“Present your argument,” says the Lord. “Produce your evidence,” ¹  says Jacob’s king. ² 

Indeed, ¹  he says: “Are not my officials all kings?

“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your ¹  God.

“To whom can you compare me? Whom do I resemble?” says the Holy One. ¹ 

“Now I will rise up,” says the Lord. “Now I will exalt myself; now I will magnify myself. ¹ 

They help one another; ¹  one says to the other, ‘Be strong!’

Those remaining in Zion, ¹  those left in Jerusalem, ²  will be called “holy,” ³  all in Jerusalem who are destined to live. ⁴ 

A fool will no longer be called honorable; a deceiver will no longer be called principled.

No resident of Zion ¹  will say, “I am ill”; the people who live there will have their sin forgiven.

“Do I bring a baby to the birth opening and then not deliver it?” asks the Lord. “Or do I bring a baby to the point of delivery and then hold it back?” asks your God. ¹ 

No foreigner who becomes a follower of ¹  the Lord should say, ‘The Lord will certainly ²  exclude me from his people.’ The eunuch should not say, ‘Look, I am like a dried-up tree.’”

You will no longer be called, “Abandoned,” and your land will no longer be called “Desolate.” Indeed, ¹  you will be called “My Delight is in Her,” ²  and your land “Married.” ³  For the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married to him. ⁴ 

“Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?” ¹  says the Lord. “I am stuffed with ²  burnt sacrifices of rams and the fat from steers. The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats I do not want. ³ 

¹ Come, let’s consider your options,” ²  says the Lord. “Though your sins have stained you like the color red, you can become ³  white like snow; though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet, you can become ⁴  white like wool. ⁵ 

“Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ every time these people say the word. ¹  Don’t be afraid of what scares them; don’t be terrified.

At that time five cities ¹  in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord who commands armies. One will be called the City of the Sun. ² 

Your thinking is perverse! ¹  Should the potter be regarded as clay? ²  Should the thing made say ³  about its maker, “He didn’t make me”? Or should the pottery say about the potter, “He doesn’t understand”?

One will say, ‘I belong to the Lord,’ and another will use ¹  the name ‘Jacob.’ One will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’ and use the name ‘Israel.’” ² 

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 

You will be called, ‘the Lord’s priests, servants of our God.’ ¹  You will enjoy ²  the wealth of nations and boast about ³  the riches you receive from them. ⁴