A voice cries out, “In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord; construct in the desert a road for our God.

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.’ ¹ 

Yet the children born during your time of bereavement will say within your hearing, ‘This place is too cramped for us, ¹  make room for us so we can live here.’ ² 

I am ready to vindicate, ¹  I am ready to deliver, ²  I will establish justice among the nations. ³  The coastlands ⁴  wait patiently for me; they wait in anticipation for the revelation of my power. ⁵ 

These double disasters confronted you. But who feels sorry for you? Destruction and devastation, famine and sword. But who consoles you? ¹ 

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 

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 

Look all around you! ¹  They all gather and come to you – your sons come from far away and your daughters are escorted by guardians.

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 

At that time ¹  the sovereign master will use a razor hired from the banks of the Euphrates River, ²  the king of Assyria, to shave the head and the pubic hair; ³  it will also shave off the beard.

What will you do on judgment day, ¹  when destruction arrives from a distant place? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your wealth?

He will treat the poor fairly, ¹  and make right decisions ²  for the downtrodden of the earth. ³  He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, ⁴  and order the wicked to be executed. ⁵ 

At that time ¹  a root from Jesse ²  will stand like a signal flag for the nations. Nations will look to him for guidance, ³  and his residence will be majestic.

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 

Wail, O city gate! Cry out, O city! Melt with fear, ¹  all you Philistines! For out of the north comes a cloud of smoke, and there are no stragglers in its ranks. ² 

At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will visit Egypt, and the Egyptians will visit Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. ¹ 

Her profits and earnings will be set apart for the Lord. They will not be stored up or accumulated, for her profits will be given to those who live in the Lord’s presence and will be used to purchase large quantities of food and beautiful clothes. ¹ 

he will swallow up death permanently. ¹  The sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from every face, and remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. Indeed, the Lord has announced it! ² 

Once he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter the seed of the caraway plant, sow the seed of the cumin plant, and plant the wheat, barley, and grain in their designated places? ¹ 

A thoroughfare will be there – it will be called the Way of Holiness. ¹  The unclean will not travel on it; it is reserved for those authorized to use it ²  – fools ³  will not stray into it.