Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; ¹  call to him while he is nearby!

Those who live uprightly enter a place of peace; they rest on their beds. ¹ 

I am not angry. I wish I could confront some thorns and briers! Then I would march against them ¹  for battle; I would set them ²  all on fire,

For the bed is too short to stretch out on, and the blanket is too narrow to wrap around oneself. ¹ 

They travel down to Egypt without seeking my will, ¹  seeking Pharaoh’s protection, and looking for safety in Egypt’s protective shade. ² 

you will be blessed, you who plant seed by all the banks of the streams, ¹  you who let your ox and donkey graze. ² 

O sovereign master, your decrees can give men life; may years of life be restored to me. ¹  Restore my health ²  and preserve my life.’

You take olive oil as tribute ¹  to your king, ²  along with many perfumes. ³  You send your messengers to a distant place; you go all the way to Sheol. ⁴ 

Because of the long distance you must travel, you get tired, ¹  but you do not say, ‘I give up.’ ²  You get renewed energy, ³  so you don’t collapse. ⁴ 

We all growl like bears, we coo mournfully like doves; we wait for deliverance, ¹  but there is none, for salvation, but it is far from us.

Honesty has disappeared; the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed. The Lord watches and is displeased, ¹  for there is no justice.

Indeed ¹  Israel ²  is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies, the people ³  of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight. He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience! ⁴  He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help! ⁵ 

So the Lord told Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub ¹  and meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. ² 

The poor will graze in my pastures; ¹  the needy will rest securely. But I will kill your root by famine; it will put to death all your survivors. ² 

those whom the Lord has ransomed will return that way. ¹  They will enter Zion with a happy shout. Unending joy will crown them, ²  happiness and joy will overwhelm ³  them; grief and suffering will disappear. ⁴ 

Look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If someone leans on it for support, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him!

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.

He feeds on ashes; ¹  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?’ ² 

Having suffered, he will reflect on his work, he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done. ¹  “My servant ²  will acquit many, ³  for he carried their sins. ⁴ 

Then you will call out, and the Lord will respond; you will cry out, and he will reply, ‘Here I am.’ You must ¹  remove the burdensome yoke from among you and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully.