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.

They do not comprehend or understand, for their eyes are blind and cannot see; their minds do not discern. ¹ 

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 ¹  me.

I solemnly make this oath ¹  – what I say is true and reliable: ²  ‘Surely every knee will bow to me, every tongue will solemnly affirm; ³ 

You said, ‘I will rule forever as permanent queen!’ ¹  You did not think about these things; ²  you did not consider how it would turn out. ³ 

They will disappoint you, ¹  those you have so faithfully dealt with since your youth. ²  Each strays off in his own direction, ³  leaving no one to rescue you.”

Yes, my hand founded the earth; my right hand spread out the sky. I summon them; they stand together.

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.

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.

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! ¹ 

“O afflicted one, driven away, ¹  and unconsoled! Look, I am about to set your stones in antimony and I lay your foundation with lapis-lazuli.

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 

Sounds of violence ¹  will no longer be heard in your land, or the sounds of ²  destruction and devastation within your borders. You will name your walls, ‘Deliverance,’ and your gates, ‘Praise.’

¹ The sinful nation is as good as dead, ²  the people weighed down by evil deeds. They are offspring who do wrong, children ³  who do wicked things. They have abandoned the Lord, and rejected the Holy One of Israel. ⁴  They are alienated from him. ⁵ 

From the soles of your feet to your head, there is no spot that is unharmed. ¹  There are only bruises, cuts, and open wounds. They have not been cleansed ²  or bandaged, nor have they been treated ³  with olive oil. ⁴ 

Indeed, a man will grab his brother right in his father’s house ¹  and say, ²  ‘You own a coat – you be our leader! This heap of ruins will be under your control.’ ³ 

Seven women will grab hold of one man at that time. ¹  They will say, “We will provide ²  our own food, we will provide ³  our own clothes; but let us belong to you ⁴  – take away our shame!” ⁵ 

At that time ¹  the crops given by the Lord will bring admiration and honor; ²  the produce of the land will be a source of pride and delight to those who remain in Israel. ³ 

Then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion ¹  and over its convocations a cloud and smoke by day and a bright flame of fire by night; ²  indeed a canopy will accompany the Lord’s glorious presence. ³ 

Those who accumulate houses are as good as dead, ¹  those who also accumulate landed property ²  until there is no land left, ³  and you are the only landowners remaining within the land. ⁴