true.’
43:10 You are my witnesses,” says the Lord,
“my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may consider
and understand that I am he.
No god was formed before me,
and none will outlive me.
43:11 I, I am the Lord,
and there is no deliverer besides me.
43:12 I decreed and delivered and proclaimed,
and there was no other god among you.
You are my witnesses,” says the Lord, “that I am God.
43:13 From this day forward I am he;
no one can deliver from my power;
I will act, and who can prevent it?”
43:14 This is what the Lord says,
your protector,
“For your sake I send to Babylon
and make them all fugitives,
turning the Babylonians’ joyful shouts into mourning songs.
43:15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,
the one who created Israel, your king.”
43:16 This is what the Lord says,
the one who made a road through the sea,
a pathway through the surging waters,
43:17 the one who led chariots and horses to destruction,
together with a mighty army.
They fell down,
they were extinguished, put out like a burning wick:
43:18 “Don’t remember these earlier events;
don’t recall these former events.
43:19 “Look, I am about to do something new.
Now it begins to happen!
Yes, I will make a road in the desert
and paths
43:20 The wild animals of the desert honor me,
the jackals and ostriches,
because I put water in the desert
and streams in the wilderness,
to quench the thirst of my chosen people,
43:21 the people whom I formed for myself,
so they might praise me.”
43:22 “But you did not call for me, O Jacob;
you did not long
43:23 You did not bring me lambs for your burnt offerings;
you did not honor me with your sacrifices.
I did not burden you with offerings;
I did not make you weary by demanding
43:24 You did not buy me aromatic reeds;
you did not present to me
Yet you burdened me with your sins;
you made me weary with your evil deeds.
43:25 I, I am the one who blots out your rebellious deeds for my sake;
your sins I do not remember.
43:26 Remind me of what happened! Let’s debate!
You, prove to me that you are right!
43:27 The father of your nation
your spokesmen
43:28 So I defiled your holy princes,
and handed Jacob over to destruction,
and subjected
44:1 “Now, listen, Jacob my servant,
Israel whom I have chosen!”
44:2 This is what the Lord, the one who made you, says –
the one who formed you in the womb and helps you:
“Don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob,
Jeshurun,
44:3 For I will pour water on the parched ground
and cause streams to flow
I will pour my spirit on your offspring
and my blessing on your children.
44:4 They will sprout up like a tree in the grass,
like poplars beside channels of water.
44:5 One will say, ‘I belong to the Lord,’
and another will use
One will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
and use the name ‘Israel.’”
44:6 This is what the Lord, Israel’s king, says,
their protector,
“I am the first and I am the last,
there is no God but me.
44:7 Who is like me? Let him make his claim!
Let him announce it and explain it to me –
since I established an ancient people –
let them announce future events!
44:8 Don’t panic! Don’t be afraid!
Did I not tell you beforehand and decree it?
You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me?
There is no other sheltering rock;
44:9 All who form idols are nothing;
the things in which they delight are worthless.
Their witnesses cannot see;
they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame.
44:10 Who forms a god and casts an idol
that will prove worthless?
44:11 Look, all his associates
the craftsmen are mere humans.
Let them all assemble and take their stand!
They will panic and be put to shame.
44:12 A blacksmith works with his tool
and forges metal over the coals.
He forms it
he makes it with his strong arm.
He gets hungry and loses his energy;
he drinks no water and gets tired.
44:13 A carpenter takes measurements;
he marks out an outline of its form;
he scrapes
and marks it with a compass.
He patterns it after the human form,
like a well-built human being,
and puts it in a shrine.
44:14 He cuts down cedars
and acquires a cypress
He gets
he plants a cedar
44:15 A man uses it to make a fire;
he takes some of it and warms himself.
Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
Then he makes a god and worships it;
he makes an idol and bows down to it.
44:16 Half of it he burns in the fire –
over that half he cooks
he roasts a meal and fills himself.
Yes, he warms himself and says,
‘Ah! I am warm as I look at the fire.’
44:17 With the rest of it he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships it.
He prays to it, saying,
‘Rescue me, for you are my god!’
44:18 They do not comprehend or understand,
for their eyes are blind and cannot see;
their minds do not discern.
44:19 No one thinks to himself,
nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves:
‘I burned half of it in the fire –
yes, I baked bread over the coals;
I roasted meat and ate it.
With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol?
Should I bow down to dry wood?’
44:20 He feeds on ashes;
his deceived mind misleads him.
He cannot rescue himself,
nor does he say, ‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’
44:21 Remember these things, O Jacob,
O Israel, for you are my servant.
I formed you to be my servant;
O Israel, I will not forget you!
44:22 I remove the guilt of your rebellious deeds as if they were a cloud,
the guilt of your sins as if they were a cloud.
Come back to me, for I protect
44:23 Shout for joy, O sky, for the Lord intervenes;
shout out, you subterranean regions
O mountains, give a joyful shout;
you too, O forest and all your trees!
For the Lord protects
he reveals his splendor through Israel.
44:24 This is what the Lord, your protector,
the one who formed you in the womb:
“I am the Lord, who made everything,
who alone stretched out the sky,
who fashioned the earth all by myself,
44:25 who frustrates the omens of the empty talkers
and humiliates
who overturns the counsel of the wise men
and makes their advice
44:26 who fulfills the oracles of his prophetic servants
and brings to pass the announcements
who says about Jerusalem,
and about the towns of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt,
her ruins I will raise up,’
44:27 who says to the deep sea, ‘Be dry!
I will dry up your sea currents,’
44:28 who commissions
to carry out all my wishes
and to decree concerning Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’
and concerning the temple, ‘It will be reconstructed.’”
45:1 This is what the Lord says to his chosen
to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold
in order to subdue nations before him,
and disarm kings,
to open doors before him,
so gates remain unclosed:
45:2 “I will go before you
and level mountains.
Bronze doors I will shatter
and iron bars
45:3 I will give you hidden treasures,
riches stashed away in secret places,
so you may recognize that I am the Lord,
the one who calls you by name, the God of Israel.
45:4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,
Israel, my chosen one,
I call you by name
and give you a title of respect, even though you do not recognize
45:5 I am the Lord, I have no peer,
there is no God but me.
I arm you for battle,
45:6 I do this
that there is no God but me;
I am the Lord, I have no peer.
45:7 I am
and creates darkness;
the one who brings about peace
and creates calamity.
I am the Lord, who accomplishes all these things.
45:8 O sky, rain down from above!
Let the clouds send down showers
Let the earth absorb it
and deliverance may sprout up
I, the Lord, create it.
45:9 One who argues with his creator is in grave danger,
one who is like a mere
The clay should not say to the potter,
“What in the world
Your work lacks skill!”
45:10 Danger awaits one who says
“What in the world
and to his mother,
“What in the world are you bringing forth?”
45:11 This is what the Lord says,
the Holy One of Israel,
concerning things to come:
“How dare you question me
How dare you tell me what to do with
45:12 I made the earth,
I created the people who live
It was me – my hands
I give orders to all the heavenly lights.
45:13 It is me – I stir him up and commission him;
I will make all his ways level.
He will rebuild my city;
he will send my exiled people home,
but not for a price or a bribe,”
says the Lord who commands armies.
45:14 This is what the Lord says:
“The profit
along with the Sabeans, those tall men,
will be brought to you
They will walk behind you, coming along in chains.
They will bow down to you
and pray to you:
‘Truly God is with
there is no other God!’”
45:15 Yes, you are a God who keeps hidden,
O God of Israel, deliverer!
45:16 They will all be ashamed and embarrassed;
those who fashion idols will all be humiliated.
45:17 Israel will be delivered once and for all by the Lord;
you will never again be ashamed or humiliated.
45:18 For this is what the Lord says,
the one who created the sky –
he is the true God,
the one who formed the earth and made it;
he established it,
he did not create it without order,
he formed it to be inhabited –
“I am the Lord, I have no peer.
45:19 I have not spoken in secret,
in some hidden place.
I did not tell Jacob’s descendants,
‘Seek me in vain!’
I am the Lord,
the one who speaks honestly,
who makes reliable announcements.
45:20 Gather together and come!
Approach together, you refugees from the nations!
Those who carry wooden idols know nothing,
those who pray to a god that cannot deliver.
45:21 Tell me! Present the evidence!
Let them consult with one another!
Who predicted this in the past?
Who announced it beforehand?
Was it not I, the Lord?
I have no peer, there is no God but me,
a God who vindicates and delivers;
there is none but me.
45:22 Turn to me so you can be delivered,
all you who live in the earth’s remote regions!
For I am God, and I have no peer.
45:23 I solemnly make this oath
what I say is true and reliable:
‘Surely every knee will bow to me,
every tongue will solemnly affirm;
45:24 they will say about me,
“Yes, the Lord is a powerful deliverer.”’”
All who are angry at him will cower before him.
45:25 All the descendants of Israel will be vindicated by the Lord
and will boast in him.
46:1 Bel
Nebo
Their images weigh down animals and beasts.
Your heavy images are burdensome to tired animals.
46:2 Together they bend low and kneel down;
they are unable to rescue the images;
they themselves
46:3 “Listen to me, O family of Jacob,
all you who are left from the family of Israel,
you who have been carried from birth,
you who have been supported from the time you left the womb.
46:4 Even when you are old, I will take care of you,
even when you have gray hair, I will carry you.
I made you and I will support you;
I will carry you and rescue you.
46:5 To whom can you compare and liken me?
Tell me whom you think I resemble, so we can be compared!
46:6 Those who empty out gold from a purse
and weigh out silver on the scale
hire a metalsmith, who makes it into a god.
They then bow down and worship it.
46:7 They put it on their shoulder and carry it;
they put it in its place and it just stands there;
it does not
Even when someone cries out to it, it does not reply;
it does not deliver him from his distress.
46:8 Remember this, so you can be brave!
Think about it, you rebels!
46:9 Remember what I accomplished in antiquity!
Truly I am God, I have no peer;
I am God, and there is none like me,
46:10 who announces the end from the beginning
and reveals beforehand
who says, ‘My plan will be realized,
I will accomplish what I desire,’
46:11 who summons an eagle
from a distant land, one who carries out my plan.
Yes, I have decreed,
yes, I will bring it to pass;
I have formulated a plan,
yes, I will carry it out.
46:12 Listen to me, you stubborn people,
you who distance yourself from doing what is right.
46:13 I am bringing my deliverance near, it is not far away;
I am bringing my salvation near,
I will save Zion;
I will adorn Israel with my splendor.”
47:1 “Fall down! Sit in the dirt,
O virgin
Sit on the ground, not on a throne,
O daughter of the Babylonians!
Indeed,
47:2 Pick up millstones and grind flour!
Remove your veil,
strip off your skirt,
expose your legs,
cross the streams!
47:3 Let your private parts be exposed!
Your genitals will be on display!
I will get revenge;
I will not have pity on anyone,”
47:4 says our protector –
the Lord who commands armies is his name,
the Holy One of Israel.
47:5 “Sit silently! Go to a hiding place,
O daughter of the Babylonians!
Indeed,
47:6 I was angry at my people;
I defiled my special possession
and handed them over to you.
You showed them no mercy;
you even placed a very heavy burden on old people.
47:7 You said,
‘I will rule forever as permanent queen!’
You did not think about these things;
you did not consider how it would turn out.
47:8 So now, listen to this,
O one who lives so lavishly,
who lives securely,
who says to herself,
‘I am unique! No one can compare to me!
I will never have to live as a widow;
I will never lose my children.’
47:9 Both of these will come upon you
suddenly, in one day!
You will lose your children and be widowed.
You will be overwhelmed by these tragedies,
despite
and your numerous amulets.
47:10 You were complacent in your evil deeds;
you thought,
Your self-professed
when you say, ‘I am unique! No one can compare to me!’
47:11 Disaster will overtake you;
you will not know how to charm it away.
Destruction will fall on you;
you will not be able to appease it.
Calamity will strike you suddenly,
before you recognize it.
47:12 Persist
and your many incantations,
which you have faithfully recited
Maybe you will be successful
maybe you will scare away disaster.
47:13 You are tired out from listening to so much advice.
Let them take their stand –
the ones who see omens in the sky,
who gaze at the stars,
who make monthly predictions –
let them rescue you from the disaster that is about to overtake you!
47:14 Look, they are like straw,
which the fire burns up;
they cannot rescue themselves
from the heat
There are no coals to warm them,
no firelight to enjoy.
47:15 They will disappoint you,
those you have so faithfully dealt with since your youth.
Each strays off in his own direction,
leaving no one to rescue you.”
48:1 Listen to this, O family of Jacob,
you who are called by the name ‘Israel,’
and are descended from Judah,
who take oaths in the name of the Lord,
and invoke
but not in an honest and just manner.
48:2 Indeed, they live in the holy city;
they trust in
whose name is the Lord who commands armies.
48:3 “I announced events beforehand,
I issued the decrees and made the predictions;
suddenly I acted and they came to pass.
48:4 I did this
Your neck muscles are like iron
and your forehead like bronze.
48:5 I announced them to you beforehand;
before they happened, I predicted them for you,
so you could never say,
‘My image did these things,
my idol, my cast image, decreed them.’
48:6 You have heard; now look at all the evidence!
Will you not admit that what I say is true?
From this point on I am announcing to you new events
that are previously unrevealed and you do not know about.
48:7 Now they come into being,
before today you did not hear about them,
so you could not say,
‘Yes,
48:8 You did not hear,
you do not know,
you were not told beforehand.
For I know that you are very deceitful;
you were labeled
48:9 For the sake of my reputation
for the sake of my prestige
48:10 Look, I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have purified you
48:11 For my sake alone
for how can I allow my name to be defiled?
I will not share my glory with anyone else!
48:12 Listen to me, O Jacob,
Israel, whom I summoned!
I am the one;
I am present at the very beginning
and at the very end.
48:13 Yes, my hand founded the earth;
my right hand spread out the sky.
I summon them;
they stand together.
48:14 All of you, gather together and listen!
Who among them
The Lord’s ally
he will exert his power against the Babylonians.
48:15 I, I have spoken –
yes, I have summoned him;
I lead him and he will succeed.
48:16 Approach me! Listen to this!
From the very first I have not spoken in secret;
when it happens,
So now, the sovereign Lord has sent me, accompanied by his spirit.
48:17 This is what the Lord, your protector,
the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you how to succeed,
who leads you in the way you should go.
48:18 If only you had obeyed my
prosperity would have flowed to you like a river,
deliverance would have come to you like the waves of the sea.
48:19 Your descendants would have been as numerous as sand,
and your children
Their name would not have been cut off
and eliminated from my presence.
48:20 Leave Babylon!
Flee from the Babylonians!
Announce it with a shout of joy!
Make this known!
Proclaim it throughout the earth!
Say, ‘The Lord protects
48:21 They do not thirst as he leads them through dry regions;
he makes water flow out of a rock for them;
he splits open a rock and water flows out.’
48:22 There will be no prosperity for the wicked,” says the Lord.
49:1 Listen to me, you coastlands!
Pay attention, you people who live far away!
The Lord summoned me from birth;
he commissioned me when my mother brought me into the world.
49:2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
he hid me in the hollow of his hand;
he made me like a sharpened
he hid me in his quiver.
49:3 He said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, through whom I will reveal my splendor.”
49:4 But I thought,
I have expended my energy for absolutely nothing.”
But the Lord will vindicate me;
my God will reward me.
49:5 So now the Lord says,
the one who formed me from birth
he did this
so that Israel might be gathered to him;
and I will be honored
for my God is my source of strength
49:6 he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,
to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the remnant
I will make you a light to the nations,
so you can bring
49:7 This is what the Lord,
the protector
to the one who is despised
a servant of rulers:
“Kings will see and rise in respect,
princes will bow down,
because of the faithful Lord,
the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.”
49:8 This is what the Lord says:
“At the time I decide to show my favor, I will respond to you;
in the day of deliverance I will help you;
I will protect you
to rebuild
and to reassign the desolate property.
49:9 You will say
and to those who are in dark dungeons,
They will graze beside the roads;
on all the slopes they will find pasture.
49:10 They will not be hungry or thirsty;
the sun’s oppressive heat will not beat down on them,
for one who has compassion on them will guide them;
he will lead them to springs of water.
49:11 I will make all my mountains into a road;
I will construct my roadways.”
49:12 Look, they come from far away!
Look, some come from the north and west,
and others from the land of Sinim!
49:13 Shout for joy, O sky!
Rejoice, O earth!
Let the mountains give a joyful shout!
For the Lord consoles his people
and shows compassion to the
49:14 “Zion said, ‘The Lord has abandoned me,
the sovereign master
49:15 Can a woman forget her baby who nurses at her breast?
Can she withhold compassion from the child she has borne?
Even if mothers
I could never forget you!
49:16 Look, I have inscribed your name
your walls are constantly before me.
49:17 Your children hurry back,
while those who destroyed and devastated you depart.
49:18 Look all around you!
All of them gather to you.
As surely as I live,” says the Lord,
“you will certainly wear all of them like jewelry;
you will put them on as if you were a bride.
49:19 Yes, your land lies in ruins;
it is desolate and devastated.
But now you will be too small to hold your residents,
and those who devoured you will be far away.
49:20 Yet the children born during your time of bereavement
will say within your hearing,
‘This place is too cramped for us,
make room for us so we can live here.’
49:21 Then you will think to yourself,
‘Who bore these children for me?
I was bereaved and barren,
dismissed and divorced.
Who raised these children?
Look, I was left all alone;
where did these children come from?’”
49:22 This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“Look I will raise my hand to the nations;
I will raise my signal flag to the peoples.
They will bring your sons in their arms
and carry your daughters on their shoulders.
49:23 Kings will be your children’s
their princesses will nurse your children.
With their faces to the ground they will bow down to you
and they will lick the dirt on
Then you will recognize that I am the Lord;
those who wait patiently for me are not put to shame.
49:24 Can spoils be taken from a warrior,
or captives be rescued from a conqueror?
49:25 Indeed,” says the Lord,
“captives will be taken from a warrior;
spoils will be rescued from a conqueror.
I will oppose your adversary
and I will rescue your children.
49:26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;
they will get drunk on their own blood, as if it were wine.
Then all humankind
I am the Lord, your deliverer,
your protector,
50:1 This is what the Lord says:
“Where is your mother’s divorce certificate
by which I divorced her?
Or to which of my creditors did I sell you?
Look, you were sold because of your sins;
because of your rebellious acts I divorced your mother.
50:2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?
Why does no one respond when I call?
Is my hand too weak
Do I lack the power to rescue you?
Look, with a mere shout
I can turn streams into a desert,
so the fish rot away and die
from lack of water.
50:3 I can clothe the sky in darkness;
I can cover it with sackcloth.”
50:4 The sovereign Lord has given me the capacity to be his spokesman,
so that I know how to help the weary.
He wakes me up every morning;
he makes me alert so I can listen attentively as disciples do.
50:5 The sovereign Lord has spoken to me clearly;
I have not rebelled,
I have not turned back.
50:6 I offered my back to those who attacked,
my jaws to those who tore out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from insults and spitting.
50:7 But the sovereign Lord helps me,
so I am not humiliated.
For that reason I am steadfastly resolved;
I know I will not be put to shame.
50:8 The one who vindicates me is close by.
Who dares to argue with me? Let us confront each other!
Who is my accuser?
50:9 Look, the sovereign Lord helps me.
Who dares to condemn me?
Look, all of them will wear out like clothes;
a moth will eat away at them.
50:10 Who among you fears the Lord?
Who obeys
Whoever walks in deep darkness,
without light,
should trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on his God.
50:11 Look, all of you who start a fire
and who equip yourselves with
walk
and among the flaming arrows you ignited!
This is what you will receive from me:
you will lie down in a place of pain.
51:1 “Listen to me, you who pursue godliness,
who seek the Lord!
Look at the rock from which you were chiseled,
at the quarry
51:2 Look at Abraham, your father,
and Sarah, who gave you birth.
When I summoned him, he was a lone individual,
but I blessed him
51:3 Certainly the Lord will console Zion;
he will console all her ruins.
He will make her wilderness like Eden,
her desert like the Garden of the Lord.
Happiness and joy will be restored to
thanksgiving and the sound of music.
51:4 Pay attention to me, my people!
Listen to me, my people!
For
I will make my justice a light to the nations.
51:5 I am ready to vindicate,
I am ready to deliver,
I will establish justice among the nations.
The coastlands
they wait in anticipation for the revelation of my power.
51:6 Look up at the sky!
Look at the earth below!
For the sky will dissipate
and the earth will wear out like clothes;
its residents will die like gnats.
But the deliverance I give
the vindication I provide
51:7 Listen to me, you who know what is right,
you people who are aware of my law!
Don’t be afraid of the insults of men;
don’t be discouraged because of their abuse!
51:8 For a moth will eat away at them like clothes;
a clothes moth will devour them like wool.
But the vindication I provide
the deliverance I give will last.”
51:9 Wake up! Wake up!
Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord!
Wake up as in former times, as in antiquity!
Did you not smash
Did you not
51:10 Did you not dry up the sea,
the waters of the great deep?
Did you not make
so those delivered from bondage
51:11 Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return;
they will enter Zion with a happy shout.
Unending joy will crown them,
happiness and joy will overwhelm
grief and suffering will disappear.
51:12 “I, I am the one who consoles you.
Why are you afraid of mortal men,
of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass?
51:13 Why do you forget
who stretched out the sky
and founded the earth?
Why do you constantly tremble all day long
at the anger of the oppressor,
when he makes plans to destroy?
Where is the anger of the oppressor?
51:14 The one who suffers
he will not die in prison,
he will not go hungry.
51:15 I am the Lord your God,
who churns up the sea so that its waves surge.
The Lord who commands armies is his name!
51:16 I commission you
I cover you with the palm of my hand,
to establish
to say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”
51:17 Wake up! Wake up!
Get up, O Jerusalem!
You drank from the cup the Lord passed to you,
which was full of his anger!
You drained dry
the goblet full of intoxicating wine.
51:18 There was no one to lead her
among all the children she bore;
there was no one to take her by the hand
among all the children she raised.
51:19 These double disasters confronted you.
But who feels sorry for you?
Destruction and devastation,
famine and sword.
But who consoles you?
51:20 Your children faint;
they lie at the head of every street
like an antelope in a snare.
They are left in a stupor by the Lord’s anger,
by the battle cry of your God.
51:21 So listen to this, oppressed one,
who is drunk, but not from wine!
51:22 This is what your sovereign master,
“Look, I have removed from your hand
the cup of intoxicating wine,
the goblet full of my anger.
You will no longer have to drink it.
51:23 I will put it into the hand of your tormentors
who said to you, ‘Lie down, so we can walk over you.’
You made your back like the ground,
and like the street for those who walked over you.”
52:1 Wake up! Wake up!
Clothe yourself with strength, O Zion!
Put on your beautiful clothes,
O Jerusalem,
For uncircumcised and unclean pagans
will no longer invade you.
52:2 Shake off the dirt!
Get up, captive
Take off the iron chains around your neck,
O captive daughter Zion!
52:3 For this is what the Lord says:
“You were sold for nothing,
and you will not be redeemed for money.”
52:4 For this is what the sovereign Lord says:
“In the beginning my people went to live temporarily in Egypt;
Assyria oppressed them for no good reason.
52:5 And now, what do we have here?”
“Indeed my people have been carried away for nothing,
those who rule over them taunt,”
“and my name is constantly slandered
52:6 For this reason my people will know my name,
for this reason they will know
‘Here I am.’”
52:7 How delightful it is to see approaching over the mountains
the feet of a messenger who announces peace,
a messenger who brings good news, who announces deliverance,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
52:8 Listen,
in unison they shout for joy,
for they see with their very own eyes
the Lord’s return to Zion.
52:9 In unison give a joyful shout,
O ruins of Jerusalem!
For the Lord consoles his people;
he protects
52:10 The Lord reveals
in the sight of all the nations;
the entire
our God deliver.
52:11 Leave! Leave! Get out of there!
Don’t touch anything unclean!
Get out of it!
Stay pure, you who carry the Lord’s holy items!
52:12 Yet do not depart quickly
or leave in a panic.
For the Lord goes before you;
the God of Israel is your rear guard.
52:13 “Look, my servant will succeed!
He will be elevated, lifted high, and greatly exalted
52:14 (just as many were horrified by the sight of you)
he was so disfigured
52:15 his form was so marred he no longer looked human
so now
Kings will be shocked by his exaltation,
for they will witness something unannounced to them,
and they will understand something they had not heard about.
53:1 Who would have believed
When
53:2 He sprouted up like a twig before God,
like a root out of parched soil;
he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention,
no special appearance that we should want to follow him.
53:3 He was despised and rejected by people,
one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness;
people hid their faces from him;
he was despised, and we considered him insignificant.
53:4 But he lifted up our illnesses,
he carried our pain;
even though we thought he was being punished,
attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done.
53:5 He was wounded because of
crushed because of our sins;
he endured punishment that made us well;
because of his wounds we have been healed.
53:6 All of us had wandered off like sheep;
each of us had strayed off on his own path,
but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him.
53:7 He was treated harshly and afflicted,
but he did not even open his mouth.
Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block,
like a sheep silent before her shearers,
he did not even open his mouth.
53:8 He was led away after an unjust trial
but who even cared?
Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living;
because of the rebellion of his own
53:9 They intended to bury him with criminals,
but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb,
because
nor had he spoken deceitfully.
53:10 Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill,
once restitution is made,
he will see descendants and enjoy long life,
and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.
53:11 Having suffered, he will reflect on his work,
he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done.
“My servant
for he carried their sins.
53:12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes,
he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful,
because he willingly submitted
and was numbered with the rebels,
when he lifted up the sin of many
and intervened
54:1 “Shout for joy, O barren one who has not given birth!
Give a joyful shout and cry out, you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate one are more numerous
than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.
54:2 Make your tent larger,
stretch your tent curtains farther out!
Spare no effort,
lengthen your ropes,
and pound your stakes deep.
54:3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your children will conquer
and will resettle desolate cities.
54:4 Don’t be afraid, for you will not be put to shame!
Don’t be intimidated,
You will forget about the shame you experienced in your youth;
you will no longer remember the disgrace of your abandonment.
54:5 For your husband is the one who made you –
the Lord who commands armies is his name.
He is your protector,
He is called “God of the entire earth.”
54:6 “Indeed, the Lord will call you back
like a wife who has been abandoned and suffers from depression,
like a young wife when she has been rejected,” says your God.
54:7 “For a short time I abandoned
but with great compassion I will gather you.
54:8 In a burst
but with lasting devotion I will have compassion on you,”
says your protector,
54:9 “As far as I am concerned, this is like in Noah’s time,
when I vowed that the waters of Noah’s flood
In the same way I have vowed that I will not be angry at you or shout at you.
54:10 Even if the mountains are removed
and the hills displaced,
my devotion will not be removed from you,
nor will my covenant of friendship
says the Lord, the one who has compassion on you.
54:11 “O afflicted one, driven away,
Look, I am about to set your stones in antimony
and I lay your foundation with lapis-lazuli.
54:12 I will make your pinnacles out of gems,
your gates out of beryl,
and your outer wall
54:13 All your children will be followers of the Lord,
and your children will enjoy great prosperity.
54:14 You will be reestablished when I vindicate you.
You will not experience oppression;
indeed, you will not be afraid.
You will not be terrified,
for nothing frightening
54:15 If anyone dares to
Whoever tries to challenge you will be defeated.
54:16 Look, I create the craftsman,
who fans the coals into a fire
and forges a weapon.
I create the destroyer so he might devastate.
54:17 No weapon forged to be used against you will succeed;
you will refute everyone who tries to accuse you.
This is what the Lord will do for his servants –
I will vindicate them,”
says the Lord.
55:1 “Hey,
You who have no money, come!
Buy and eat!
Come! Buy wine and milk
without money and without cost!
55:2 Why pay money for something that will not nourish you?
Why spend
Listen carefully
Enjoy fine food!
55:3 Pay attention and come to me!
Listen, so you can live!
Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to
just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David.
55:4 Look, I made him a witness to nations,
a ruler and commander of nations.”
55:5 Look, you will summon nations
nations
because of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he bestows honor on you.
55:6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available;
call to him while he is nearby!
55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle
and sinful people their plans.
They should return
and to their God, for he will freely forgive them.
55:8 “Indeed,
and my deeds
55:9 for just as the sky
so my deeds
and my plans
55:10
and do not return,
but instead water the earth
and make it produce and yield crops,
and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.
55:11 In the same way, the promise that I make
does not return to me, having accomplished nothing.
No, it is realized as I desire
and is fulfilled as I intend.”
55:12 Indeed you will go out with joy;
you will be led along in peace;
the mountains and hills will give a joyful shout before you,
and all the trees in the field will clap their hands.
55:13 Evergreens will grow in place of thorn bushes,
firs will grow in place of nettles;
they will be a monument to the Lord,
a permanent reminder that will remain.
56:1 This is what the Lord says,
“Promote
For I am ready to deliver you;
I am ready to vindicate you openly.
56:2 The people who do this will be blessed,
the people who commit themselves to obedience,
who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,
who refrain from doing anything that is wrong.
56:3 No foreigner who becomes a follower of
‘The Lord will certainly
The eunuch should not say,
‘Look, I am like a dried-up tree.’”
56:4 For this is what the Lord says:
“For the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths
and choose what pleases me
and are faithful to
56:5 I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument
that will be better than sons and daughters.
I will set up a permanent monument
56:6 As for foreigners who become followers of
who love the name of the Lord and want to be his servants –
all who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,
and who are faithful to
56:7 I will bring them to my holy mountain;
I will make them happy in the temple where people pray to me.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar,
for my temple will be known as a temple where all nations may pray.”
56:8 The sovereign Lord says this,
the one who gathers the dispersed of Israel:
“I will still gather them up.”
56:9 All you wild animals in the fields, come and devour,
all you wild animals in the forest!
56:10 All their watchmen
they are unaware.
All of them are like mute dogs,
unable to bark.
They pant,
and love to snooze.
56:11 The dogs have big appetites;
they are never full.
They are shepherds who have no understanding;
they all go their own way,
each one looking for monetary gain.
56:12 Each one says,
‘Come on, I’ll get some wine!
Let’s guzzle some beer!
Tomorrow will be just like today!
We’ll have everything we want!’
57:1 The godly
but no one cares.
Honest people disappear,
when no one
that the godly
57:2 Those who live uprightly enter a place of peace;
they rest on their beds.
57:3 But approach, you sons of omen readers,
you offspring of adulteresses and prostitutes!
57:4 At whom are you laughing?
At whom are you opening your mouth
and sticking out your tongue?
You are the children of rebels,
the offspring of liars,
57:5 you who practice ritual sex
who slaughter children near the streams under the rocky overhangs.
57:6 Among the smooth stones of the stream are the idols you love;
they, they are the object of your devotion.
You pour out liquid offerings to them,
you make an offering.
Because of these things I will seek vengeance.
57:7 On every high, elevated hill you prepare your bed;
you go up there to offer sacrifices.
57:8 Behind the door and doorpost you put your symbols.
Indeed,
and invite them into bed with you.
You purchase favors from them,
you love their bed,
and gaze longingly
57:9 You take olive oil as tribute
along with many perfumes.
You send your messengers to a distant place;
you go all the way to Sheol.
57:10 Because of the long distance you must travel, you get tired,
but you do not say, ‘I give up.’
You get renewed energy,
so you don’t collapse.
57:11 Whom are you worried about?
Whom do you fear, that you would act so deceitfully
and not remember me
or think about me?
Because I have been silent for so long,
you are not afraid of me.
57:12 I will denounce your so-called righteousness and your deeds,
but they will not help you.
57:13 When you cry out for help, let your idols
The wind blows them all away,
a breeze carries them away.
But the one who looks to me for help
and will have access to
57:14 He says,
“Build it! Build it! Clear a way!
Remove all the obstacles out of the way of my people!”
57:15 For this is what the high and exalted one says,
the one who rules
“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,
but also with the discouraged and humiliated,
in order to cheer up the humiliated
and to encourage the discouraged.
57:16 For I will not be hostile
or perpetually angry,
for then man’s spirit would grow faint before me,
the life-giving breath I created.
57:17 I was angry because of their sinful greed;
I attacked them and angrily rejected them,
yet they remained disobedient and stubborn.
57:18 I have seen their behavior,
but I will heal them and give them rest,
and I will once again console those who mourn.
57:19 I am the one who gives them reason to celebrate.
Complete prosperity
says the Lord, “and I will heal them.
57:20 But the wicked are like a surging sea
that is unable to be quiet;
its waves toss up mud and sand.
57:21 There will be no prosperity,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
58:1 “Shout loudly! Don’t be quiet!
Yell as loud as a trumpet!
Confront my people with their rebellious deeds;
confront Jacob’s family with their sin!
58:2 They seek me day after day;
they want to know my requirements,
like a nation that does what is right
and does not reject the law of their God.
They ask me for just decrees;
they want to be near God.
58:3 They lament,
Why don’t you pay attention when we humble ourselves?’
Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires,
you oppress your workers.
58:4 Look, your fasting is accompanied by
and fistfights.
Do not fast as you do today,
trying to make your voice heard in heaven.
58:5 Is this really the kind of fasting I want?
Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves,
bowing their heads like a reed
and stretching out
Is this really what you call a fast,
a day that is pleasing to the Lord?
58:6 No, this is the kind of fast I want.
I want you
to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke,
to set free the oppressed,
and to break every burdensome yoke.
58:7 I want you
and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people.
When you see someone naked, clothe him!
Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood!
58:8 Then your light will shine like the sunrise;
your restoration will quickly arrive;
your godly behavior
and the Lord’s splendor will be your rear guard.
58:9 Then you will call out, and the Lord will respond;
you will cry out, and he will reply, ‘Here I am.’
You must
and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully.
58:10 You must
and feed the oppressed.
Then your light will dispel the darkness,
and your darkness will be transformed into noonday.
58:11 The Lord will continually lead you;
he will feed you even in parched regions.
He will give you renewed strength,
and you will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring that continually produces water.
58:12 Your perpetual ruins will be rebuilt;
you will reestablish the ancient foundations.
You will be called, ‘The one who repairs broken walls,
the one who makes the streets inhabitable again.’
58:13 You must
rather than doing anything you please on my holy day.
You must look forward to the Sabbath
and treat the Lord’s holy day with respect.
You must treat it with respect by refraining from your normal activities,
and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals.
58:14 Then you will find joy in your relationship to the Lord,
and I will give you great prosperity,
and cause crops to grow on the land I gave to your ancestor Jacob.”
Know for certain that the Lord has spoken.
59:1 Look, the Lord’s hand is not too weak
his ear is not too deaf to hear you.
59:2 But your sinful acts have alienated you from your God;
your sins have caused him to reject you and not listen to your prayers.
59:3 For your hands are stained with blood
and your fingers with sin;
your lips speak lies,
your tongue utters malicious words.
59:4 No one is concerned about justice;
no one sets forth his case truthfully.
They depend on false words
they conceive of oppression
and give birth to sin.
59:5 They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake
and spin a spider’s web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
a poisonous snake is hatched.
59:6 Their webs cannot be used for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are sinful;
they commit violent crimes.
59:7 They are eager to do evil,
quick to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are sinful;
they crush and destroy.
59:8 They are unfamiliar with peace;
their deeds are unjust.
They use deceitful methods,
and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace.
59:9 For this reason deliverance
and salvation does not reach us.
We wait for light,
we wait for
59:10 We grope along the wall like the blind,
we grope like those who cannot see;
we stumble at noontime as if it were evening.
Though others are strong, we are like dead men.
59:11 We all growl like bears,
we coo mournfully like doves;
we wait for deliverance,
for salvation, but it is far from us.
59:12 For you are aware of our many rebellious deeds,
and our sins testify against us;
indeed, we are aware of our rebellious deeds;
we know our sins all too well.
59:13 We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord;
we turned back from following our God.
We stir up
we tell lies we concocted in our minds.
59:14 Justice is driven back;
godliness
Indeed,
and morality is not even able to enter.
59:15 Honesty has disappeared;
the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed.
The Lord watches and is displeased,
for there is no justice.
59:16 He sees there is no advocate;
he is shocked
So he takes matters into his own hands;
his desire for justice drives him on.
59:17 He wears his desire for justice
and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head.
He puts on the garments of vengeance
and wears zeal like a robe.
59:18 He repays them for what they have done,
dispensing angry judgment to his adversaries
and punishing his enemies.
He repays the coastlands.
59:19 In the west, people respect
in the east they recognize his splendor.
For he comes like a rushing
driven on by wind sent from the Lord.
59:20 “A protector
to those in Jacob who repent of their rebellious deeds,”
59:21 “As for me, this is my promise to
60:1 “Arise! Shine! For your light arrives!
The splendor
60:2 For, look, darkness covers the earth
and deep darkness covers
but the Lord shines on you;
his splendor
60:3 Nations come to your light,
kings to your bright light.
60:4 Look all around you!
They all gather and come to you –
your sons come from far away
and your daughters are escorted by guardians.
60:5 Then you will look and smile,
you will be excited and your heart will swell with pride.
For the riches of distant lands
and the wealth of nations will come to you.
60:6 Camel caravans will cover your roads,
young camels from Midian and Ephah.
All the merchants of Sheba
bringing gold and incense
and singing praises to the Lord.
60:7 All the sheep of Kedar will be gathered to you;
the rams of Nebaioth will be available to you as sacrifices.
They will go up on my altar acceptably,
and I will bestow honor on my majestic temple.
60:8 Who are these who float along
who fly like doves to their shelters?
60:9 Indeed, the coastlands
the large ships
bringing your sons from far away,
along with their silver and gold,
to honor the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
60:10 Foreigners will rebuild your walls;
their kings will serve you.
Even though I struck you down in my anger,
I will restore my favor and have compassion on you.
60:11 Your gates will remain open at all times;
they will not be shut during the day or at night,
so that the wealth of nations may be delivered,
with their kings leading the way.
60:12 Indeed,
such nations will be totally destroyed.
60:13 The splendor of Lebanon will come to you,
its evergreens, firs, and cypresses together,
to beautify my palace;
I will bestow honor on my throne room.
60:14 The children of your oppressors will come bowing to you;
all who treated you with disrespect will bow down at your feet.
They will call you, ‘The City of the Lord,
Zion of the Holy One of Israel.’
60:15 You were once abandoned
and despised, with no one passing through,
but I will make you
and joy to coming generations.
60:16 You will drink the milk of nations;
you will nurse at the breasts of kings.
Then you will recognize that I, the Lord, am your deliverer,
your protector,
60:17 Instead of bronze, I will bring you gold,
instead of iron, I will bring you silver,
instead of wood, I will bring you
instead of stones, I will bring you
I will make prosperity
and vindication your sovereign ruler.
60:18 Sounds of violence
or the sounds of
You will name your walls, ‘Deliverance,’
and your gates, ‘Praise.’
60:19 The sun will no longer supply light for you by day,
nor will the moon’s brightness shine on you;
the Lord will be your permanent source of light –
the splendor of your God will shine upon you.
60:20 Your sun will no longer set;
your moon will not disappear;
the Lord will be your permanent source of light;
your time
60:21 All of your people will be godly;
they will possess the land permanently.
I will plant them like a shoot;
they will be the product of my labor,
through whom I reveal my splendor.
60:22 The least of you will multiply into
the smallest of you will become a large nation.
When the right time comes, I the Lord will quickly do this!”
61:1 The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me,
because the Lord has chosen
He has commissioned
to help
to decree the release of captives,
and the freeing of prisoners,
61:2 to announce the year when the Lord will show his favor,
the day when our God will seek vengeance,
to console all who mourn,
61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,
by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,
oil symbolizing joy,
a garment symbolizing praise,
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor.
61:4 They will rebuild the perpetual ruins
and restore the places that were desolate;
they will reestablish the ruined cities,
the places that have been desolate since ancient times.
61:5
foreigners will work in your fields and vineyards.
61:6 You will be called, ‘the Lord’s priests,
servants of our God.’
You will enjoy
and boast about
61:7 Instead of shame, you will get a double portion;
instead of humiliation, they will rejoice over the land they receive.
Yes,
and experience lasting joy.
61:8 For I, the Lord, love justice
and hate robbery and sin.
I will repay them because of my faithfulness;
I will make a permanent covenant with them.
61:9 Their descendants will be known among the nations,
their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will recognize that
the Lord has blessed them.”
61:10 I
I will be overjoyed because of my God.
For he clothes me in garments of deliverance;
he puts on me a robe symbolizing vindication.
I look like a bridegroom when he wears a turban as a priest would;
I look like a bride when she puts on her jewelry.
61:11 For just as the ground produces its crops
and a garden yields its produce,
so the sovereign Lord will cause deliverance
and give his people reason to praise him in the sight of all the nations.
62:1 “For the sake of Zion I will not be silent;
for the sake of Jerusalem
until her vindication shines brightly
and her deliverance burns like a torch.”
62:2 Nations will see your vindication,
and all kings your splendor.
You will be called by a new name
that the Lord himself will give you.
62:3 You will be a majestic crown in the hand of the Lord,
a royal turban in the hand of your God.
62:4 You will no longer be called, “Abandoned,”
and your land will no longer be called “Desolate.”
Indeed,
and your land “Married.”
For the Lord will take delight in you,
and your land will be married to him.
62:5 As a young man marries a young woman,
so your sons
As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride,
so your God will rejoice over you.
62:6 I
they should keep praying all day and all night.
You who pray to
62:7 Don’t allow him to rest until he reestablishes Jerusalem,
until he makes Jerusalem the pride
62:8 The Lord swears an oath by his right hand,
by his strong arm:
“I will never again give your grain
to your enemies as food,
and foreigners will not drink your wine,
which you worked hard to produce.
62:9 But those who harvest the grain
and will praise the Lord.
Those who pick the grapes will drink the wine
in the courts of my holy sanctuary.”
62:10 Come through! Come through the gates!
Prepare the way for the people!
Build it! Build the roadway!
Remove the stones!
Lift a signal flag for the nations!
62:11 Look, the Lord announces to the entire earth:
“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘Look, your deliverer comes!
Look, his reward is with him
and his reward goes before him!’”
62:12 They will be called, “The Holy People,
the Ones Protected
You will be called, “Sought After,
City Not Abandoned.”
63:1 Who is this who comes from Edom,
dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah?
Who
who marches confidently
“It is I, the one who announces vindication,
and who is able to deliver!”
63:2 Why are your clothes red?
Why do you look like someone who has stomped on grapes in a vat?
63:3 “I have stomped grapes in the winepress all by myself;
no one from the nations joined me.
I stomped on them
I trampled them down in my rage.
Their juice splashed on my garments,
and stained
63:4 For I looked forward to the day of vengeance,
and then payback time arrived.
63:5 I looked, but there was no one to help;
I was shocked because there was no one offering support.
So my right arm accomplished deliverance;
my raging anger drove me on.
63:6 I trampled nations in my anger,
I made them drunk
I splashed their blood on the ground.”
63:7 I will tell of the faithful acts of the Lord,
of the Lord’s praiseworthy deeds.
I will tell about all
the many good things he did for the family of Israel,
because of
63:8 He said, “Certainly they will be my people,
children who are not disloyal.”
He became their deliverer.
63:9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too.
The messenger sent from his very presence
In his love and mercy he protected
he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times.
63:10 But they rebelled and offended
so he turned into an enemy
and fought against them.
63:11 His people remembered the ancient times.
Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea,
along with the shepherd of
Where is the one who placed his holy Spirit among them,
63:12 the one who made his majestic power available to Moses,
who divided the water before them,
gaining for himself a lasting reputation,
63:13 who led them through the deep water?
Like a horse running on flat land
63:14 Like an animal that goes down into a valley to graze,
so the Spirit of the Lord granted them rest.
In this way
gaining for yourself an honored reputation.
63:15 Look down from heaven and take notice,
from your holy, majestic palace!
Where are your zeal
Do not hold back your tender compassion!
63:16 For you are our father,
though Abraham does not know us
and Israel does not recognize us.
You, Lord, are our father;
you have been called our protector from ancient times.
63:17 Why, Lord, do you make us stray
and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your inheritance!
63:18 For a short time your special
but then our adversaries knocked down
63:19 We existed from ancient times,
but you did not rule over them,
they were not your subjects.
64:1 (63:19b)
The mountains would tremble
64:2 (64:1) As when fire ignites dry wood,
or fire makes water boil,
let your adversaries know who you are,
and may the nations shake at your presence!
64:3 When you performed awesome deeds that took us by surprise,
you came down, and the mountains trembled
64:4 Since ancient times no one has heard or perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who intervenes for those who wait for him.
64:5 You assist
who observe your commandments.
Look, you were angry because we violated them continually.
How then can we be saved?
64:6 We are all like one who is unclean,
all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight.
We all wither like a leaf;
our sins carry us away like the wind.
64:7 No one invokes
or makes an effort
For you have rejected us
and handed us over to our own sins.
64:8 Yet,
We are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the product of your labor.
64:9 Lord, do not be too angry!
Do not hold our sins against us continually!
Take a good look at your people, at all of us!
64:10 Your chosen
Zion has become a desert,
Jerusalem
64:11 Our holy temple, our pride and joy,
the place where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned with fire;
all our prized possessions have been destroyed.
64:12 In light of all this,
How can you be silent and continue to humiliate us?
65:1 “I made myself available to those who did not ask for me;
I appeared to those who did not look for me.
I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’
to a nation that did not invoke
65:2 I spread out my hands all day long
to my rebellious people,
who lived in a way that is morally unacceptable,
and who did what they desired.
65:3 These people continually and blatantly offend me
as they sacrifice in their sacred orchards
and burn incense on brick altars.
65:4 They sit among the tombs
and keep watch all night long.
They eat pork,
and broth
65:5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself!
Don’t get near me, for I am holier than you!’
These people are like smoke in my nostrils,
like a fire that keeps burning all day long.
65:6 Look, I have decreed:
I will not keep silent, but will pay them back;
I will pay them back exactly what they deserve,
65:7 for your sins and your ancestors’ sins,”
“Because they burned incense on the mountains
and offended
I will punish them in full measure.”
65:8 This is what the Lord says:
“When
someone says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for it contains juice.’
So I will do for the sake of my servants –
I will not destroy everyone.
65:9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
and from Judah people to take possession of my mountains.
My chosen ones will take possession of the land;
my servants will live there.
65:10 Sharon
and the Valley of Achor
they will belong to my people, who seek me.
65:11 But as for you who abandon the Lord
and forget about worshiping at
who prepare a feast for the god called ‘Fortune,’
and fill up wine jugs for the god called ‘Destiny’
65:12 I predestine you to die by the sword,
all of you will kneel down at the slaughtering block,
because I called to you, and you did not respond,
I spoke and you did not listen.
You did evil before me;
you chose to do what displeases me.”
65:13 So this is what the sovereign Lord says:
“Look, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry!
Look, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty!
Look, my servants will rejoice, but you will be humiliated!
65:14 Look, my servants will shout for joy as happiness fills their hearts!
But you will cry out as sorrow fills your hearts;
you will wail because your spirits will be crushed.
65:15 Your names will live on in the curse formulas of my chosen ones.
The sovereign Lord will kill you,
but he will give his servants another name.
65:16 Whoever pronounces a blessing in the earth
will do so in the name of the faithful God;
whoever makes an oath in the earth
will do so in the name of the faithful God.
For past problems will be forgotten;
I will no longer think about them.
65:17 For look, I am ready to create
new heavens and a new earth!
The former ones
no one will think about them anymore.
65:18 But be happy and rejoice forevermore
over what I am about to create!
For look, I am ready to create Jerusalem
and her people to be a source of happiness.
65:19 Jerusalem will bring me joy,
and my people will bring me happiness.
The sound of weeping or cries of sorrow
will never be heard in her again.
65:20 Never again will one of her infants live just a few days
or an old man die before his time.
Indeed, no one will die before the age of a hundred,
anyone who fails to reach
65:21 They will build houses and live in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
65:22 No longer will they build a house only to have another live in it,
or plant a vineyard only to have another eat its fruit,
for my people will live as long as trees,
and my chosen ones will enjoy to the fullest what they have produced.
65:23 They will not work in vain,
or give birth to children that will experience disaster.
For the Lord will bless their children
and their descendants.
65:24 Before they even call out,
while they are still speaking, I will hear.
65:25 A wolf and a lamb will graze together;
a lion, like an ox, will eat straw,
and a snake’s food will be dirt.
They will no longer injure or destroy
on my entire royal mountain,”
66:1 This is what the Lord says:
“The heavens are my throne
and the earth is my footstool.
Where then is the house you will build for me?
Where is the place where I will rest?
66:2 My hand made them;
that is how they came to be,”
I show special favor
who respect what I have to say.
66:3 The one who slaughters a bull also strikes down a man;
the one who sacrifices a lamb also breaks a dog’s neck;
the one who presents an offering includes pig’s blood with it;
the one who offers incense also praises an idol.
They have decided to behave this way;
they enjoy these disgusting practices.
66:4 So I will choose severe punishment
I will bring on them what they dread,
because I called, and no one responded,
I spoke and they did not listen.
They did evil before me;
they chose to do what displeases me.”
66:5 Hear the word of the Lord,
you who respect what he has to say!
Your countrymen,
and exclude you, supposedly for the sake of my name,
say, “May the Lord be glorified,
then we will witness your joy.”
But they will be put to shame.
66:6 The sound of battle comes from the city;
the sound comes from the temple!
It is the sound of the Lord paying back his enemies.
66:7 Before she goes into labor, she gives birth!
Before her contractions begin, she delivers a boy!
66:8 Who has ever heard of such a thing?
Who has ever seen this?
Can a country
Can a nation be born in a single moment?
Yet as soon as Zion goes into labor she gives birth to sons!
66:9 “Do I bring a baby to the birth opening and then not deliver it?”
asks the Lord.
“Or do I bring a baby to the point of delivery and then hold it back?”
asks your God.
66:10 Be happy for Jerusalem
and rejoice with her, all you who love her!
Share in her great joy,
all you who have mourned over her!
66:11 For
you will feed with joy from her milk-filled breasts.
66:12 For this is what the Lord says:
“Look, I am ready to extend to her prosperity that will flow like a river,
the riches of nations will flow into her like a stream that floods its banks.
You will nurse from her breast
you will play on her knees.
66:13 As a mother consoles a child,
so I will console you,
and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.”
66:14 When you see this, you will be happy,
and you will be revived.
The Lord will reveal his power to his servants
and his anger to his enemies.
66:15 For look, the Lord comes with fire,
his chariots come like a windstorm,
to reveal his raging anger,
his battle cry, and his flaming arrows.
66:16 For the Lord judges all humanity
with fire and his sword;
the Lord will kill many.
66:17 “As for those who consecrate and ritually purify themselves so they can follow their leader and worship in the sacred orchards,