<p class="poetry">Look, they are like straw,p> <p class="poetry">which the fire burns up;p> <p class="poetry">they cannot rescue themselvesp> <p class="poetry">from the heat<n id="1" /> of the flames.p> <p class="poetry">There are no coals to warm them,p> <p class="poetry">no firelight to enjoy.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">Approach me! Listen to this!p> <p class="poetry">From the very first I have not spoken in secret;p> <p class="poetry">when it happens,<n id="1" /> I am there.&#8221;p> <p class="poetry">So now, the sovereign <sc>Lordsc> has sent me, accompanied by his spirit.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">Wake up! Wake up!p> <p class="poetry">Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the <sc>Lordsc>!<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Wake up as in former times, as in antiquity!p> <p class="poetry">Did you not smash<n id="2" /> the Proud One?<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">Did you not<n id="4" /> wound the sea monster?<n id="5" />p>

<p class="poetry">Did you not dry up the sea,p> <p class="poetry">the waters of the great deep?p> <p class="poetry">Did you not make<n id="1" /> a path through the depths of the sea,p> <p class="poetry">so those delivered from bondage<n id="2" /> could cross over?p>

<p class="poetry">He was despised and rejected by people,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness;p> <p class="poetry">people hid their faces from him;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">he was despised, and we considered him insignificant.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Evergreens will grow in place of thorn bushes,p> <p class="poetry">firs will grow in place of nettles;p> <p class="poetry">they will be a monument to the <sc>Lordsc>,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">a permanent reminder that will remain.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">that will be better than sons and daughters.p> <p class="poetry">I will set up a permanent monument<n id="2" /> for them that will remain.p>

<p class="poetry">At whom are you laughing?p> <p class="poetry">At whom are you opening your mouthp> <p class="poetry">and sticking out your tongue?p> <p class="poetry">You are the children of rebels,p> <p class="poetry">the offspring of liars,<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">Look, your fasting is accompanied by<n id="1" /> arguments, brawls,p> <p class="poetry">and fistfights.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Do not fast as you do today,p> <p class="poetry">trying to make your voice heard in heaven.p>

<p class="poetry">No, this is the kind of fast I want.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">I want you<n id="2" /> to remove the sinful chains,p> <p class="poetry">to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke,p> <p class="poetry">to set free the oppressed,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">and to break every burdensome yoke.p>

<p class="poetry">The <sc>Lordsc> will continually lead you;p> <p class="poetry">he will feed you even in parched regions.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">He will give you renewed strength,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and you will be like a well-watered garden,p> <p class="poetry">like a spring that continually produces water.p>

<t /><p class="poetry">For this reason deliverance<n id="1" /> is far from us<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and salvation does not reach us.p> <p class="poetry">We wait for light,<n id="3" /> but see only darkness;<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">we wait for<n id="5" /> a bright light,<n id="6" /> but live<n id="7" /> in deep darkness.<n id="8" />p>

<p class="poetry">Justice is driven back;p> <p class="poetry">godliness<n id="1" /> stands far off.p> <p class="poetry">Indeed,<n id="2" /> honesty stumbles in the city squarep> <p class="poetry">and morality is not even able to enter.p>

<p class="poetry">Your gates will remain open at all times;p> <p class="poetry">they will not be shut during the day or at night,p> <p class="poetry">so that the wealth of nations may be delivered,p> <p class="poetry">with their kings leading the way.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">Sounds of violence<n id="1" /> will no longer be heard in your land,p> <p class="poetry">or the sounds of<n id="2" /> destruction and devastation within your borders.p> <p class="poetry">You will name your walls, &#8216;Deliverance,&#8217;p> <p class="poetry">and your gates, &#8216;Praise.&#8217;p>

<p class="poetry">I<n id="1" /> post watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;p> <p class="poetry">they should keep praying all day and all night.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">You who pray to<n id="3" /> the <sc>Lordsc>, don&#8217;t be silent!p>

<p class="poetry">Through all that they suffered, he suffered too.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">The messenger sent from his very presence<n id="2" /> delivered them.p> <p class="poetry">In his love and mercy he protected<n id="3" /> them;p> <p class="poetry">he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">I spread out my hands all day longp> <p class="poetry">to my rebellious people,p> <p class="poetry">who lived in a way that is morally unacceptable,p> <p class="poetry">and who did what they desired.<n id="1" />p>

<t /><p class="poetry">Indeed, this is what the <sc>Lordsc> says to me:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;The <sc>Lordsc> will be like a growling lion,p> <p class="poetry">like a young lion growling over its prey.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it,p> <p class="poetry">it is not afraid of their shoutsp> <p class="poetry">or intimidated by their yelling.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">In this same way the <sc>Lordsc> who commands armies will descendp> <p class="poetry">to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill.<n id="3" />p>

Hezekiah welcomed<n id="1" /> them and showed them his storehouse with its silver, gold, spices, and high-quality olive oil, as well as his whole armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom.<n id="2" />