<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">We are all like one who is unclean,p> <p class="poetry">all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">We all wither like a leaf;p> <p class="poetry">our sins carry us away like the wind.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>

<p class="poetry">They say, &#8216;Keep to yourself!p> <p class="poetry">Don&#8217;t get near me, for I am holier than you!&#8217;p> <p class="poetry">These people are like smoke in my nostrils,p> <p class="poetry">like a fire that keeps burning all day long.p>

&#8220;I hate their deeds and thoughts! So I am coming<n id="1" /> to gather all the nations and ethnic groups;<n id="2" /> they will come and witness my splendor.

From one month<n id="1" /> to the next and from one Sabbath to the next, all people<n id="2" /> will come to worship me,&#8221;<n id="3" /> says the <sc>Lordsc>.

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" />

<p class="bodytext">But when<n id="1" /> the sovereign master<n id="2" /> finishes judging<n id="3" /> Mount Zion and Jerusalem, then I<n id="4" /> will punish the king of Assyria for what he has proudly planned and for the arrogant attitude he displays.<n id="5" />

<p class="poetry">My hand discovered the wealth of the nations, as if it were in a nest,p> <p class="poetry">as one gathers up abandoned eggs,p> <p class="poetry">I gathered up the whole earth.p> <p class="poetry">There was no wing flapping,p> <p class="poetry">or open mouth chirping.&#8221;<n id="1" />p>

The land of Judah will humiliate Egypt. Everyone who hears about Judah will be afraid because of what the <sc>Lordsc> who commands armies is planning to do to them.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">It will be like a hungry man dreaming that he is eating,p> <p class="poetry">only to awaken and find that his stomach is empty.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">It will be like a thirsty man dreaming that he is drinking,p> <p class="poetry">only to awaken and find that he is still weak and his thirst unquenched.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">So it will be for the horde from all the nationsp> <p class="poetry">that fight against Mount Zion.p>

&#8216;Look, a time is coming when everything in your palace and the things your ancestors<n id="1" /> have accumulated to this day will be carried away to Babylon; nothing will be left,&#8217; says the <sc>Lordsc>.

<p class="poetry">Certainly the <sc>Lordsc> will console Zion;p> <p class="poetry">he will console all her ruins.p> <p class="poetry">He will make her wilderness like Eden,p> <p class="poetry">her desert like the Garden of the <sc>Lordsc>.p> <p class="poetry">Happiness and joy will be restored to<n id="1" /> her,p> <p class="poetry">thanksgiving and the sound of music.p>

<p class="poetry">Why do you forget<n id="1" /> the <sc>Lordsc>, who made you,p> <p class="poetry">who stretched out the sky<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and founded the earth?p> <p class="poetry">Why do you constantly tremble all day long<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">at the anger of the oppressor,p> <p class="poetry">when he makes plans to destroy?p> <p class="poetry">Where is the anger of the oppressor?<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">And now, what do we have here?&#8221;<n id="1" /> says the <sc>Lordsc>.p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Indeed my people have been carried away for nothing,p> <p class="poetry">those who rule over them taunt,&#8221;<n id="2" /> says the <sc>Lordsc>,p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;and my name is constantly slandered<n id="3" /> all day long.p>

<p class="poetry">No weapon forged to be used against you will succeed;p> <p class="poetry">you will refute everyone who tries to accuse you.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">This is what the <sc>Lordsc> will do for his servants &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">I will vindicate them,&#8221;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">says the <sc>Lordsc>.p>

<t /><p class="poetry">&#8220;Hey,<n id="1" /> all who are thirsty, come to the water!p> <p class="poetry">You who have no money, come!p> <p class="poetry">Buy and eat!p> <p class="poetry">Come! Buy wine and milkp> <p class="poetry">without money and without cost!<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">As for foreigners who become followers of<n id="1" /> the <sc>Lordsc> and serve him,p> <p class="poetry">who love the name of the <sc>Lordsc> and want to be his servants &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">all who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,p> <p class="poetry">and who are faithful to<n id="2" /> my covenant &#8211;p>

<t /><p class="poetry">I will tell of the faithful acts of the <sc>Lordsc>,p> <p class="poetry">of the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s praiseworthy deeds.p> <p class="poetry">I will tell about all<n id="1" /> the <sc>Lordsc> did for us,p> <p class="poetry">the many good things he did for the family of Israel,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">because of<n id="3" /> his compassion and great faithfulness.p>

They will bring back all your countrymen<n id="1" /> from all the nations as an offering to the <sc>Lordsc>. They will bring them<n id="2" /> on horses, in chariots, in wagons, on mules, and on camels<n id="3" /> to my holy hill Jerusalem,&#8221; says the <sc>Lordsc>, &#8220;just as the Israelites bring offerings to the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple in ritually pure containers.