~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem, which he beheld in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; For Yahweh speaks, “Sons I have reared and raised up, But they have transgressed against Me. “An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master’s manger, But Israel does not know; My people do not perceive.” Alas, sinful nation, People heavy with iniquity, Seed of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have forsaken Yahweh; They have spurned the Holy One of Israel; They have become estranged from Him. Where will you be stricken again, As you continue in your rebellion? The whole head is sick, And the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing sound in it, Only bruises, wounds, and raw wounds, Not pressed out, not bandaged, Not softened with oil. Your land is desolate; Your cities are burned with fire; Your fields—strangers are devouring them in your presence; It is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, Like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city. Unless Yahweh of hosts Had left us a few survivors, We would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah. Hear the word of Yahweh, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, You people of Gomorrah. “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says Yahweh. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats I take no pleasure. “When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of convocation— I cannot endure wickedness and the solemn assembly. “My soul hates your new moon festivals and your appointed times, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Indeed, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood. “Wash yourselves, purify yourselves; Remove the evil of your deeds from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Execute justice for the orphan, Plead for the widow. “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says Yahweh, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. “If you are willing and obey, You will eat the best of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, You will be eaten by the sword.” For the mouth of Yahweh has spoken. How the faithful city has become a harlot, She who was full of justice! Righteousness once lodged in her, But now murderers. Your silver has become dross, Your drink diluted with water. Your rulers are rebels And companions of thieves; Everyone loves a bribe And pursues rewards. They do not execute justice for the orphan, Nor does the widow’s plea come before them. Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, The Mighty One of Israel, declares, “Ah, I will be comforted concerning My adversaries, And I will avenge Myself on My enemies. “I will also turn My hand against you, And will smelt away your dross as with lye And will remove all your alloy. “Then I will have your judges return as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning; Afterwards you will be called the city of righteousness, A faithful town.” Zion will be redeemed with justice And her repentant ones with righteousness. But transgressors and sinners will be broken together, And those who forsake Yahweh will come to an end. For you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, And you will be humiliated because of the gardens which you have chosen. For you will be like an oak whose leaf withers away Or as a garden that has no water. And the strong man will become tinder, His work also a spark. Thus they shall both burn together, And there will be none to quench them.

~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz beheld concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Now it will be that In the last days The mountain of the house of Yahweh Will be established as the head of the mountains, And will be lifted up above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, To the house of the God of Jacob, That He may instruct us from His ways And that we may walk in His paths.” For from Zion the law will go forth And the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war. Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of Yahweh. For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob, Because they are filled with influences from the east, And they are soothsayers like the Philistines, And they strike bargains with the children of foreigners. Their land has also been filled with silver and gold, And there is no end to their treasures; Their land has also been filled with horses, And there is no end to their chariots. Their land has also been filled with idols; They worship the work of their hands, That which their fingers have made. So the common man has been bowed down, And the man of importance has been made low, But do not forgive them. Enter the rock and hide in the dust From the dread of Yahweh and from the splendor of His majesty. The lofty look of man will be made low, And the men made high will be bowed down, And Yahweh alone will be exalted in that day. For Yahweh of hosts will have a day of reckoning Against everyone who is proud and high And against everyone who is lifted up, That he may be made low. And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, Against all the oaks of Bashan, Against all the high mountains, Against all the hills that are lifted up, Against every lofty tower, Against every fortified wall, Against all the ships of Tarshish And against all the desirable craft. The loftiness of man will be bowed down, And the men who are high will be made low; And Yahweh alone will be exalted in that day, But the idols will completely vanish. Men will go into caves of the rocks And into holes of the ground Before the dread of Yahweh And the splendor of His majesty, When He arises to make the earth tremble. In that day men will cast away to the moles and the bats Their idols of silver and their idols of gold, Which they made for themselves to worship, In order to go into the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs Before the dread of Yahweh and the splendor of His majesty, When He arises to make the earth tremble. Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; For why should he be esteemed?

~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ For behold, the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah Both supply and support, the whole supply of bread And the whole supply of water, The mighty man and the man of war, The judge and the prophet, The diviner and the elder, The commander of fifty and the highly respected man, The counselor and the wise craftsman, And the experienced enchanter. And I will make young men their princes, And capricious children will rule over them, And the people will be oppressed, Each one by another, and each one by his neighbor; The youth will overwhelm the elder And the dishonorable, the honorable. When a man grasps his brother in his father’s house, saying, “You have a cloak, you shall be our ruler, And these ruins will be under your hand,” He will protest on that day, saying, “I will not be your healer, For in my house there is neither bread nor cloak; You should not appoint me ruler of the people.” For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen, Because their tongue and their deeds are against Yahweh, To rebel against His glorious presence. The expression of their faces answers against them, And they declare their sin like Sodom; They do not even conceal it. Woe to their soul! For they have dealt out evil on themselves. Say to the righteous that it will go well with them, For they will eat the fruit of their deeds. Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him, For what he has dealt out will be done to him. O My people! Their taskmasters are infants, And women rule over them. O My people! Those who guide you lead you astray And swallow up the way of your paths. Yahweh takes His stand to contend, And stands to judge the peoples. Yahweh enters into judgment with the elders of His people and His princes, “It is you who have consumed the vineyard; The plunder robbed of the afflicted is in your houses. “What do you mean by crushing My people And grinding the face of the afflicted?” Declares Lord Yahweh of hosts. Moreover, Yahweh said, “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty And walk with outstretched necks and seductive eyes, And go along with mincing steps And tinkle the bangles on their feet, Therefore the Lord will smite the skull of the daughters of Zion with scabs, And Yahweh will make their foreheads bare.” In that day the Lord will remove the beauty of their anklets, headbands, crescent ornaments, dangling earrings, bracelets, veils, headdresses, ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, enchanted charms, finger rings, nose rings, festal robes, outer tunics, cloaks, money purses, hand mirrors, undergarments, turbans, and shawls. Now it will be that instead of sweet perfume there will be the smell of rot; Instead of a belt, a rope; Instead of well-set hair, a plucked-out scalp; Instead of fine clothes, a donning of sackcloth; And branding instead of beauty. Your men will fall by the sword And your mighty ones in battle. And her gates will lament and mourn, And deserted she will sit on the ground.

~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ And seven women will take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach!” In that day the Branch of Yahweh will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the honor of those of Israel who escape. It will be that he who remains in Zion and is left in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is written down for life in Jerusalem. When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and rinsed away the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, then Yahweh will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her convocation a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy. And there will be a booth to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and a hiding place from the storm and the rain.

~~~~~~5~~~~~ ~~~~~~5~~~~~ ~~~~~~5~~~~~ ~~~~~~5~~~~~ ~~~~~~5~~~~~ Let me sing now for my well-beloved A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug it all around, removed its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it And also hewed out a wine vat in it; Then He hoped for it to produce good grapes, But it produced only worthless ones. “So now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Please judge between Me and My vineyard. “What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I hoped for it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones? “So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall, and it will become trampled ground. “I will lay it waste; It will not be pruned or hoed, But briars and thorns will come up. I will also command the clouds to rain no rain on it.” For the vineyard of Yahweh of hosts is the house of Israel And the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He hoped for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress. Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field, Until there is no more room, So that you have to live alone in the midst of the land! In my ears Yahweh of hosts has sworn, “Surely, many houses shall become desolate, Even great and good ones, without inhabitants. “For ten acres of vineyard will yield only one bath of wine, And a homer of seed will yield but an ephah of grain.” Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink, Who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them! And their banquets are accompanied by lyre and harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine; But they do not look upon the deeds of Yahweh, Nor do they see the work of His hands. Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge; And their honorable men are famished, And their multitude is parched with thirst. Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without limit; And Jerusalem’s majesty, her multitude, her rumbling, and the exultant within her, descend into it. So the common man will be bowed down and the man of importance will be made low, The eyes of the lofty also will be made low. But Yahweh of hosts will be lofty in judgment, And the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness. Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture, And sojourners will eat in the waste places of the wealthy. Woe to those who drag iniquity with the cords of worthlessness, And sin as if with cart ropes, Who say, “Let Him hurry, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it; And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near And come to pass, that we may know it!” Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes And understanding in their own sight! Woe to those who are mighty men in drinking wine And valiant men in mixing strong drink, Who declare the wicked righteous for a bribe, And remove the righteous standing of the ones who are righteous! Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble And dry grass collapses into the flame, So their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust; For they have rejected the law of Yahweh of hosts And the word of the Holy One of Israel they have spurned. On this account, the anger of Yahweh has burned against His people, And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down. And the mountains trembled, and their corpses lay like refuse in the middle of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned back, But His hand is still stretched out. He will also lift up a standard to the distant nations, And will whistle for it from the ends of the earth; And behold, it will come with speed swiftly. No one in it is weary or stumbles, None slumbers or sleeps; Nor is the belt at its waist undone, Nor its sandal strap broken. Its arrows are sharp and all its bows are bent; The hoofs of its horses seem like flint and its chariot wheels like a whirlwind. Its roaring is like a lioness, and it roars like young lions; It growls and seizes the prey And carries it off with no one to deliver it. And it will growl over it in that day like the roaring of the sea. If one looks to the land, behold, there is darkness and distress; Even the light is darkened by its clouds.

~~~~~~6~~~~~ ~~~~~~6~~~~~ ~~~~~~6~~~~~ ~~~~~~6~~~~~ ~~~~~~6~~~~~ In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is Yahweh of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called out, while the house of God was filling with smoke. Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of hosts.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. And he touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is atoned for.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not know.’ “Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.” Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He said, “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people, And the land is devastated to desolation, And Yahweh has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. “Yet there will be a tenth portion in it, And it will again be subject to burning, Like a terebinth or like an oak Whose stump remains when it is felled. The holy seed is its stump.”

~~~~~~7~~~~~ ~~~~~~7~~~~~ ~~~~~~7~~~~~ ~~~~~~7~~~~~ ~~~~~~7~~~~~ Now it happened in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not conquer it. When it was told to the house of David, saying, “The Arameans have camped in Ephraim,” his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. Then Yahweh said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, to the highway of the fuller’s field, and say to him, ‘Take care and stay quiet, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands, on account of the burning anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah. ‘Because Aram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has counseled evil against you, saying, “Let us go up against Judah and terrorize it, and make for ourselves a breach in its walls and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” thus says Lord Yahweh: “It shall not stand, nor shall it happen. “For the head of Aram is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin (now within another sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered, so that it is no longer a people), and the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not establish your faith in Yahweh, you surely shall not be established.” ’ ” Then Yahweh spoke again to Ahaz, saying, “Ask a sign for yourself from Yahweh your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not test Yahweh!” Then he said, “Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well? “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. “He will eat curds and honey in order that He will know to refuse evil and choose good. “For before the boy will know to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken. “Yahweh will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house days which have never come since the day that Ephraim separated from Judah—the king of Assyria!” And it will be in that day, that Yahweh will whistle for the fly that is in the remotest part of the rivers of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. And they will all come and rest upon the steep ravines, on the crevices of the cliffs, on all the thorn bushes, and on all the watering places. In that day, the Lord will shave with a razor—one hired from regions beyond the River (that is, the king of Assyria)—the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard. And it will be in that day, that a man may keep alive a heifer and a pair of sheep; and because of the abundance of the milk produced, he will eat curds, for everyone that is left within the land will eat curds and honey. And it will be in that day, that every place where there used to be one thousand vines, valued at one thousand shekels of silver, will become briars and thorns. People will come there with bows and arrows because all the land will be briars and thorns. As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the hoe, you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place for pasturing oxen and for sheep to trample.

~~~~~~8~~~~~ ~~~~~~8~~~~~ ~~~~~~8~~~~~ ~~~~~~8~~~~~ ~~~~~~8~~~~~ Then Yahweh said to me, “Take for yourself a large tablet and write on it in ordinary letters: Concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz. “And I will take to Myself faithful witnesses for testimony, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.” Then I drew near to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then Yahweh said to me, “Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz, for before the boy knows how to cry out ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.” Again Yahweh spoke to me further, saying, “Inasmuch as these people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah And rejoice in Rezin and the son of Remaliah; Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the mighty and abundant waters of the River— The king of Assyria and all his glory; And it will rise up over all its channels and go over all its banks. “Then it will sweep on into Judah; it will overflow and pass through; It will reach even to the neck; And the spread of its wings will fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel. “Be broken, O peoples, and be shattered; And give ear, all remote places of the earth. Gird yourselves, yet be shattered; Gird yourselves, yet be shattered. “Devise counsel, but it will be thwarted; Speak a word, but it will not stand, For God is with us.” For thus Yahweh spoke to me with a strong hand and disciplined me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, “You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’ In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy; And you are not to fear what they fear, and you shall not tremble. “It is Yahweh of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, And He shall be your cause of trembling. “Then He shall become a sanctuary; But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. “And many will stumble over them; Then they will fall and be broken; They will even be snared and caught.” Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait for Yahweh who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; and I will hope for Him. Behold, I and the children whom Yahweh has given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from Yahweh of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. Now when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. And they will pass through the land hard-pressed and hungry, and it will be that when they are hungry, they will be angry and curse their king and their God as they face upward. Then they will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be banished into thick darkness.

~~~~~~9~~~~~ ~~~~~~9~~~~~ ~~~~~~9~~~~~ ~~~~~~9~~~~~ ~~~~~~9~~~~~ But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in the land of the shadow of death, The light will shine on them. You shall multiply the nation, You shall make great their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For You shall shatter the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their taskmaster, as at the battle of Midian. For every boot of the booted warrior in the rumbling of battle, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this. The Lord sends a message against Jacob, And it falls on Israel. And all the people know it, That is, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, Saying in lofty pride and in arrogance of heart: “The bricks have fallen down, But we will rebuild with cut stones; The sycamores have been cut in pieces, But we will replace them with cedars.” Therefore Yahweh exalts against them adversaries from Rezin And incites their enemies, The Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west; And they devour Israel with gaping jaws. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn back, And His hand is still stretched out. Yet the people do not turn back to Him who struck them, Nor do they seek Yahweh of hosts. So Yahweh cuts off head and tail from Israel, Both palm branch and bulrush in a single day. The head is the elder and the highly respected man, And the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail. For those who guide this people are leading them astray; And those who are guided by them are brought to confusion. Therefore the Lord is not glad in their choice men, Nor does He have compassion on their orphans or their widows; For every one of them is godless and an evildoer, And every mouth is speaking wicked foolishness. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn back, And His hand is still stretched out. For wickedness burns like a fire; It consumes briars and thorns; It even sets the thickets of the forest aflame, And they roll upward in a column of smoke. By the fury of Yahweh of hosts the land is burned up, And the people are like fuel for the fire; No man spares his brother. They slice off what is on the right hand but still are hungry, And they eat what is on the left hand but they are not satisfied; Each of them eats the flesh of his own arm. Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh, And together they are against Judah. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn back, And His hand is still stretched out.

~~~~~~10~~~~~ ~~~~~~10~~~~~ ~~~~~~10~~~~~ ~~~~~~10~~~~~ ~~~~~~10~~~~~ Woe to those who enact evil statutes And to those who constantly record mischief, So as to turn the poor away from their cause And rob the afflicted of My people of their justice, So that widows may be their spoil And that they may plunder the orphans. Now what will you do in the day of visitation, And in the devastation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory? Nothing remains but to crouch among the captives Or fall among those killed. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn back And His hand is still stretched out. Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hands is My indignation, I send it against a godless nation And command it against the people of My fury To capture spoil and to seize plunder, And to trample them down like mud in the streets. But it does not intend to act in this way, And it does not think in its heart in this way, Rather, what is in its heart is to destroy And to cut off many nations. For it says, “Are not my princes all kings? “Is not Calno like Carchemish, Or Hamath like Arpad, Or Samaria like Damascus? “As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols, Whose graven images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria, Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her images Just as I have done to Samaria and her idols?” So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the pomp of his eyes which are raised high.” For he has said, “By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this, For I have understanding; And I removed the boundaries of the peoples And plundered their treasures, And like a mighty man I brought down their inhabitants, And my hand reached for the wealth of the peoples like a nest, And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth; And there was not one that flapped its wing or opened its beak or chirped.” Is the axe to boast itself over the one who chops with it? Is the saw to magnify itself over the one who wields it? That would be like a rod wielding those who lift it, Or like a staff lifting him who is not wood. Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, will send a wasting disease among his stout warriors; And under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame. And the light of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One a flame, And it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day. And He will bring to an end the glory of his forest and of his fruitful orchard, both soul and body, And it will be as when a sick man wastes away. And the rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number That a child could write them down. Now it will be in that day, that the remnant of Israel and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly rely on Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. For though your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea, Only a remnant within them will return; A destructive end is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. For a complete destruction, one that is decreed, Lord Yahweh of hosts will do in the midst of the whole land. Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh of hosts, “O My people who inhabit Zion, do not fear the Assyrian who strikes you with the rod and lifts up his staff against you, the way Egypt did. “For in a very little while My indignation against you will end and My anger will be directed to their destruction.” And Yahweh of hosts will waken a scourge against him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; and His staff will be over the sea and He will lift it up the way He did in Egypt. So it will be in that day, that his burden will be removed from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be broken because of fatness. He has come against Aiath, He has passed through Migron; At Michmash he deposited his baggage. They have gone through the pass, saying, “Geba will be our lodging place.” Ramah trembles, and Gibeah of Saul has fled away. Cry aloud with your voice, O daughter of Gallim! Pay attention, Laishah and afflicted Anathoth! Madmenah has fled. The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge. Yet today he will stand at Nob; He shakes his fist at the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. Behold, the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, will lop off the boughs with a terrible crash; Those also who are high in stature will be cut in pieces And those who are lofty will be made low. He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe, And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.

~~~~~~11~~~~~ ~~~~~~11~~~~~ ~~~~~~11~~~~~ ~~~~~~11~~~~~ ~~~~~~11~~~~~ Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of Yahweh will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and might, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of Yahweh. And He will delight in the fear of Yahweh, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor render a decision by what His ears hear; But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with uprightness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will put the wicked to death. Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist. And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a young boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. And the nursing baby will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will do no evil nor act corruptly in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh As the waters cover the sea. Then it will be in that day, That the nations will seek the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a standard for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious. Then it will be in that day, that the Lord Will again acquire the second time with His hand The remnant of His people, who will remain, From Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Ethiopia, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, And from the coastlands of the sea. And He will lift up a standard for the nations And assemble the banished ones of Israel, And will gather the scattered of Judah From the four corners of the earth. Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart, And those who assail Judah will be cut off; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, And Judah will not assail Ephraim. And they will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines on the west; Together they will plunder the sons of the east; They will stretch out their hands over Edom and Moab, And the sons of Ammon will obey them. And Yahweh will devote to destruction The tongue of the Sea of Egypt; And He will wave His hand over the River With His scorching wind; And He will strike it into seven streams And make men walk over dry-shod. And there will be a highway from Assyria For the remnant of His people who will remain, Just as there was for Israel In the day that they came up out of the land of Egypt.

~~~~~~12~~~~~ ~~~~~~12~~~~~ ~~~~~~12~~~~~ ~~~~~~12~~~~~ ~~~~~~12~~~~~ Then you will say in that day, “I will give thanks to You, O Yahweh; For although You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, And You comfort me. “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not dread; For Yah—Yahweh Himself—is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.” Therefore you will joyously draw water From the springs of salvation. And in that day you will say, “Give thanks to Yahweh, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; Make them remember that His name is exalted.” Praise Yahweh in song, for He has done majestic things; Let this be known throughout the earth. Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

~~~~~~13~~~~~ ~~~~~~13~~~~~ ~~~~~~13~~~~~ ~~~~~~13~~~~~ ~~~~~~13~~~~~ The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz beheld. Lift up a standard on the bare hill, Heighten your voice at them, Wave the hand that they may enter the doors of the nobles. I have commanded My set apart ones, I have even called My mighty warriors, My proudly exulting ones, To execute My anger. A sound of tumult on the mountains, Like that of many people! A sound of the rumbling of kingdoms, Of nations gathered together! Yahweh of hosts is mustering the host for battle. They are coming from a far country, From the end of the sky, Yahweh and His instruments of indignation, To wreak destruction on the whole land. Wail, for the day of Yahweh is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will fall limp, And every man’s heart will melt. They will be terrified, Pains and labor pangs will take hold of them; They will writhe like a woman in labor, They will look at one another in astonishment, Their faces aflame. Behold, the day of Yahweh is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the pride of the arrogant And bring low the lofty pride of the ruthless. I will make mortal man scarcer than fine gold And mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, And the earth will be shaken from its place At the fury of Yahweh of hosts In the day of His burning anger. And it will be that like a hunted gazelle, Or like sheep with none to gather them, They will each turn to his own people, And each one flee to his own land. Anyone who is found will be pierced through, And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword. Their infants also will be dashed to pieces Before their eyes; Their houses will be plundered And their wives ravished. Behold, I am going to awaken the Medes against them, Who will not think about silver or take pleasure in gold. And their bows will dash the young men to pieces, They will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb, Nor will their eye pity children. And it will be that Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the honor of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It will never be inhabited or dwelt in from generation to generation; Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there, Nor will shepherds make their flocks lie down there. But desert creatures will lie down there, And their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches also will dwell there, and shaggy goats will leap there. And hyenas will howl in their fortified towers And jackals in their luxurious palaces. Her fateful time also will soon come And her days will not be prolonged.

~~~~~~14~~~~~ ~~~~~~14~~~~~ ~~~~~~14~~~~~ ~~~~~~14~~~~~ ~~~~~~14~~~~~ When Yahweh will have compassion on Jacob and again choose Israel, and put them in their own land, then sojourners will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob. And the peoples will take them along and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them as an inheritance in the land of Yahweh for their male and female slaves; and they will take their captors captive and will have dominion over their taskmasters. And it will be in the day when Yahweh gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and harsh slavery in which you have been enslaved, that you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon, and say, “How the taskmaster has ceased, And how fury has ceased! “Yahweh has broken the staff of the wicked, The scepter of rulers Which used to strike the peoples in fury with unceasing strokes, Which had dominion over the nations in anger with unrestrained persecution. “The whole earth is at rest and is quiet; They break forth into shouts of joy. “Even the cypress trees are glad over you, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, ‘Since you were laid low, no tree cutter comes up against us.’ “Sheol from beneath trembles excitedly over you to meet you when you come; It wakens for you the spirits of the dead, all the leaders of the earth; It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones. “They will all answer and say to you, ‘Even you have been made weak as we, You have become like us. ‘Your pride and the music of your harps Have been brought down to Sheol; Maggots are spread out as your bed beneath you And worms are your covering.’ “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ “Nevertheless you will be brought down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit. “Those who see you will gaze at you, They will carefully consider you, saying, ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who caused kingdoms to quake, Who made the world like a wilderness And pulled down its cities, Who did not allow his prisoners to go home?’ “All the kings of the nations lie in glory, Each in his own place. “But you have been cast out of your grave Like an abhorred branch, Clothed with those killed who are pierced with a sword, Who go down to the stones of the pit Like a trampled corpse. “You will not be united with them in burial, Because you have ruined your country, You have killed your people. May the seed of evildoers not be called upon forever. “Prepare for his sons a place of slaughter Because of the iniquity of their fathers. They must not arise and take possession of the earth And fill the face of the world with cities.” “I will rise up against them,” declares Yahweh of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, offspring and posterity,” declares Yahweh. “I will also make it a possession for the hedgehog and swamps of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares Yahweh of hosts. Yahweh of hosts has sworn saying, “Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have counseled so it will stand, to break Assyria in My land, and I will trod him down on My mountains. Then his yoke will be removed from them and his burden removed from their shoulder. “This is the counsel that is counseled against the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out against all the nations. “For Yahweh of hosts has counseled, and who can thwart it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?” In the year that King Ahaz died this oracle came: “Do not be glad, O Philistia, all of you, Because the rod that struck you is broken; For from the serpent’s root a viper will come out, And its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent. “And the foremost of the poor will eat, And the needy will lie down in security; I will put to death your root with famine, And it will kill off your remnant. “Wail, O gate; cry, O city; Melt away, O Philistia, all of you; For smoke comes from the north, And there is no straggler in his ranks. “How then will one answer the messengers of the nation? That Yahweh has founded Zion, And the afflicted of His people will take refuge in it.”

~~~~~~15~~~~~ ~~~~~~15~~~~~ ~~~~~~15~~~~~ ~~~~~~15~~~~~ ~~~~~~15~~~~~ The oracle concerning Moab. Surely in a night Ar of Moab is destroyed and ruined; Surely in a night Kir of Moab is destroyed and ruined. They have gone up to the temple and to Dibon, even to the high places to weep. Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba; Everyone’s head is bald and every beard is cut off. In their streets they have girded themselves with sackcloth; On their rooftops and in their squares Everyone is wailing, dissolved in weeping. Heshbon and Elealeh also cry out, Their voice is heard all the way to Jahaz; Therefore the armed men of Moab make a loud shout; His soul trembles within him. My heart cries out for Moab; Those who flee from her are as far as Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah, For they go up the ascent of Luhith weeping; Surely on the road to Horonaim they keep awake with crying in distress over their destruction. For the waters of Nimrim are desolate. Surely the grass is dried up, the tender grass has completely ceased, There is no green thing. Therefore the abundance they have made and stored up They carry off over the brook of Arabim. For the cry has gone around the territory of Moab, Its wailing goes as far as Eglaim and its wailing even to Beer-elim. For the waters of Dimon are full of blood; Surely I will put added woes upon Dimon, A lion upon those of Moab who have escaped and upon the remnant of the land.

~~~~~~16~~~~~ ~~~~~~16~~~~~ ~~~~~~16~~~~~ ~~~~~~16~~~~~ ~~~~~~16~~~~~ Send the tribute lamb to the ruler of the land, From Sela by way of the wilderness to the mountain of the daughter of Zion. Then, like fleeing birds or scattered nestlings, The daughters of Moab will be at the fords of the Arnon. “Bring us counsel, make a decision; Cast your shadow like night at high noon; Hide those banished, do not reveal the one who flees. “Let the banished of Moab sojourn with you; Be a hiding place to them from the destroyer.” For the extortioner has come to an end, destruction has ceased, Oppressors have completely disappeared from the land. And a throne will be established in lovingkindness, And a judge will sit on it in truth in the tent of David; Moreover, he will seek justice And be prompt in righteousness. We have heard of the pride of Moab, an excessive pride; Even of his lofty pride, pride, and fury; His idle boasts are false. Therefore Moab will wail; everyone of Moab will wail. You will moan for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth As those who are utterly stricken. For the fields of Heshbon have languished, the vines of Sibmah as well; The lords of the nations have trampled down its choice clusters Which reached as far as Jazer and wandered to the deserts; Its tendrils spread themselves out and passed over the sea. Therefore I will weep bitterly for Jazer, for the vine of Sibmah; I will drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; For the shouting over your summer fruits and your harvest has fallen away. Gladness and joy are taken away from the fruitful orchard; In the vineyards also there will be no cries of joy or shouts of jubilation, No treader treads out wine in the presses, For I have made the shouting to cease. Therefore my inner being moans like a harp for Moab And my inward feelings for Kir-hareseth. So it will be when Moab appears, When he wearies himself upon his high place And comes to his sanctuary to pray, That he will not prevail. This is the word which Yahweh spoke earlier concerning Moab. But now Yahweh speaks, saying, “Within three years, as a hired man would count them, the glory of Moab will be dishonored along with all his great population, and his remnant will be very small and not mighty.”

~~~~~~17~~~~~ ~~~~~~17~~~~~ ~~~~~~17~~~~~ ~~~~~~17~~~~~ ~~~~~~17~~~~~ The oracle concerning Damascus. “Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city And will become a fallen ruin. “The cities of Aroer are forsaken; They will be for flocks, and they will lie down in them; And there will be no one to cause them to tremble. “And the fortified city will cease from Ephraim, And sovereignty from Damascus And the remnant of Aram; They will be like the glory of the sons of Israel,” Declares Yahweh of hosts. Now it will be in that day, that the glory of Jacob will wane, And the fatness of his flesh will become lean. And it will be even like the reaper gathering the standing grain, As his arm harvests the ears of grain, Or it will be like one gleaning ears of grain In the valley of Rephaim. Yet gleanings will remain in it like the shaking of an olive tree, Two or three olives on the topmost branch, Four or five on the twigs of a fruitful tree, Declares Yahweh, the God of Israel. In that day man will have regard for his Maker And his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel. He will not have regard for the altars, the work of his hands, Nor will he look to that which his fingers have made, Even the Asherim and incense stands. In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken places in the forest, Or like branches which they forsook before the sons of Israel; And the land will be a desolation. For you have forgotten the God of your salvation And have not remembered the rock of your strong defense. Therefore you plant delightful plants And set them with vine branches of a strange god. In the day that you plant it you carefully fence it in, And in the morning you cause your seed to flourish; But the harvest will be a heap In a day of sickliness and incurable pain. Alas, the uproar of many peoples Who roar like the roaring of the seas, And the rumbling of nations Who rumble on like the rumbling of mighty waters! The nations rumble on like the rumbling of many waters, But He will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, And be pursued like chaff in the mountains before the wind, Or like whirling dust before a whirlwind. At evening time, behold, there is terror! Before morning they are no more. Such will be the portion of those who pillage us And the lot of those who plunder us.

~~~~~~18~~~~~ ~~~~~~18~~~~~ ~~~~~~18~~~~~ ~~~~~~18~~~~~ ~~~~~~18~~~~~ Alas, O land of whirring wings Which lies beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, Which sends envoys by the sea, Even in papyrus vessels on the surface of the waters. Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, To a people feared far and wide, A powerful and oppressive nation Whose land the rivers divide. All you inhabitants of the world and dwellers on earth, As soon as a standard is raised on the mountains, you will see it, And as soon as the trumpet is blown, you will hear it. For thus Yahweh has told me, “I will look from My dwelling place quietly Like dazzling heat in the sunshine, Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.” For before the harvest, as soon as the bud blossoms And the flower becomes a ripening grape, Then He will cut off the sprigs with pruning knives And remove and cut away the spreading branches. They will be left together for mountain birds of prey, And for the beasts of the earth; And the birds of prey will spend the summer feeding on them, And all the beasts of the earth will spend harvest time on them. At that time a gift of homage will be brought to Yahweh of hosts From a people tall and smooth, Even from a people feared far and wide, A powerful and oppressive nation, Whose land the rivers divide— To the place of the name of Yahweh of hosts, even Mount Zion.

~~~~~~19~~~~~ ~~~~~~19~~~~~ ~~~~~~19~~~~~ ~~~~~~19~~~~~ ~~~~~~19~~~~~ The oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, Yahweh is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt; The idols of Egypt will shake at His presence, And the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. “So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians; And they will each fight against his brother and each against his neighbor, City against city and kingdom against kingdom. “Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be emptied to destruction within them; And I will confuse their counsel, So that they will seek idols and ghosts of the dead And to mediums and spiritists. “Moreover, I will deliver the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel master, And a strong king will rule over them,” declares the Lord, Yahweh of hosts. The waters from the sea will dry up, And the river will be parched and dry. The rivers will emit a stench, The streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up; The reeds and rushes will rot away. The bulrushes by the Nile, by the edge of the Nile And all the sown fields by the Nile Will become dry, be driven away, and be no more. And the fishermen will lament, And all those who cast a line into the Nile will mourn, And those who spread nets on the waters will languish. Moreover, the manufacturers of linen made from combed flax And the weavers of white cloth will be ashamed. And the pillars of Egypt will be crushed; All the hired laborers will be grieved in soul. The princes of Zoan are merely ignorant fools; The counsel of Pharaoh’s wisest counselors has become senseless. How can you men say to Pharaoh, “I am a son of the wise, a son of the kings of old”? Well then, where are your wise men? Please let them tell you, And let them understand what Yahweh of hosts Has counseled against Egypt. The princes of Zoan have acted as ignorant fools, The princes of Memphis are deluded; Those who are the cornerstone of her tribes Have led Egypt astray. Yahweh has mixed within her a spirit of distortion; They have led Egypt astray in all that it does, As a drunken man strays into his vomit. There will be no work for Egypt Which its head or tail, its palm branch or bulrush, may do. In that day the Egyptians will become like women, and they will tremble and be in dread because of the waving of the hand of Yahweh of hosts, which He is going to wave over them. And the land of Judah will become a terror to Egypt; everyone to whom it is mentioned will be in dread of it because of the counsel of Yahweh of hosts which He is counseling against them. In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will be speaking the language of Canaan and swearing allegiance to Yahweh of hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction. In that day there will be an altar to Yahweh in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to Yahweh near its border. And it will become a sign and a witness to Yahweh of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to Yahweh because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Champion, and He will deliver them. Thus Yahweh will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know Yahweh in that day. They will even worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make a vow to Yahweh and pay it. And Yahweh will smite Egypt, smiting but healing; so they will return to Yahweh, and He will be moved by their entreaty and will heal them. In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom Yahweh of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”

~~~~~~20~~~~~ ~~~~~~20~~~~~ ~~~~~~20~~~~~ ~~~~~~20~~~~~ ~~~~~~20~~~~~ In the year that the commander came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it, at that time Yahweh spoke by the hand of Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go and loosen the sackcloth from your hips and take your shoes off your feet.” And he did so, going naked and barefoot. And Yahweh said, “Even as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot three years as a sign and wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia, so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. “Then they will be dismayed and ashamed because of Ethiopia their hope and Egypt their boast. “So the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, such is our hope, where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and we, how shall we escape?’”

~~~~~~21~~~~~ ~~~~~~21~~~~~ ~~~~~~21~~~~~ ~~~~~~21~~~~~ ~~~~~~21~~~~~ The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the Negev sweep on, It comes from the wilderness, from a fearsome land. A harsh vision has been declared to me; The treacherous one still deals treacherously, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, Elam, lay siege, Media; I have made an end of all the groaning she has caused. For this reason my loins are full of anguish; Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in labor. I am so bewildered I cannot hear, so terrified I cannot see. My heart reels; horror terrorizes me; The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling. They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink; “Rise up, commanders, oil the shields,” For thus the Lord says to me, “Go, station the lookout, let him declare what he sees. “Indeed, he shall see riders, horsemen in pairs, Riders of donkeys, riders of camels, So let him pay close attention, very close attention.” Then the lookout called, “O Lord, I stand continually by day on the watchtower, And I am stationed every night at my guard post. “Now behold, here comes a troop of riders, horsemen in pairs.” And one answered and said, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon; And all the graven images of her gods are shattered on the ground.” O my trampled people and my afflicted of the threshing floor! What I have heard from Yahweh of hosts, The God of Israel, I have declared to you. The oracle concerning Dumah. One keeps calling to me from Seir, “Watchman, how far gone is the night? Watchman, how far gone is the night?” The watchman says, “Morning comes but also night. If you would inquire, inquire; Come back again.” The oracle about Arabia. In the thickets of Arabia you must spend the night, O caravans of Dedanites. Bring water to meet the thirsty, O inhabitants of the land of Tema, Meet with bread the one who has fled. For they have fled from the swords, From the drawn sword, and from the bent bow And from the heaviness of battle. For thus the Lord said to me, “In a year, as a hired man would count it, all the glory of Kedar will end; and the remainder of the number of bowmen, the mighty men of the sons of Kedar, will be few; for Yahweh, the God of Israel, has spoken.”

~~~~~~22~~~~~ ~~~~~~22~~~~~ ~~~~~~22~~~~~ ~~~~~~22~~~~~ ~~~~~~22~~~~~ The oracle concerning the valley of vision. What is the matter with you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops? You who were full of noise, You roaring city, you exultant town; Your slain were not slain with the sword, Nor did they die in battle. All your rulers have fled together, And have been captured without the bow; All of you who were found were captured together, Though they had fled far away. Therefore I say, “Turn your gaze away from me, Let me weep bitterly, Do not insist on comforting me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.” For Lord Yahweh of hosts has a day of confusion, oppression, and panic In the valley of vision, A breaking down of walls And a crying to the mountain. Now Elam took up the quiver With the chariots, infantry, and horsemen; And Kir uncovered the shield. Then your choicest valleys were full of chariots, And the horsemen took up fixed positions at the gate. And He revealed the defense of Judah. In that day you looked to the weapons of the house of the forest, And you saw that the breaches In the wall of the city of David were many; And you collected the waters of the lower pool. Then you counted the houses of Jerusalem And tore down houses to fortify the wall. And you made a reservoir between the two walls For the waters of the old pool. But you did not look to Him who made it, Nor did you see Him who formed it long ago. Therefore in that day Lord Yahweh of hosts called you to weeping, to wailing, To shaving the head, and to wearing sackcloth. Instead, behold, there is joy and gladness, Killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, Eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.” But Yahweh of hosts revealed Himself in my ears, “Surely this iniquity shall not be atoned for you Until you die,” says Lord Yahweh of hosts. Thus says Lord Yahweh of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, To Shebna, who is in charge of the royal household, ‘What right do you have here, And whom do you have here, That you have hewn a tomb for yourself here, You who hew a tomb on the height, You who carve a dwelling place for yourself in the cliff? ‘Behold, Yahweh is about to hurl you headlong, O man. And He is about to grasp you firmly And He will surely roll you tightly like a ball, To be cast into a vast country; There you will die, And there your glorious chariots will be, You disgrace of your master’s house.’ “I will push you out of your office, And I will pull you down from your station. “Then it will be in that day, That I will summon My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, And I will clothe him with your tunic And tie your sash securely about him. I will give your authority into his hand, And he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. “Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder, When he opens no one will shut, When he shuts no one will open. “I will drive him like a peg in a firm place, And he will become a throne of glory to his father’s house. “So they will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, offspring and issue, all the least of vessels, from bowls to all the jars. “In that day,” declares Yahweh of hosts, “the peg driven in a firm place will give way; it will even break off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off, for Yahweh has spoken.”

~~~~~~23~~~~~ ~~~~~~23~~~~~ ~~~~~~23~~~~~ ~~~~~~23~~~~~ ~~~~~~23~~~~~ The oracle concerning Tyre. Wail, O ships of Tarshish, For Tyre is destroyed, without house or harbor; It is revealed to them from the land of Cyprus. Be silent, you inhabitants of the coastland, You merchants of Sidon; Your messengers crossed the sea And were on many waters. The grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile was her revenue; And she was the nations’ gain. Be ashamed, O Sidon; For the sea speaks, the strong defense of the sea, saying, “I have neither travailed nor given birth; I have neither brought up choice men nor reared virgins.” When the report reaches Egypt, They will be in travail at the report of Tyre. Pass over to Tarshish; Wail, O inhabitants of the coastland. Is this your exultant city, Whose origin is from days of old, Whose feet used to lead her to sojourn in distant places? Who has counseled this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, Whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth? Yahweh of hosts has counseled it, to defile the pride of all beauty, To make contemptuous all the honored of the earth. Overflow your land like the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish; There is no more restraint. He has stretched His hand out over the sea; He has made the kingdoms tremble; Yahweh has given a command concerning Canaan to demolish its strong defenses. So He said, “You shall exult no more, O crushed virgin daughter of Sidon. Arise, pass over to Cyprus; even there you will find no rest.” Behold, the land of the Chaldeans—this is the people which was not; Assyria established it for desert creatures—they erected their siege towers, they stripped its palaces, they made it a ruin. Wail, O ships of Tarshish, For your strong defense is destroyed. Now it will be in that day, that Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot: Take your harp, walk about the city, O forgotten harlot; Pluck the strings skillfully, sing many songs, That you may be remembered. And it will be at the end of seventy years that Yahweh will visit Tyre. Then she will go back to her harlot’s wages and will play the harlot with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. And her gain and her harlot’s wages will be set apart to Yahweh; it will not be treasured up or hoarded, but her gain will become sufficient food and choice attire for those who inhabit the presence of Yahweh.

~~~~~~24~~~~~ ~~~~~~24~~~~~ ~~~~~~24~~~~~ ~~~~~~24~~~~~ ~~~~~~24~~~~~ Behold, Yahweh empties the earth to destruction, eviscerates it, distorts its surface, and scatters its inhabitants. And the people will be like the priest, the male slave like his master, the female slave like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like the borrower, the creditor like the debtor. The earth will be completely emptied to destruction and completely plundered, for Yahweh has spoken this word. The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers; the exalted of the people of the earth languish. The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they trespassed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who inhabit it are held guilty. Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men remain. The new wine mourns; The vine languishes; All the glad of heart sigh. The joy of tambourines ceases; The rumbling of those exulting stops; The joy of the harp ceases. They do not drink wine with song; Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it. The city of chaos is broken down; Every house is shut up so that none may enter. There is an outcry in the streets concerning the wine; All gladness turns to gloom. The joy of the earth is taken away into exile. Desolation remains in the city, And the gate is struck down to ruins. For thus it will be in the midst of the earth among the peoples, As the shaking of an olive tree, As the gleanings when the grape harvest is over. They lift up their voices, they shout for joy; They cry out from the west concerning the majesty of Yahweh. Therefore glorify Yahweh in the east, The name of Yahweh, the God of Israel, In the coastlands of the sea. From the ends of the earth we hear songs, “Glory to the Righteous One,” But I say, “I waste away! I waste away! Woe is me! The treacherous deal treacherously, And the treacherous deal very treacherously.” Panic and pit and pitfall Are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth. Then it will be that he who flees the sound of panic will fall into the pit, And he who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the pitfall; For the windows above are opened, and the foundations of the earth quake. The earth is broken asunder; The earth is split through; The earth is shaken violently. The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard And it totters like a shack, For its transgression is heavy upon it, And it will fall, never to rise again. So it will be in that day, That Yahweh will punish the host of heights on high, And the kings of the earth on earth. They will be gathered together Like prisoners in the pit, And will be confined in prison; And after many days they will be punished. Then the moon will be humiliated and the sun ashamed, For Yahweh of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, And His glory will be before His elders.

~~~~~~25~~~~~ ~~~~~~25~~~~~ ~~~~~~25~~~~~ ~~~~~~25~~~~~ ~~~~~~25~~~~~ O Yahweh, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; For You have worked wonders, Counsels formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness. For You have made a city into a heap, A fortified town into a ruin; A palace of strangers is a city no more, It will never be rebuilt. Therefore a strong people will glorify You; Towns of ruthless nations will fear You. For You have been a strong defense for the poor, A strong defense for the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat; For the breath of the ruthless Is like a rain storm against a wall. Like heat in a dry land, You subdue the rumbling of strangers; Like heat by the shadow of a cloud, the song of the ruthless is silenced. And Yahweh of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine. And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, Even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, And Lord Yahweh will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For Yahweh has spoken. And it will be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God in whom we have hoped that He would save us. This is Yahweh in whom we have hoped; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.” For the hand of Yahweh will rest on this mountain, And Moab will be trodden down in his place As straw is trodden down in the water of a manure pile. And he will spread out his hands in the middle of it As a swimmer spreads out his hands to swim, But Yahweh will lay low his lofty pride together with the trickery of his hands. The unassailable fortifications of your walls He will bring down, Lay low, and cast to the ground, even to the dust.

~~~~~~26~~~~~ ~~~~~~26~~~~~ ~~~~~~26~~~~~ ~~~~~~26~~~~~ ~~~~~~26~~~~~ In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; He sets up walls and ramparts for salvation. “Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter, The one that keeps faithfulness. “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace Because he trusts in You. “Trust in Yahweh forever, For in Yah—Yahweh Himself—we have an everlasting Rock. “For He has laid low those who settle on high, the exalted city; He brings it low, He brings it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust. “The foot will trample it, The feet of the afflicted, the steps of the poor.” The way of the righteous is upright; O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level. Indeed, while following the way of Your judgments, O Yahweh, We have hoped for You eagerly; Your name—the memory of You—is the desire of our souls. At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You earnestly; For when the earth experiences Your judgments, The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. Though the wicked is shown favor, He does not learn righteousness; He deals unjustly in the land of uprightness, And does not perceive the majesty of Yahweh. O Yahweh, Your hand is raised up high, yet they do not behold it. They behold Your zeal for the people and are put to shame; Indeed, fire will devour Your adversaries. Yahweh, You will establish peace for us, Since You have also performed for us all our works. O Yahweh our God, other masters besides You have ruled us; But through You alone we bring Your name to remembrance. The dead will not live; the departed spirits will not rise; Therefore You have visited and destroyed them, And You have made all remembrance of them perish. You have increased the nation, O Yahweh; You have increased the nation, You are glorified; You have extended all the borders of the land. O Yahweh, they visited You in distress; They could only whisper a prayer; Your chastening was upon them. As the woman with child draws near to the time to give birth, She writhes and cries out in her pangs of labor, Thus were we before You, O Yahweh. We were with child, we writhed in labor; We gave birth, as it seems, only to wind. We could not accomplish salvation for the earth, And the inhabitants of the world were not born. Your dead will live; Their corpses will rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and shout for joy, For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits. Come, my people, enter into your rooms And close your doors behind you; Hide for a little while Until indignation passes by. For behold, Yahweh is about to come out from His place To visit the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth; And the earth will reveal her bloodshed And will no longer cover those of hers who were killed.

~~~~~~27~~~~~ ~~~~~~27~~~~~ ~~~~~~27~~~~~ ~~~~~~27~~~~~ ~~~~~~27~~~~~ In that day Yahweh will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, With His fierce and great and mighty sword, Even Leviathan the twisted serpent; And He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea. In that day, “A vineyard of delight, sing of it! “I, Yahweh, am its keeper; I water it every moment. Lest anyone damage it, I keep it night and day. “I have no wrath. Who would ever give Me briars and thorns in the battle? I would step on them, I would burn them completely. “Or let him rely on My strong defense, Let him make peace with Me, Let him make peace with Me.” In the days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will blossom and bud, And they will fill the whole world with produce. Like the striking of Him who has struck them, has He struck them? Or like the slaughter of those of His who were killed, have they been killed? You contended with them by driving them away, by making them forlorn. With His fierce wind He has expelled them on the day of the east wind. Therefore through this, Jacob’s iniquity will be atoned for; And this will be the whole fruit of the turning away of his sin: When he makes all the altar stones like pulverized chalk stones, When Asherim and incense altars will not stand. For the fortified city is isolated, A haunt forlorn and forsaken like the desert; There the calf will graze, And there it will lie down and feed on its twigs. When its limbs are dry, they are broken off; Women come and light a fire with them, For they are not a people of discernment, Therefore their Maker will not have compassion on them. And their Creator will not be gracious to them. And it will be in that day, that Yahweh will start His threshing from the flowing stream of the River to the brook of Egypt, and you will be gathered up one by one, O sons of Israel. And it will be in that day, that a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and who were banished in the land of Egypt will come and worship Yahweh in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

~~~~~~28~~~~~ ~~~~~~28~~~~~ ~~~~~~28~~~~~ ~~~~~~28~~~~~ ~~~~~~28~~~~~ Woe to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley Of those who are overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord has a strong and courageous agent; As a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction, Like a storm of mighty overflowing waters, He has set it down to the earth with His hand. The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim is trodden under foot. And the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley, Will be like the first-ripe fig prior to summer, Which one sees, And as soon as it is in his hand, He swallows it. In that day Yahweh of hosts will become a beautiful crown And a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people; A spirit of just judgment for him who sits in judgment, A might to those who turn back the onslaught at the gate. And these also reel with wine and stagger from strong drink: The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink; They are swallowed up by wine, they stagger from strong drink; They reel while having visions; They totter when rendering a verdict. For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place. “Whom would He instruct in knowledge, And whom would He provide understanding about the report? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast? “For He says, ‘Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there.’” Indeed, He will speak to this people Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue, He who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the weary,” And, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen. So the word of Yahweh to them will be, “Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there,” That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared, and taken captive. Therefore, hear the word of Yahweh, O scoffers, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, Because you have said, “We have cut a covenant with death, And with Sheol we have made a pact. The overflowing scourge will not reach us when it passes by, For we have made falsehood our refuge and we have hidden ourselves with lying.” Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed. “I will make justice the measuring line And righteousness the level; Then hail will sweep away the refuge of falsehood, And the waters will overflow the secret place. “Your covenant with death will be canceled, And your pact with Sheol will not stand; When the overflowing scourge passes through, Then you will become its trampling place. “As often as it passes through, it will take you; For morning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night, And it will be sheer terror to understand the report.” The bed is too short on which to stretch out, And the blanket is too narrow to wrap oneself in. For Yahweh will rise up as at Mount Perazim; He will be stirred up as in the valley of Gibeon, To work His work, His unusual work, And to labor in His labor, His exceptional labor. So now do not carry on as scoffers, Lest your fetters be made stronger; For I have heard from Lord Yahweh of hosts Of complete destruction, one that is decreed, on all the earth. Give ear and hear my voice, Pay attention and hear my words. Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed? Does he continually turn and harrow his ground? Does he not level its surface And sow dill and scatter cumin And plant wheat in rows, Barley in its place and rye within its area? For his God disciplines and teaches him proper judgment. For dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, Nor is the wheel of a cart driven over cumin; But dill is beaten out with a staff, and cumin with a rod. Grain for bread is crushed, But he does not continue to thresh it forever. Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually disturb it, He does not crush it longer. This also comes from Yahweh of hosts, Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great.

~~~~~~29~~~~~ ~~~~~~29~~~~~ ~~~~~~29~~~~~ ~~~~~~29~~~~~ ~~~~~~29~~~~~ Woe, O Ariel, Ariel the city where David once camped! Add year to year, observe your feasts on schedule. I will bring distress to Ariel, And she will be a city of mourning and moaning; And she will be like an Ariel to me. And I will camp against you encircling you, And I will fortify siegeworks against you, And I will raise up fortifications against you. Then you will be brought low; From the earth you will speak, And from the dust where you are prostrate Your words will come. Your voice will also be like that of a spirit from the ground, And your speech will whisper from the dust. But it will be that the multitude of your enemies will become like fine dust, And the multitude of the ruthless ones like the chaff which blows away; And it will happen instantly, suddenly. From Yahweh of hosts you will be punished with thunder and earthquake and loud noise, With whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire. And it will be that the multitude of all the nations who wage war against Ariel, Even all who wage war against her and her stronghold, and who distress her, Will be like a dream, a vision of the night. And it will be as when a hungry man dreams— And behold, he is eating; But he awakens, and his soul is empty, Or as when a thirsty man dreams— And behold, he is drinking, But he awakens, and behold, he is faint, And his soul is not quenched. Thus the multitude of all the nations will be Who wage war against Mount Zion. Astonish yourselves and be astonished, Blind yourselves and be blind; They become drunk, but not with wine; They stagger, but not with strong drink. For Yahweh has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep; He has shut your eyes, the prophets; And He has covered your heads, the seers. The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, “Please read this,” he will say, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” Then the book will be given to the one who does not know how to read a book, saying, “Please read this.” And he will say, “I do not know how to read a book.” Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their mouth And honor Me with their lips, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their fear of Me is in the command of men learned by rote, Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men will perish, And the discernment of their discerning men will be hidden.” Woe to those who deeply hide their counsel from Yahweh, And whose deeds are done in a dark place, And they say, “Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?” You turn things around! Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, That what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”; Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”? Is it not yet just a little while Before Lebanon will be turned into a fruitful orchard, And the fruitful orchard will be counted as a forest? On that day the deaf will hear words of a book, And out of darkness and thick darkness the eyes of the blind will see. The afflicted also will increase their gladness in Yahweh, And the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. For the ruthless will come to an end and the scoffer will be finished, Indeed all who are watching out to do evil will be cut off; Who cause a person to sin by a word, And ensnare him who reproves at the gate, And defraud the one in the right with meaningless arguments. Therefore thus says Yahweh, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: “Jacob shall not now be ashamed, and now his face shall not turn pale; But when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst, They will sanctify My name; Indeed, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob And will stand trembling before the God of Israel. “Those who err in spirit will know discernment, And those who criticize will gain learning.

~~~~~~30~~~~~ ~~~~~~30~~~~~ ~~~~~~30~~~~~ ~~~~~~30~~~~~ ~~~~~~30~~~~~ “Woe to the rebellious children,” declares Yahweh, “Who execute counsel, but not Mine, And make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, In order to add sin to sin, Who go down to Egypt— But did not ask Me— To find strength in the strong defense of Pharaoh And to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt! “Therefore the strong defense of Pharaoh will be your shame And the refuge in the shadow of Egypt, your dishonor. “For their princes are at Zoan And their messengers reach Hanes. “Everyone will be ashamed because of a people who cannot profit them, Who are not for help or profit, but for shame and also for reproach.” The oracle concerning the beasts of the Negev. Through a land of distress and anguish, From where come lioness and lion, viper and flying fiery serpent, They carry their wealth on the backs of young donkeys And their treasures on camels’ humps, To a people who cannot profit them; Even Egypt, whose help is vain and empty. Therefore, I have called her “Rahab who has ceased.” Now go, write it on a tablet before them And inscribe it on a scroll, That it may be in the time to come As a witness forever. For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who are not willing to listen To the law of Yahweh, Who say to the seers, “You must not see,” And to those who have visions, “You must not behold visions for us of what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Behold visions of illusions. “Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, Cease speaking before us about the Holy One of Israel.” Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, “Since you have rejected this word And have put your trust in oppression and deviousness and have relied on them, Therefore this iniquity will be to you Like a breach about to fall, A bulge in a high wall, Whose breaking comes suddenly in an instant, Whose breaking is like the breaking of a potter’s jar, So ruthlessly shattered That a potsherd will not be found among its pieces To take fire from a hearth Or to scoop water from a cistern.” For thus Lord Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, has said, “In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your might.” But you were not willing, And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses,” Therefore you shall flee! “And we will ride on swift horses,” Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift. One thousand will flee at the threat of one man; You will flee at the threat of five, Until you are left as a flag on a mountain top And as a standard on a hill. Therefore Yahweh waits with longing to be gracious to you, And therefore He is on high to have compassion on you. For Yahweh is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who wait for Him. O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. The Lord has given you bread of distress and water of oppression; He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will see your Teacher. And your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left. And you will defile your graven images overlaid with your silver, and your molten images plated with your gold. You will scatter them as an impure thing and say to them, “Be gone!” Then He will give you rain for the seed which you will sow in the ground, and bread from the produce of the ground, and it will be rich and fat; on that day your livestock will graze in a roomy pasture. Also the oxen and the donkeys which work the ground will eat salted fodder, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork. And it will be that on every lofty mountain and on every lifted up hill there will be streams running with water on the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. And the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day Yahweh binds up the fracture of His people and heals the bruise He has inflicted. Behold, the name of Yahweh comes from afar; Burning is His anger and heavy is His smoke; His lips are filled with indignation And His tongue is like a consuming fire; His breath is like an overflowing torrent, Which reaches to the neck, To shake the nations back and forth in a sieve of worthlessness, And to put in the jaws of the peoples the bridle which staggers one to ruin. You will have songs as in the night when you set yourself apart as holy for the festival, And gladness of heart as when one marches to the sound of the flute, To go to the mountain of Yahweh, to the Rock of Israel. And Yahweh will cause His splendid voice to be heard, And the descending of His arm to be seen in raging anger, And in the flame of a consuming fire In cloudburst, downpour, and hailstones. For at the voice of Yahweh Assyria will be dismayed, When He strikes with the rod. And every blow of the appointed staff, Which Yahweh will cause to rest upon him, Will be with the music of tambourines and lyres; And in battles, waving weapons He will fight them. For Topheth has long been ready, Indeed, it has been prepared for the king. He has made it deep and large, A pyre of fire with plenty of wood; The breath of Yahweh, like a torrent of brimstone, sets it afire.

~~~~~~31~~~~~ ~~~~~~31~~~~~ ~~~~~~31~~~~~ ~~~~~~31~~~~~ ~~~~~~31~~~~~ Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help And rely on horses, And trust in chariots because they are many And in horsemen because they are very mighty, But they do not have regard for the Holy One of Israel, nor seek Yahweh! Yet He also is wise and will bring about an evil demise And does not turn His words aside, But will arise against the house of evildoers And against the help of the workers of iniquity. Now the Egyptians are men and not God, And their horses are flesh and not spirit; So Yahweh will stretch out His hand, And he who helps will stumble, And he who is helped will fall, And all of them will come to an end together. For thus says Yahweh to me, “As the lion or the young lion growls over its prey, Against which a multitude of shepherds is called out, And it will not be dismayed at their voice nor afflicted at their noise, So will Yahweh of hosts come down to wage war on Mount Zion and on its hill.” Like flying birds so Yahweh of hosts will defend Jerusalem. He will defend and deliver it; He will pass over and provide a way of escape. Return to Him against whom you have deeply rebelled, O sons of Israel. For in that day every man will reject his silver idols and his gold idols, which your hands have made for you as a sin. And the Assyrian will fall by a sword not of man, And a sword not of man will devour him. So he will flee from the sword, And his choice men will become forced laborers. “His rock will pass away because of terror, And his princes will be dismayed at the standard,” Declares Yahweh, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

~~~~~~32~~~~~ ~~~~~~32~~~~~ ~~~~~~32~~~~~ ~~~~~~32~~~~~ ~~~~~~32~~~~~ Behold, a king will reign righteously And princes will rule justly. Each will be like a refuge from the wind And a shelter from the storm, Like streams of water in a dry country, Like the shade of a huge rock in a weary land. Then the eyes of those who see will not be blinded, And the ears of those who hear will pay attention. And the heart of the hasty will discern knowledge, And the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak clearly. No longer will the wicked fool be called noble, Or the rogue be spoken of as generous. For a wicked fool speaks wicked folly, And his heart does wickedness: To do ungodliness and to speak error against Yahweh, In order to make the hungry person empty; He even causes the thirsty to lack a drink. As for a rogue, his weapons are evil; He counsels wicked schemes To wreak destruction on the afflicted with lying words, Even though the needy one speaks justly. But the noble man counsels noble plans; And by noble plans he rises up. Rise up, you women who are at ease, And hear my voice; Give ear to my word, You complacent daughters. Within a year and a few days You will quake, O complacent daughters; For the grape harvest is ended, And the fruit gathering will not come. Tremble, you women who are at ease; Quake, you complacent daughters; Strip, undress, and put sackcloth on your waist, Beat your breasts for the desirable fields, for the fruitful vine, For the land of my people in which thorns and briars shall come up, Indeed, against all the joyful houses and the exultant city. Because the palace has been abandoned, the populated city forsaken. Hill and watchtower have become caves forever, A joy for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks, Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a fruitful orchard, And the fruitful orchard is counted as a forest. Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, And righteousness will live in the fruitful orchard. And the work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness and security forever. Then my people will live in a peaceful abode, And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places; And it will hail when the forest comes down, And the city will be utterly laid low. How blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters, Who let out freely the ox and the donkey.

~~~~~~33~~~~~ ~~~~~~33~~~~~ ~~~~~~33~~~~~ ~~~~~~33~~~~~ ~~~~~~33~~~~~ Woe to you, O destroyer, While you were not destroyed; And he who is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him. As soon as you finish destroying, you will be destroyed; As soon as you cease to deal treacherously, others will deal treacherously with you. O Yahweh, be gracious to us; we have hoped in You. Be their strength every morning, Our salvation also in the time of distress. At the sound of the tumult peoples flee; At the lifting up of Yourself nations scatter. Your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers; As locusts rushing about men rush about on it. Yahweh is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. And He will be the stability of your times, A wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; The fear of Yahweh is his treasure. Behold, their brave men cry in the streets; The messengers of peace weep bitterly. The highways are desolate, the traveler has ceased; He has broken the covenant, he has rejected the cities; He has no regard for man. The land mourns and languishes, Lebanon is humiliated and withers; Sharon is like a desert plain, And Bashan and Carmel lose their foliage. “Now I will be on high,” says Yahweh, “Now I will be lifted up, now I will be lifted up. “You have conceived chaff, you will give birth to stubble; My breath will consume you like a fire. “The peoples will be burned to lime, Like cut thorns which are burned in the fire. “You who are far away, hear what I have done; And you who are near, acknowledge My might.” Sinners in Zion are in dread; Trembling has seized the godless. “Who among us can sojourn with the consuming fire? Who among us can sojourn with continual burning?” He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly; He who rejects greedy gain of oppression, And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe; He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil; He will dwell on the heights, His refuge will be the strongholds of the cliffs; His bread will be given him, His water will be sure. Your eyes will behold the King in His beauty; They will see a far-distant land. Your heart will meditate on terror: “Where is he who counts? Where is he who weighs? Where is he who counts the towers?” You will no longer see a fierce people, A people of unintelligible speech which no one comprehends, Of a stammering tongue which no one understands. Behold Zion, the city of our appointed times; Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an abode at ease, A tent which will not be folded; Its stakes will never be pulled up, Nor any of its cords ever be torn apart. But there the Mighty One, Yahweh, will be for us A place of rivers and wide canals On which no boat with oars will go, And on which no mighty ship will pass— For Yahweh is our judge, Yahweh is our lawgiver, Yahweh is our king; He will save us— Your cords hang slack; They cannot hold the base of their mast firmly, Nor spread out the sail. Then the prey of an abundant spoil will be divided; The lame will take the plunder. And no one who dwells there will say, “I am sick”; The people who inhabit there will be forgiven their iniquity.

~~~~~~34~~~~~ ~~~~~~34~~~~~ ~~~~~~34~~~~~ ~~~~~~34~~~~~ ~~~~~~34~~~~~ Draw near, O nations, to hear; and pay attention, O peoples! Let the earth hear, as well as its fullness, the world and all that springs from it. For the indignation of Yahweh is against all the nations, And His wrath against all their hosts; He has devoted them to destruction; He has given them over to slaughter. So their slain will be cast out, And their corpses will give off their stench, And the mountains will be drenched with their blood. And all the host of heaven will rot away, And the sky will be rolled up like a scroll; All their hosts will also wither away As a leaf withers from the vine, Or as one withers from the fig tree. For My sword is satiated in heaven; Behold, it shall descend for judgment upon Edom And upon the people whom I have devoted to destruction. The sword of Yahweh is filled with blood; It is sated with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, With the fat of the kidneys of rams. For Yahweh has a sacrifice in Bozrah And a great slaughter in the land of Edom. And wild oxen will also fall with them, And young bulls with strong ones; Thus their land will be soaked with blood, And their dust become greasy with fat. For Yahweh has a day of vengeance, A year of recompense for the cause of Zion. And its streams will be turned into pitch, And its dust into brimstone, And its land will become burning pitch. It will not be quenched night or day; Its smoke will go up forever. From generation to generation it will be laid waste; None will pass through it forever and ever. But pelican and hedgehog will possess it, And owl and raven will dwell in it; And He will stretch over it the line of utter formlessness And the plumb line of utter void. Its nobles—there is no one there Whom they may proclaim king— And all its princes will be non-existent. And thorns will come up in its fortified towers, Weeds and thistles in its fortified cities; It will also be a haunt of jackals And an abode of ostriches. And the desert creatures will meet with the wolves; The hairy goat also will cry to its kind; Surely, the night creature will obtain relief there And will find itself a resting place. The owl will make its nest and find its escape there, And it will hatch its eggs and gather them in its shade. Surely, the falcons will be gathered there, Every one with its kind. Seek from the book of Yahweh, and read: Not one of these will be missing; None will lack its mate. For His mouth has commanded, And His Spirit has gathered them. He has cast the lot for them, And His hand has divided it to them by line. They shall possess it forever; From generation to generation they will dwell in it.

~~~~~~35~~~~~ ~~~~~~35~~~~~ ~~~~~~35~~~~~ ~~~~~~35~~~~~ ~~~~~~35~~~~~ The wilderness and the desert will be delighted, And the Arabah will rejoice and flourish; Like the crocus It will flourish profusely And rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, The majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of Yahweh, The majesty of our God. Strengthen limp hands, and give courage to the knees of the stumbling. Say to those with an anxious heart, “Be strong, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.” Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness And streams in the Arabah. Then the scorched land will become a pool And the thirsty ground springs of water; In the haunt of jackals, its resting place, Grass becomes reeds and rushes. And a roadway will be there, a highway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not pass by on it, But it will be for him who walks in that way, And ignorant fools will not wander on it. No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious beast go up on it; These will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, And the ransomed of Yahweh will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, With everlasting gladness upon their heads. They will attain delight and gladness, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

~~~~~~36~~~~~ ~~~~~~36~~~~~ ~~~~~~36~~~~~ ~~~~~~36~~~~~ ~~~~~~36~~~~~ Now it happened in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them. And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a heavy military force. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway of the fuller’s field. Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to him. Then Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, “What is this trust that you have? “I say, ‘Your counsel and might for the war are only empty words.’ Now in whom do you trust, that you have rebelled against me? “Behold, you trust in the staff of this crushed reed, even on Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. “But if you say to me, ‘We trust in Yahweh our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’? “So now, come make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to give riders for them. “How then can you turn away one official of the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? “So now, have I come up without the approval of Yahweh against this land to make it a ruin? Yahweh said to me, ‘Go up against this land and make it a ruin.’” Then Eliakim and Shebna and Joah said to Rabshakeh, “Speak now to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak with us in Judean in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” But Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, doomed to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?” Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in Judean and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. “Thus says the king, ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you; and do not let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh, saying, “Yahweh will surely deliver us, this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ‘Do not listen to Hezekiah,’ for thus says the king of Assyria, ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat each of his vine and each of his fig tree, and drink each of the waters of his own cistern, until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. ‘Beware lest Hezekiah mislead you, saying, “Yahweh will deliver us.” Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ‘Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? And when have they delivered Samaria from my hand? ‘Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their land from my hand, that Yahweh would deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’” But they were silent and answered him not a word, for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.” Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

~~~~~~37~~~~~ ~~~~~~37~~~~~ ~~~~~~37~~~~~ ~~~~~~37~~~~~ ~~~~~~37~~~~~ Now it happened that when King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of Yahweh. Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household with Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, reproof, and rejection; for children have come to the point of breaking forth, but there is no strength to give birth. ‘Perhaps Yahweh your God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which Yahweh your God has heard. Therefore, lift up a prayer for the remnant that is left.’” So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the young men of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. “Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a report and return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.” ’ ” Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had set out from Lachish. Then he heard them say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “He has come out to fight against you.” So he heard it and sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus you shall say to Hezekiah king of Judah, ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ‘Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, devoting them to destruction. So will you be delivered? ‘Did the gods of those nations, which my fathers have brought to ruin, deliver them, even Gozan and Haran and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar? ‘Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?’” Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of Yahweh and spread it out before Yahweh. And Hezekiah prayed to Yahweh saying, “O Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. “Incline Your ear, O Yahweh, and hear; open Your eyes, O Yahweh, and see; and listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God. “Truly, O Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have laid waste to all the countries and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. “But now, O Yahweh our God, save us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are Yahweh, You alone.” Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, this is the word that Yahweh has spoken against him: “She has despised you and mocked you, The virgin daughter of Zion; She has shaken her head behind you, The daughter of Jerusalem! “Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? And against whom have you heightened your voice And haughtily lifted up your eyes? Against the Holy One of Israel! “Through your servants you have reproached the Lord, And you have said, ‘With my many chariots I came up to the heights of the mountains, To the remotest parts of Lebanon; And I cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypresses. And I will go to its highest peak, its thickest forest. ‘I dug wells and drank waters, And with the sole of my feet I dried up All the rivers of Egypt.’ “Have you not heard? Long ago I did it; From days of old I formed it. Now I have brought it to pass, That you should devastate fortified cities into ruinous heaps. “So their inhabitants were short of power; They were dismayed and put to shame; They were as the plant of the field and as the green herb, As grass on the rooftops is scorched before it rises. “But I know your sitting down And your going out and your coming in And your raging against Me. “Because of your raging against Me And because your presumptuousness has come up to My ears, Therefore I will put My hook in your nose And My bridle in your lips, And I will turn you back by the way which you came. “Then this shall be the sign for you: you will eat this year what grows of its own accord, in the second year what springs from the same, and in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. “And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. “For out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant and out of Mount Zion survivors. The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will do this.” ’ “Therefore, thus says Yahweh concerning the king of Assyria, ‘He will not come to this city or shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield or throw up a siege ramp against it. ‘By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he will not come to this city,’ declares Yahweh. ‘Indeed I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’” Then the angel of Yahweh went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And the men arose early in the morning, and behold, all of them were dead bodies. So Sennacherib king of Assyria set out and returned home and lived at Nineveh. Now it happened that as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.

~~~~~~38~~~~~ ~~~~~~38~~~~~ ~~~~~~38~~~~~ ~~~~~~38~~~~~ ~~~~~~38~~~~~ In those days Hezekiah became ill to the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’” Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahweh and said, “Remember now, O Yahweh, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept greatly. Then the word of Yahweh came to Isaiah, saying, “Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. “And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city.” ’ “Now this shall be the sign to you from Yahweh, that Yahweh will do this word that He has spoken: “Behold, I will cause the shadow on the stairway, which has gone down with the sun on the stairway of Ahaz, to go back ten steps.” So the sun’s shadow went back ten steps on the stairway on which it had gone down. A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery: I said, “In the middle of my life I am to enter the gates of Sheol; I am to be deprived of the rest of my years.” I said, “I will not see Yah, Yah in the land of the living; I will look on man no more among the inhabitants of the world. “Like a shepherd’s tent my dwelling is pulled up and removed from me; As a weaver I rolled up my life. He cuts me off from the loom; From day until night You make an end of me. “I soothed my soul until morning. Like a lion—so He shatters all my bones; From day until night You make an end of me. “Like a swallow, like a crane, so I chirped; I moan like a dove; My eyes look wistfully to the heights; O Lord, I am oppressed, be my security. “What shall I say? Indeed, He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it; I will wander about all my years because of the bitterness of my soul. “O Lord, by these things men live, And in all these is the life of my spirit; O restore me to health and let me live! “Behold, for my own well-being I had great bitterness; But it is You who has held back my soul from the pit of nothingness, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back. “For Sheol cannot thank You; Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot keep watch for Your truth. “It is the living, the living who give thanks to You, as I do today; A father makes known to his sons about Your truth. “Yahweh is here to save me; So we will play my songs on stringed instruments All the days of our life at the house of Yahweh.” Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take up a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may live.” Then Hezekiah had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of Yahweh?”

~~~~~~39~~~~~ ~~~~~~39~~~~~ ~~~~~~39~~~~~ ~~~~~~39~~~~~ ~~~~~~39~~~~~ At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and was growing stronger. And Hezekiah was glad about these things and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the good oil and his whole armory and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where have they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.” And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah said, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown them.” Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of Yahweh of hosts, ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house and all that your fathers have treasured up to this day will be carried to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says Yahweh. ‘And some of your sons who will issue from you, whom you will beget, will be taken away, and they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of Yahweh which you have spoken is good.” For he said, “For there will be peace and truth in my days.”

~~~~~~40~~~~~ ~~~~~~40~~~~~ ~~~~~~40~~~~~ ~~~~~~40~~~~~ ~~~~~~40~~~~~ “Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God. “Speak to the heart of Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has been fulfilled, That her iniquity has been removed, That she has received from the hand of Yahweh Double for all her sins.” A voice is calling, “Prepare the way for Yahweh in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. “Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; Then the glory of Yahweh will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.” A voice says, “Call out.” Then he answered, “What shall I call out?” All flesh is grass, and all its lovingkindness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of Yahweh blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever. Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, Raise up your voice powerfully, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; Raise it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” Behold, Lord Yahweh will come with strength, With His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him And His recompense before Him. Like a shepherd He will shepherd His flock; In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And encompassed the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales? Who has encompassed the Spirit of Yahweh, Or as His counselor has informed Him? With whom did He take counsel and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge And made Him know the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are counted as a speck of dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the coastlands like fine dust. Even Lebanon is not enough to burn, Nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before Him; They are counted by Him as non-existent and utterly formless. To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him? As for the graven images, a craftsman casts it, A goldsmith plates it with gold, And a silversmith fashions chains of silver. He who is too impoverished to make such a contribution Chooses a tree that does not rot; He seeks out for himself a wise craftsman To prepare a graven image that will not be shaken. Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who inhabits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; It is He who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to inhabit. It is He who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth utterly formless. Scarcely have they been planted; Scarcely have they been sown; Scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, But He merely blows on them, and they wither, And the storm carries them away like stubble. “To whom then will you liken Me That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His vigor and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from Yahweh, And the justice due me passes by my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth, Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weary, And to him who lacks vigor He increases might. Though youths grow weary and tired, And choice young men stumble badly, Yet those who hope in Yahweh Will gain new power; They will mount up with wings like eagles; They will run and not get tired; They will walk and not become weary.

~~~~~~41~~~~~ ~~~~~~41~~~~~ ~~~~~~41~~~~~ ~~~~~~41~~~~~ ~~~~~~41~~~~~ “Coastlands, listen to Me in silence, And let the peoples gain new power; Let them come forward, then let them speak; Let us draw near together for judgment. “Who has awakened one from the east Whom He calls in righteousness to His feet? He gives up nations before him And has dominion over kings. He makes them like dust with his sword, As the wind-driven chaff with his bow. “He pursues them, passing on in peace, By a way he had not come with his feet. “Who has worked and done it, Calling forth the generations from the beginning? ‘I, Yahweh, am the first; and with the last, I am He.’” The coastlands have seen and are afraid; The ends of the earth tremble; They have drawn near and have come. Each one helps his neighbor And says to his brother, “Be strong!” So the craftsman strengthens the smelter, And he who smooths metal with the hammer strengthens him who beats the anvil, Saying of the soldering, “It is good”; And he strengthens it with nails, So that it will not be shaken. “But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, Seed of Abraham My friend, You whom I have strongly taken hold of from the ends of the earth, And called from its remotest parts And said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you. ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will make you mighty, surely I will help you; Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ “Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish. “You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them, Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent. “For I am Yahweh your God, who strongly takes hold of your right hand, Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’ “Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you,” declares Yahweh, “and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. “Behold, I have made you a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges; You will thresh the mountains and pulverize them, And will make the hills like chaff. “You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, And the storm will scatter them; But you will rejoice in Yahweh; You will boast in the Holy One of Israel. “The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none, And their tongue is parched with thirst; I, Yahweh, will answer them Myself, As the God of Israel I will not forsake them. “I will open rivers on the bare heights And springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water And the dry land fountains of water. “I will put the cedar in the wilderness, The acacia and the myrtle and the olive tree; I will place the juniper in the desert Together with the box tree and the cypress, That they may see and know, And establish and gain insight as well, That the hand of Yahweh has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it. “Bring near your case,” Yahweh says. “Bring forward your mighty arguments,” The King of Jacob says. Let them bring it forth and declare to us what is going to take place; As for the former events, declare what they were, That we may establish our heart on them and know their outcome. Or cause us to hear of what is coming; Declare the things that are to come afterward, That we may know that you are gods; Indeed, do good or evil, that we may anxiously look about us and fear together. Behold, you are nothing, And your work is non-existent; He who chooses you is an abomination. “I have awakened one from the north, and he has come; From the rising of the sun he will call on My name; And he will come upon officials as upon mortar, Even as the potter treads clay.” Who has declared this from the beginning, that we might know? Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”? Surely there was no one who declared; Surely there was no one who caused those words to be heard; Surely there was no one who heard your words. “Formerly I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’ And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a messenger of good news.’ “But I look, and there is no one, And there is no counselor among them Who, if I ask, can respond with a word. “Behold, all of them are false; Their works are non-existent; Their molten images are wind and utter formlessness.

~~~~~~42~~~~~ ~~~~~~42~~~~~ ~~~~~~42~~~~~ ~~~~~~42~~~~~ ~~~~~~42~~~~~ “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul is well-pleased. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. “He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. “A crushed reed He will not break And a faintly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will bring forth justice in truth. “He will not be faint or crushed Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.” Thus says the God, Yahweh, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it And spirit to those who walk in it, “I am Yahweh, I have called You in righteousness; I will also take hold of You by the hand and guard You, And I will give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who inhabit darkness from the prison. “I am Yahweh, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images. “Behold, the former things have come to pass; Now I declare new things; Before they spring forth I cause you to hear them.” Sing to Yahweh a new song, Sing His praise from the end of the earth! You who go down to the sea, as well as its fullness. You coastlands, and those who inhabit them. Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voices, The villages where Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing aloud, Let them shout for joy from the tops of the mountains. Let them give glory to Yahweh And declare His praise in the coastlands. Yahweh will go forth like a warrior; He will awaken His zeal like a man of war. He will make a loud shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies. “I have kept silent for a long time; I have kept still and restrained Myself. Now like a woman in labor I will groan; I will both gasp and pant. “I will lay waste the mountains and hills And dry up all their vegetation; I will make the rivers into coastlands And dry up the pools of waters. “I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, In paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them And rugged places into plains. These are the things I will do, And I will not forsake them.” They will be turned back and be utterly put to shame, Who trust in graven images, Who say to molten images, “You are our gods.” Hear, you deaf! And look, you blind, that you may see. Who is blind but My servant, Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is so blind as he that is at peace with Me, Or so blind as the servant of Yahweh? You have seen many things, but you do not keep them; Your ears are open, but none hears. Yahweh was pleased for His righteousness’ sake That He make the law great and majestic. But this is a people plundered and pillaged as spoil; All of them are trapped in caves, Or are hidden away in prisons; They have become a plunder with none to deliver them, And a spoil, with none to say, “Have them return!” Who among you will give ear to this? Who will give heed and hear hereafter? Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to plunderers? Was it not Yahweh, against whom we have sinned, And in whose ways they were not willing to walk, And whose law they did not obey? So He poured out on him the heat of His anger And the fierceness of battle; And it set him aflame all around, Yet he did not know it; And it burned him, but he did not set it upon his heart.

~~~~~~43~~~~~ ~~~~~~43~~~~~ ~~~~~~43~~~~~ ~~~~~~43~~~~~ ~~~~~~43~~~~~ But now, thus says Yahweh, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. “For I am Yahweh your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place. “Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life. “Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your seed from the east, And gather you from the west. “I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth, Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.” Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, And the deaf, even though they have ears. All the nations have gathered together So that the peoples may be assembled. Who among them can declare this And make us hear the former things? Let them present their witnesses that they may be justified, Or let them hear and say, “It is true.” “You are My witnesses,” declares Yahweh, “And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no god formed, And there will be none after Me. “I, even I, am Yahweh, And there is no savior besides Me. “It is I who have declared and saved and caused it to be heard, And there was no strange god among you; So you are My witnesses,” declares Yahweh, “And I am God. “Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?” Thus says Yahweh your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, “For your sake I have sent to Babylon, And will bring down those who fled—all of them, Even the Chaldeans—into the ships in which they shouted for joy. “I am Yahweh, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King.” Thus says Yahweh, Who makes a way through the sea And a path through the mighty waters, Who brings forth the chariot and the horse, The military force and the mighty man; They will lie down together and not rise again; They have been extinguished and quenched like a wick: “Do not remember the former things, Nor carefully consider things of the past. “Behold, I will do something new; Now it will spring forth; Will you not know it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the wasteland. “The beasts of the field will glorify Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I have given waters in the wilderness And rivers in the wasteland, To give drink to My chosen people. “The people whom I formed for Myself Will recount My praise. “Yet you have not called on Me, O Jacob; But you have become weary of Me, O Israel. “You have not brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings, Nor have you glorified Me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, Nor wearied you with frankincense. “You have not bought Me sweet cane with money, Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices; Rather you have burdened Me with your sins; You have wearied Me with your iniquities. “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins. “Bring Me to remembrance, let us enter into judgment together; Recount your cause, that you may be proved right. “Your first father sinned, And your spokesmen have transgressed against Me. “So I will profane the princes of the sanctuary, And I will give Jacob to be devoted to destruction and Israel to revilement.
		
~~~~~~44~~~~~ ~~~~~~44~~~~~ ~~~~~~44~~~~~ ~~~~~~44~~~~~ ~~~~~~44~~~~~ “But now hear, O Jacob, My servant, And Israel, whom I have chosen: Thus says Yahweh who made you And formed you from the womb, who will help you, ‘Do not fear, O Jacob My servant, And you Jeshurun whom I have chosen. ‘For I will pour out water on the thirsty ground And streams on the dry land; I will pour out My Spirit on your seed And My blessing on your offspring; And they will spring up among the grass Like poplars by streams of water.’ “This one will say, ‘I am Yahweh’s’; And this one will call on the name of Jacob; And this one will write on his hand, ‘Belonging to Yahweh,’ And will name Israel’s name with honor. “Thus says Yahweh, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts: ‘I am the first, and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me. ‘Who is like Me? Let him call out and declare it; And let him tell it to Me in order, From the time that I established the ancient people. And let them declare to them the things that are to come And the events that are going to take place. ‘Do not be in dread and do not be afraid; Have I not long since caused it to be heard to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.’” Those who form a graven image are all of them futile, and their desirable things are of no profit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame. Who has formed a god or cast a graven image to no profit? Behold, all his companions will be put to shame. The craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them be in dread, let them together be put to shame. The man crafts iron into a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, forming it with hammers and working it with his powerful arm. He also gets hungry and has no power; he drinks no water and becomes weary. Another crafts wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with a stylus. He makes it with planes and outlines it with a compass and makes it like the form of a man, like the glory of man, so that it may sit in a house. In order to cut cedars for himself, he takes a cypress or an oak and raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also kindles a fire to bake bread. He also works to produce a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and falls down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm; I have seen the fire.” But the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god.” They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they will have no insight. No one causes this to return to his heart, nor is there knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then I make the rest of it into an abomination; I fall down before a block of wood!” He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver his soul, and he cannot say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” “Remember these things, O Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me. “I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud And your sins like a cloud. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.” Shout for joy, O heavens, for Yahweh has done it! Make a loud shout, you lower parts of the earth; Break forth into a shout of joy, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it; For Yahweh has redeemed Jacob And in Israel He shows forth His beautiful glory. Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, “I, Yahweh, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out the earth all alone, Causing the omens of boasters to be annulled, And making fools out of diviners, Causing wise men to turn back, And making foolishness out of their knowledge, Confirming the word of His servant— And the counsel of His messengers He will complete— And being the One who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’ And of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built.’ And I will raise up her waste places again. “It is I who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Be dried up!’ And I will make your rivers dry. “It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd! And all My good pleasure he will complete.’ And saying of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’ And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’”
		
~~~~~~45~~~~~ ~~~~~~45~~~~~ ~~~~~~45~~~~~ ~~~~~~45~~~~~ ~~~~~~45~~~~~ Thus says Yahweh to Cyrus His anointed, Whom I have taken hold of by his right hand, To subdue nations before him And to loose the loins of kings, To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: “I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars. “I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places, So that you may know that it is I, Yahweh, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name. “For the sake of Jacob My servant, And Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor Though you have not known Me. “I am Yahweh, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, That they may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am Yahweh, and there is no other, The One forming light and creating darkness, Producing peace and creating calamity; I am Yahweh who does all these. “Drip down, O heavens, from above, And let the skies pour down righteousness; Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit, And righteousness spring up with it. I, Yahweh, have created it. “Woe to the one who contends with his Maker— An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’? “Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’ Or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor pains?’” Thus says Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: “Ask Me about the things that are to come concerning My sons, And you shall commit to Me the work of My hands. “It is I who made the earth and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands, And I commanded all their host. “I have awakened him in righteousness, And I will make all his ways smooth; He will build My city and will let My exiles go, Without any payment or reward,” says Yahweh of hosts. Thus says Yahweh, “The fruit of the labor of Egypt and the profit of Ethiopia And the Sabeans, men of stature, Will come over to you and will be yours; They will walk behind you; they will come over in chains And will bow down to you; They will make supplication to you: ‘Surely, God is with you, and there is none else, No other God.’” Truly, You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, Savior! They will be put to shame and even dishonored, all of them; The craftsmen of idols will go away together in dishonor. Israel has been saved by Yahweh With an everlasting salvation; You will not be put to shame or dishonored To all eternity. For thus says Yahweh, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it; He established it and did not create it a formless place, but formed it to be inhabited), “I am Yahweh, and there is none else. “I have not spoken in secret, In some dark land; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in a formless place’; I, Yahweh, speak righteousness, Declaring things that are upright. “Gather yourselves and come; Draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations; They do not know, Who carry about their graven image of wood And pray to a god who cannot save. “Declare and draw near with your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has made this heard from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, Yahweh? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. “I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. “They will say of Me, ‘Only in Yahweh are righteousness and strength.’ Men will come to Him, And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame. “In Yahweh all the seed of Israel Will be justified and will boast.”

~~~~~~46~~~~~ ~~~~~~46~~~~~ ~~~~~~46~~~~~ ~~~~~~46~~~~~ ~~~~~~46~~~~~ Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over; Their images are on the beasts and the cattle. The things that you carry are burdensome, A load for the weary beast. They stooped over, they have bowed down together; They could not rescue the load, But have themselves gone into captivity. “Hear Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, You who have been burdening Me from birth And have been carried from the womb; Even to your old age I will be the same, And even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; And I will bear you, and I will rescue you. “To whom would you liken Me And make Me equal and compare Me, That we would be alike? “Those who lavish gold from the purse And weigh silver on the scale, They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; They fall down, indeed they worship it. “They carry it upon the shoulder and bear it; They set it in its place, and it stands there. It does not move from its place. Though one may cry to it, it cannot answer; It cannot save him from his distress. “Remember this, and be assured; Cause it to return to your heart, you transgressors. “Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My counsel will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’, Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man of My counsel from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have formed it, surely I will do it. “Hear Me, you stubborn of heart, Who are far from righteousness. “I bring near My righteousness, it is not far off; And My salvation will not delay. And I will grant salvation in Zion, And My glory for Israel.

~~~~~~47~~~~~ ~~~~~~47~~~~~ ~~~~~~47~~~~~ ~~~~~~47~~~~~ ~~~~~~47~~~~~ “Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no longer be called tender and delicate. “Take the millstones and grind flour. Uncover your veil, strip off the skirt, Uncover the leg, cross the rivers. “Your nakedness will be uncovered; Your reproach also will be seen; I will take vengeance and will not spare a man.” Our Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts is His name, The Holy One of Israel. “Sit silently, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans, For you will no longer be called The queen of kingdoms. “I was furious with My people; I profaned My inheritance And gave them into your hand. You did not show compassion to them, On the aged you made your yoke very heavy. “Yet you said, ‘I will be a queen forever.’ These things you did not put on your heart Nor remember the outcome of them. “So now, hear this, you sensual one, Who sits securely, Who says in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one besides me. I will not sit as a widow, Nor know loss of children.’ “But these two things will come on you suddenly in one day: Loss of children and widowhood. They will come on you in full measure In spite of your many sorceries, In spite of the great might of your spells. “You felt secure in your evil and said, ‘No one sees me,’ Your wisdom and your knowledge have turned you astray; So you have said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’ “But evil will come on you Which you will not know how to charm away; And disaster will fall on you For which you cannot atone; And destruction about which you do not know Will come on you suddenly. “Stand fast now in your spells And in your many sorceries With which you have labored from your youth; Perhaps you will be able to profit; Perhaps you may cause trembling. “You are wearied with your many counsels; Let now the astrologers, Those who behold visions by the stars, Those who predict by the new moons, Stand up and save you from what will come upon you. “Behold, they have become like stubble, Fire burns them; They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame; There will be no coal to warm by Nor a fire to sit before! “Thus they have become for you, those among whom you have labored, Who have traded with you from your youth; Each has wandered in his own way; There is none to save you.

~~~~~~48~~~~~ ~~~~~~48~~~~~ ~~~~~~48~~~~~ ~~~~~~48~~~~~ ~~~~~~48~~~~~ “Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name Israel And who came forth from the loins of Judah, Who swear by the name of Yahweh And bring to remembrance the God of Israel, But not in truth or in righteousness. “For they call themselves after the holy city And are supported by the God of Israel; Yahweh of hosts is His name. “I declared the former things long ago, And they went forth from My mouth, and I caused them to be heard. Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass. “Because I know that you are stiff, And your neck is an iron sinew And your forehead bronze, Therefore I declared them to you long ago, Before they happened I caused them to be heard by you, Lest you say, ‘My idol has done them, And my graven image and my molten image have commanded them.’ “You have heard; look at all this. And you, will you not declare it? I caused you to hear new things from this time, Even hidden things which you have not known. “They are created now and not long ago; And before today you have not heard them, Lest you say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’ “Indeed, you have not heard; indeed, you have not known. Indeed, even from long ago your ear has not been open Because I knew that you would deal very treacherously; And you have been called a transgressor from the womb. “For the sake of My name I delay My anger, And for My praise I restrain it for you, In order not to cut you off. “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. “For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another. “Hear Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the first, I am also the last. “Also, My hand founded the earth, And My right hand spread out the heavens; When I call to them, they stand together. “Assemble, all of you, and hear! Who among them has declared these things? Yahweh loves him; he will carry out His good pleasure on Babylon, And His arm will be against the Chaldeans. “I, even I, have spoken; indeed I have called him, I have brought him, and He will make his ways successful. “Draw near to Me, hear this: From the first I have not spoken in secret, From the time it took place, I was there. So now Lord Yahweh has sent Me, and His Spirit.” Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, “I am Yahweh your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go. “If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea. “Your seed would have been like the sand, And the offspring from your loins like its grains; Their name would never be cut off or destroyed from My presence.” Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! Declare with the sound of joyful shouting, cause this to be heard, Bring it forth to the end of the earth; Say, “Yahweh has redeemed His servant Jacob.” And they did not thirst when He led them through the waste places. He made the water flow out of the rock for them; He split the rock, and the water gushed forth. “There is no peace for the wicked,” says Yahweh.

~~~~~~49~~~~~ ~~~~~~49~~~~~ ~~~~~~49~~~~~ ~~~~~~49~~~~~ ~~~~~~49~~~~~ Listen to Me, O coastlands, And pay attention, you peoples from afar. Yahweh called Me from the womb; From the body of My mother He made My name to be remembered. He has set My mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me; And He has also set Me as a select arrow; He has hidden Me in His quiver. He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel, In Whom I will show forth My beautiful glory.” But I said, “I have toiled in vain; I have spent My might for nothing and vanity; Yet surely the justice due to Me is with Yahweh, And My reward with My God.” So now says Yahweh, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To return Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am glorified in the sight of Yahweh, And My God is My strength), He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to cause the preserved ones of Israel to return; I will also give You as a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Thus says Yahweh, the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One, To the despised One, To the One abhorred by the nation, To the Servant of rulers, “Kings will see and arise, Princes will also bow down, Because of Yahweh who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.” Thus says Yahweh, “In an acceptable time I have answered You, And in a day of salvation I have helped You; And I will guard You and give You for a covenant of the people, To establish the land, to make them inherit the desolate inheritance; Saying to those who are bound, ‘Go forth,’ To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’ Along the roads they will feed, And their pasture will be on all bare heights. “They will not hunger or thirst, Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down; For He who has compassion on them will guide them And will lead them to springs of water. “I will set all My mountains as a road, And My highways will be raised up. “Behold, these will come from afar; And behold, these will come from the north and from the west, And these from the land of Sinim.” Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains! For Yahweh has comforted His people And will have compassion on His afflicted. But Zion said, “Yahweh has forsaken me, And the Lord has forgotten me.” “Can a woman forget her infant And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. “Your builders hurry; Your destroyers and devastators Will depart from you. “Lift up your eyes and look around; All of them gather together; they come to you. As I live,” declares Yahweh, “You will surely put on all of them as jewels and bind them on as a bride. “For your devastated and desolate places and your destroyed land— Surely now you will be too cramped for the inhabitants, And those who swallowed you will be far away. “The children of whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears, ‘The place is too cramped for me; Make room for me that I may live here.’ “Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has borne these for me? Indeed, I have been bereaved of my children And am barren, an exile and a wanderer. And who has reared these? Behold, I remained alone; From where did these come?’” Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations And make high My standard to the peoples; And they will bring your sons in their bosom, And your daughters will be lifted up on their shoulders. “Kings will be your guardians, And their princesses your nurses. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth And lick the dust of your feet; And you will know that I am Yahweh; Those who hope in Me will not be put to shame. “Can the prey be taken from the mighty man, Or the captives of the righteous be granted escape?” Surely, thus says Yahweh, “Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away, And the prey of the tyrant will be granted escape; For I will contend with the one who contends with you, And I will save your sons. “I will feed those who mistreat you with their own flesh, And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine; And all flesh will know that I, Yahweh, am your Savior And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

~~~~~~50~~~~~ ~~~~~~50~~~~~ ~~~~~~50~~~~~ ~~~~~~50~~~~~ ~~~~~~50~~~~~ Thus says Yahweh, “Where is the certificate of divorce By which I have sent your mother away? Or to which of My creditors did I sell you? Behold, you were sold for your iniquities, And for your transgressions your mother was sent away. “Why was there no man when I came? When I called, why was there none to answer? Is My hand so short that it cannot ransom? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, I dry up the sea with My rebuke; I make the rivers a wilderness; Their fish stink for lack of water And die of thirst. “I clothe the heavens with blackness And make sackcloth their covering.” Lord Yahweh has given Me the tongue of disciples, That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning; He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple. Lord Yahweh has opened My ear; And I did not rebel Nor did I turn back. I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not hide My face from dishonor and spitting. Even now Lord Yahweh helps Me, Therefore, I am not dishonored; Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed. He who vindicates Me is near; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand up to each other; Who has a judgment against Me? Let him approach Me. Behold, Lord Yahweh helps Me; Who is he who condemns Me? Behold, they will all wear out like a garment; The moth will eat them. Who is among you that fears Yahweh, That listens to the voice of His Servant, That walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of Yahweh and rely on his God. Behold, all you who kindle a fire, Who gird yourselves with firebrands, Walk in the light of your fire And among the brands you have set ablaze. This you will have from My hand: You will lie down in torment.

~~~~~~51~~~~~ ~~~~~~51~~~~~ ~~~~~~51~~~~~ ~~~~~~51~~~~~ ~~~~~~51~~~~~ “Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness, Who seek Yahweh: Look to the rock from which you were hewn And to the quarry from which you were dug. “Look to Abraham your father And to Sarah who brought you forth through labor pains; When he was but one I called him, Then I blessed him and multiplied him.” Indeed, Yahweh will comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places. And her wilderness He will make like Eden, And her desert like the garden of Yahweh; Joy and gladness will be found in her, Thanksgiving and sound of a melody. “Pay attention to Me, O My people, And give ear to Me, O My nation; For a law will go forth from Me, And I will set My justice for a light of the peoples. “My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, And My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will hope in Me, And for My arm they will wait expectantly. “Lift up your eyes to the sky, Then look to the earth beneath; For the sky will vanish like smoke, And the earth will wear out like a garment, And its inhabitants will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness will not be dismayed. “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, A people in whose heart is My law; Do not fear the reproach of man, Nor be dismayed at their revilings. “For the moth will eat them like a garment, And the grub will eat them like wool. But My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation to all generations.” Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Yahweh; Awake as in the days of old, the generations of long ago. Was it not You who chopped Rahab in pieces, Who pierced the dragon? Was it not You who dried up the sea, The waters of the great deep, Who made the depths of the sea a pathway For the redeemed to cross over? So the ransomed of Yahweh will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, And everlasting gladness will be on their heads. They will obtain joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing will flee away. “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies And of the son of man who is made like grass, That you have forgotten Yahweh your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens And laid the foundations of the earth, That you tremble in dread continually all day long because of the wrath of the one who brings distress, As he makes ready to bring ruin? But where is the wrath of the one who brings distress? “The one in chains will soon be set free and will not die in the pit, nor will his bread be lacking. “For I am Yahweh your God, who stirs up the sea, and its waves roar—Yahweh of hosts is His name. “I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’” Awaken yourself! Awaken yourself! Arise, O Jerusalem, You who have drunk from the hand of Yahweh the cup of His wrath; The chalice of reeling you have drained to the dregs. There is none to guide her among all the sons she has borne, Nor is there one to take hold of her by the hand among all the sons she has reared. These two things have befallen you; Who will console you? The devastation and destruction, famine and sword; How shall I comfort you? Your sons have fainted; They lie helpless at the head of every street, Like an antelope in a net, Full of the wrath of Yahweh, The rebuke of your God. Therefore, now, listen to this, you afflicted, Who are drunk, but not with wine: Thus says your Lord, Yahweh, even your God Who contends for His people, “Behold, I have taken out of your hand the cup of reeling, The chalice of My wrath; You will never drink it again. “I will set it into the hand of those who cause you grief, Who have said to you, ‘Lie down that we may walk over you.’ You have even set your back down like the ground And like the street for those who walk over it.”

~~~~~~52~~~~~ ~~~~~~52~~~~~ ~~~~~~52~~~~~ ~~~~~~52~~~~~ ~~~~~~52~~~~~ Awake, awake, Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion; Clothe yourself in your glorious garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; For the uncircumcised and the unclean Will no longer come into you. Shake yourself from the dust, rise up, O captive Jerusalem; Loose yourself from the chains around your neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For thus says Yahweh, “You were sold for nothing, and you will be redeemed without money.” For thus says Lord Yahweh, “My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there; then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. “So now, what do I have here,” declares Yahweh, “since My people have been taken away for nothing?” Yahweh declares, “Those who rule over them howl, and My name is continually blasphemed all day long. “Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore in that day I am the one who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’” How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who proclaims good news, Who announces peace And proclaims good news of good things, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” The voice of Your watchmen! They lift up their voices; They shout joyfully together; For they will see with their own eyes When Yahweh returns to Zion. Break forth, shout joyfully together, You waste places of Jerusalem; For Yahweh has comforted His people; He has redeemed Jerusalem. Yahweh has bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations, That all the ends of the earth may see The salvation of our God. Depart, depart, go out from there, Touch nothing unclean; Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, You who carry the vessels of Yahweh. But you will not go out in haste, Nor will you go as those who flee; For Yahweh will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard. Behold, My Servant will prosper; He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. Just as many were appalled at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man And His form more than the sons of men. Thus He will sprinkle many nations, Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him; For what had not been told them they will see, And what they had not heard they will understand.

~~~~~~53~~~~~ ~~~~~~53~~~~~ ~~~~~~53~~~~~ ~~~~~~53~~~~~ ~~~~~~53~~~~~ Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of Yahweh been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our peace fell upon Him, And by His wounds we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But Yahweh has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living, That for the transgression of my people, striking was due to Him? So His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But Yahweh was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If You would place His soul as a guilt offering, He will see His seed, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of Yahweh will succeed in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will divide for Him a portion with the many, And He will divide the spoil with the strong; Because He poured out His soul to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.

~~~~~~54~~~~~ ~~~~~~54~~~~~ ~~~~~~54~~~~~ ~~~~~~54~~~~~ ~~~~~~54~~~~~ “Shout for joy, O barren woman, who has not given birth; Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor; For more numerous are the sons of the desolate one Than the sons of the married woman,” says Yahweh. “Enlarge the place of your tent; Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not hold back; Lengthen your cords And strengthen your pegs. “For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left. And your seed will possess nations And will resettle the desolate cities. “Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame; And do not feel dishonored, for you will not be humiliated; But you will forget the shame of your virginity, And the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. “For your husband is your Maker, Whose name is Yahweh of hosts; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, Who is called the God of all the earth. “For Yahweh has called you, Like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, Even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,” Says your God. “For a brief moment I forsook you, But with great compassion I will gather you. “In a flood of fury I hid My face from you for a moment, But with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you,” Says Yahweh your Redeemer. “For this is like the days of Noah to Me, When I swore that the waters of Noah Would not overflow the earth again; So I have sworn that I will not be furious with you Nor will I rebuke you. “For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,” Says Yahweh who has compassion on you. “O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted, Behold, I will lay your stones in antimony, And your foundations I will set in sapphires. “Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies, And your gates of crystal, And your entire wall of precious stones. “All your sons will be taught of Yahweh; And the peace of your sons will be great. “In righteousness you will be established; You will be far from oppression, for you will not fear, And from terror, for it will not come near you. “If anyone fiercely attacks you it will not be from Me. Whoever attacks you will fall because of you. “Behold, I Myself have created the craftsman who blows the fire of coals And brings out a weapon for its work; And I have created the bringer of ruin to wreak destruction. “No weapon that is formed against you will succeed; And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the inheritance of the slaves of Yahweh, And their righteousness is from Me,” declares Yahweh.

~~~~~~55~~~~~ ~~~~~~55~~~~~ ~~~~~~55~~~~~ ~~~~~~55~~~~~ ~~~~~~55~~~~~ “Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost. “Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight your soul in richness. “Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that your soul may live; And I will cut an everlasting covenant with you, According to the faithful lovingkindnesses of David. “Behold, I have given him as a witness to the peoples, A ruler and commander for the peoples. “Behold, you will call a nation you do not know, And a nation which knows you not will run to you, Because of Yahweh your God, even the Holy One of Israel; For He has adorned you with beautiful glory.” Seek Yahweh while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to Yahweh, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares Yahweh. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what pleases Me, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. “For you will go out with gladness And be led forth with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees of the field will clap their hands. “Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up, And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up, And it will be to Yahweh for His renown, For an everlasting sign which will not be cut off.”

~~~~~~56~~~~~ ~~~~~~56~~~~~ ~~~~~~56~~~~~ ~~~~~~56~~~~~ ~~~~~~56~~~~~ Thus says Yahweh, “Keep justice and do righteousness, For My salvation is about to come And My righteousness to be revealed. “How blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who takes hold of it, Who keeps from profaning the sabbath, And keeps his hand from doing any evil.” Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to Yahweh say, “Yahweh will surely separate me from His people.” Nor let the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” For thus says Yahweh, “To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant, To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, And a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off. “Also the foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh, To minister to Him, and to love the name of Yahweh, To be His slaves, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath And takes hold of My covenant, Even those I will bring to My holy mountain And make them glad in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.” Lord Yahweh, who gathers the banished of Israel, declares, “Yet others I will gather to them, to those already gathered.” All you beasts of the field, All you beasts in the forest, Come to eat. His watchmen are blind; All of them know nothing. All of them are mute dogs unable to bark, Dreamers lying down, who love to slumber; And the dogs have a strong appetite; they do not know satisfaction. And they are shepherds who do not know understanding; They have all turned to their own way, Each one to his greedy gain, to the last one. “Come,” they say, “let us take wine, and let us drink heavily of strong drink; And tomorrow will be like today—beyond exceedingly great.”

~~~~~~57~~~~~ ~~~~~~57~~~~~ ~~~~~~57~~~~~ ~~~~~~57~~~~~ ~~~~~~57~~~~~ The righteous man perishes, and no man puts it upon his heart; And men of lovingkindness are gathered away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is gathered away from evil, He enters into peace; They rest in their beds, Each one who walked in his upright way. “But draw near, you sons of a soothsayer, Seed of an adulterer and a prostitute. “Against whom do you jest? Against whom do you open wide your mouth And stick out your tongue? Are you not children of transgression, Seed of lying, Who inflame yourselves among the oaks, Under every green tree, Who slaughter the children in the ravines, Under the clefts of the cliffs? “Among the smooth stones of the ravine Is your portion, they are your lot; Even to them you have poured out a drink offering; You have made a grain offering. Shall I relent concerning these things? “Upon a mountain lofty and lifted up You have made your bed. You also went up there to offer sacrifice. “Behind the door and the doorpost You have set up your memorial; Indeed, far removed from Me, you have uncovered yourself, And have gone up and made your bed wide, And you have cut a covenant for yourself with them; You have loved their bed; You have looked on their manhood. “You have journeyed to the king with oil And increased your perfumes; You have sent your envoys a great distance And made them go down to Sheol. “You were tired out by the length of your road, Yet you did not say, ‘It is hopeless.’ You found renewed strength; Therefore you did not faint. “Of whom were you anxious and fearful When you lied and did not remember Me, Nor even put Me upon your heart? Was I not silent even for a long time So you do not fear Me? “I will declare your righteousness and your deeds, But they will not profit you. “When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you. But the wind will lift all of them up, And a breath will take them away. But he who takes refuge in Me will inherit the land And will possess My holy mountain.” And it will be said, “Build up, build up, prepare the way, Remove every stumbling block out of the way of My people.” For thus says the One high and lifted up Who dwells forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the crushed and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the crushed. “For I will not contend forever, Nor will I always be angry; For the spirit would grow faint before Me, And the breath of those whom I have made. “Because of the iniquity of his greedy gain I was angry and struck him; I hid My face and was angry, And he went on turning away, in the way of his heart. “I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and pay him and his mourners in full with comfort, Creating the praise of the lips. Peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near,” Says Yahweh, “and I will heal him.” But the wicked are like the tossing sea, For it cannot be quiet, And its waters toss up refuse and mud. “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

~~~~~~58~~~~~ ~~~~~~58~~~~~ ~~~~~~58~~~~~ ~~~~~~58~~~~~ ~~~~~~58~~~~~ “Call out from your throat, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression And to the house of Jacob their sins. “Yet they seek Me day by day and find pleasure in knowing My ways, As a nation that has done righteousness And has not forsaken the judgment of their God. They ask Me for righteous judgments; They find pleasure in the nearness of God. ‘Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we afflicted our souls and You do not know?’ Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And oppress all your workers. “Behold, you fast for contention and quarreling and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. “Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to afflict himself? Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to Yahweh? “Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To release the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free And break every yoke? “Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry And bring the afflicted homeless into the house; When you see the naked, you cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh? “Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of Yahweh will be your rear guard. “Then you will call, and Yahweh will answer; You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, And if you offer your soul to the hungry And satisfy the soul of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness And your thick darkness will become like midday. “And Yahweh will continually guide you, And satisfy your soul in scorched places, And fortify your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. “Those from among you will rebuild the ancient waste places; You will raise up the foundations of past generation upon generation; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the paths for one to inhabit. “If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot From doing your own desire on My holy day, And call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of Yahweh honorable, And honor it, by not doing your own ways, By not finding your own desire And speaking your own word, Then you will take delight in Yahweh, And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the inheritance of Jacob your father, For the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”

~~~~~~59~~~~~ ~~~~~~59~~~~~ ~~~~~~59~~~~~ ~~~~~~59~~~~~ ~~~~~~59~~~~~ Behold, the hand of Yahweh is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken a lie; Your tongue mutters unrighteousness. No one calls in righteousness, and no one seeks justice in truth. They trust in confusion and speak worthlessness; They conceive trouble and give birth to wickedness. They break open vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from that which is crushed a snake breaks forth. Their webs will not become a garment, Nor will they cover themselves with their works; Their works are works of wickedness, And a deed of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, And they are quick to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of wickedness; Devastation and destruction are in their highways. They do not know the way of peace, And there is no justice in their tracks; They have made their paths crooked, Whoever treads on them does not know peace. Therefore justice is far from us, And righteousness does not overtake us; We hope for light, but behold, darkness, For brightness, but we walk in thick darkness. We grope along the wall like blind men; We grope like those who have no eyes; We stumble at midday as in the twilight, Among those who are vigorous we are like dead men. All of us growl like bears, And moan sadly like doves; We hope for justice, but there is none, For salvation, but it is far from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins answer against us; For our transgressions are with us, And we know our iniquities: Transgressing and denying Yahweh, And turning back from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving in and uttering from the heart lying words. Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands far away; For truth has stumbled in the street, And rightness cannot enter. So it is that truth is missing; And he who turns aside from evil makes himself plunder. Then Yahweh saw, And it was evil in His eyes that there was no justice. And He saw that there was no man, And was astonished that there was no one to intercede; Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, And His righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle. According to what they deserve, so He will pay in full, Wrath to His adversaries, what is deserved to His enemies; To the coastlands He will pay what they deserve. So they will fear the name of Yahweh from the west And His glory from the rising of the sun, For He will come like a rushing stream Which the wind of Yahweh makes flee. “A Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares Yahweh. “As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says Yahweh: “My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your seed, nor from the mouth of your seed’s seed,” says Yahweh, “from now and forever.”

~~~~~~60~~~~~ ~~~~~~60~~~~~ ~~~~~~60~~~~~ ~~~~~~60~~~~~ ~~~~~~60~~~~~ “Arise, shine, for your light has come, And the glory of Yahweh has risen upon you. “For behold, darkness will cover the earth And dense gloom the peoples; But Yahweh will rise upon you, And His glory will appear upon you. “Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. “Lift up your eyes round about and see; They all gather together; they come to you. Your sons will come from afar, And your daughters will be carried on the nurses’ hip. “Then you will see and be radiant, And your heart will tremble and be large with joy; Because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you, The wealth of the nations will come to you. “A multitude of camels will cover you, The young camels of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba will come; They will bring gold and frankincense, And will bear good news of the praises of Yahweh. “All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you; The rams of Nebaioth will minister to you; They will go up with acceptance on My altar, And I shall adorn My glorious house with beautiful glory. “Who are these who fly like a cloud And like the doves to their lattices? “Surely the coastlands will hope in Me; And the ships of Tarshish will come first, To bring your sons from afar, Their silver and their gold with them, For the name of Yahweh your God, And for the Holy One of Israel because He has adorned you with beautiful glory. “Foreigners will build up your walls, And their kings will minister to you; For in My wrath I struck you, And in My favor I have had compassion on you. “Your gates will be open continually; They will not be closed day or night, So that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, With their kings led in procession. “For the nation and the kingdom which will not serve you will perish, And the nations will surely be laid waste. “The glory of Lebanon will come to you, The juniper, the box tree, and the cypress together, To adorn the place of My sanctuary with beautiful glory; And I shall make the place of My feet glorious. “The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you, And all those who spurned you will bow themselves at the soles of your feet; And they will call you the City of Yahweh, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. “Instead of being forsaken and hated With no one passing through, I will make you an everlasting pride, A joy from generation to generation. “You will also suck the milk of nations And suck the breast of kings; Then you will know that I, Yahweh, am your Savior And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. “Instead of bronze I will bring gold, And instead of iron I will bring silver, And instead of wood, bronze, And instead of stones, iron. And I will make peace your overseers And righteousness your taskmasters. “Violence will not be heard again in your land, Nor devastation or destruction within your borders; But you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise. “No longer will you have the sun for light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; But you will have Yahweh for an everlasting light, And your God for your glory. “Your sun will no longer set, Nor will your moon wane; For you will have Yahweh for an everlasting light, And the days of your mourning will be finished. “Then all your people will be righteous; They will possess the land forever, The branch of My planting, The work of My hands, That I may show forth My beautiful glory. “The smallest one will become a clan, And the miniscule one a mighty nation. I, Yahweh, will hasten it in its time.”

~~~~~~61~~~~~ ~~~~~~61~~~~~ ~~~~~~61~~~~~ ~~~~~~61~~~~~ ~~~~~~61~~~~~ The Spirit of Lord Yahweh is upon me Because Yahweh has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim release to captives And freedom to prisoners, To proclaim the favorable year of Yahweh And the day of vengeance of our God, To comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a headdress instead of ashes, The oil of rejoicing instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of Yahweh, that He may show forth His beautiful glory. Then they will rebuild the ancient waste places; They will raise up the former desolations; And they will make new the ruined cities, The desolations from generation to generation. Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks, And foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers. But you will be called the priests of Yahweh; You will be spoken of as ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of nations, And in their glories you will boast. Instead of your shame you will have a double portion, And instead of dishonor they will shout for joy over their portion. Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land; Everlasting gladness will be theirs. For I, Yahweh, love justice, I hate robbery in the burnt offering; And in truth I will give them their recompense And cut an everlasting covenant with them. Then their seed will be known among the nations, And their offspring in the midst of the peoples. All who see them will recognize them Because they are the seed whom Yahweh has blessed. I will rejoice greatly in Yahweh; My soul will rejoice in my God, For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a headdress, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its branches, And as a garden causes the things sown in it to branch out, So Lord Yahweh will cause righteousness and praise To branch out before all the nations.

~~~~~~62~~~~~ ~~~~~~62~~~~~ ~~~~~~62~~~~~ ~~~~~~62~~~~~ ~~~~~~62~~~~~ For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet, Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, And her salvation like a torch that is burning. The nations will see your righteousness, And all kings your glory; And you will be called by a new name Which the mouth of Yahweh will designate. You will also be a crown of glory in the hand of Yahweh, And a turban of royalty in the hand of your God. It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,” Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”; But you will be called, “My delight is in her,” And your land, “Married”; For Yahweh takes pleasure in you, And to Him your land will be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, So your sons will marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So your God will rejoice over you. On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; All day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind Yahweh, take no rest for yourselves; And give Him no rest until He establishes And sets Jerusalem as a praise in the earth. Yahweh has sworn by His right hand and by His strong arm, “I will never again give your grain as food for your enemies; Nor will foreigners drink your new wine for which you have labored.” But those who collect it will eat it and praise Yahweh; And those who gather it will drink it in the courts of My sanctuary. Go through, go through the gates, Clear the way for the people; Build up, build up the highway, Remove the stones, raise up a standard over the peoples. Behold, Yahweh has announced to the end of the earth, Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your salvation comes; Behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.” And they will call them, “The holy people, The redeemed of Yahweh”; And you will be called, “Sought out, a city not forsaken.”

~~~~~~63~~~~~ ~~~~~~63~~~~~ ~~~~~~63~~~~~ ~~~~~~63~~~~~ ~~~~~~63~~~~~ Who is this who comes from Edom, With garments of glowing colors from Bozrah, This One who is majestic in His clothing, Marching in the greatness of His power? “It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.” Why is Your clothing red, And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press? “I have trodden the wine trough alone, And from the peoples there was no man with Me. I also trod them in My anger And trampled them in My wrath; And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, And I stained all My clothes. “For the day of vengeance was in My heart, And My year of redemption has come. “I looked, and there was no one to help, And I was astonished, and there was no one to uphold; So My own arm brought salvation to Me, And My wrath upheld Me. “I trod down the peoples in My anger And made them drunk in My wrath, And I brought down their lifeblood to the earth.” I shall bring to remembrance the lovingkindnesses of Yahweh, the praises of Yahweh, According to all the ways that Yahweh has dealt bountifully with us, And the abundant goodness toward the house of Israel, Which He has dealt bountifully to them according to His compassion And according to the abundance of His lovingkindnesses. And He said, “Surely, they are My people, Sons who will not deal falsely.” So He became their Savior. In all their distress He was distressed, And the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, And He lifted them and carried them all the ancient days. But they rebelled And grieved His Holy Spirit; Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy; He fought against them. Then His people remembered the ancient days, of Moses. Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of them, Who caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, Who split the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name, Who led them through the depths? Like the horse in the wilderness, they did not stumble; As the cattle which go down into the valley, The Spirit of Yahweh gave them rest. So You led Your people, To make for Yourself a glorious name. Look down from heaven and see from Your holy and glorious habitation; Where are Your zeal and Your mighty deeds? The tumults within You and Your compassion are restrained toward me. For You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us And Israel does not recognize us. You, O Yahweh, are our Father, Our Redeemer from everlasting is Your name. Why, O Yahweh, do You cause us to stray from Your ways And stiffen our heart from fearing You? Return for the sake of Your slaves, the tribes of Your inheritance. Your holy people possessed Your sanctuary for a little while; Our adversaries have trodden it down. We have become like those over whom You have never ruled, Like those who were not called by Your name.
		
~~~~~~64~~~~~ ~~~~~~64~~~~~ ~~~~~~64~~~~~ ~~~~~~64~~~~~ ~~~~~~64~~~~~ Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down, That the mountains might quake at Your presence— As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil— To make Your name known to Your adversaries, That the nations may tremble at Your presence! When You did awesome things for which we did not hope, You came down; the mountains quaked at Your presence. For from ancient times they have not heard or given ear, Nor has the eye seen a God besides You, Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him. You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways. Behold, You were angry; indeed we have sinned— We continued in them a long time— And shall we be saved? For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, carry us away. There is no one who calls on Your name, Who awakens himself to take hold of You, For You have hidden Your face from us And have melted us into the hand of our iniquities. But now, O Yahweh, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand. Do not be angry beyond measure, O Yahweh, Nor remember iniquity forever; Behold, look now, all of us are Your people. Your holy cities have become a wilderness; Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy and glorious house, Where our fathers praised You, Has been burned by fire; And all our precious things have become a waste place. Will You restrain Yourself at these things, O Yahweh? Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?

~~~~~~65~~~~~ ~~~~~~65~~~~~ ~~~~~~65~~~~~ ~~~~~~65~~~~~ ~~~~~~65~~~~~ “I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’ To a nation which did not call on My name. “I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts, A people who continually provoke Me to My face, Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks, Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places, Who eat swine’s flesh, And the broth of offensive meat is in their pots, Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, For I am holier than you!’ These are smoke in My nostrils, A fire that burns all the day. “Behold, it is written before Me: I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will even repay into their bosom, Both their own iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers together,” says Yahweh. “Because they have burned incense on the mountains And reproached Me on the hills, Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.” Thus says Yahweh, “As the new wine is found in the cluster, And one says, ‘Do not make it a ruin, for there is benefit in it,’ So I will act on behalf of My slaves In order not to make all of them a ruin. “I will bring forth a seed from Jacob, And a possessor of My mountains from Judah; Even My chosen ones shall possess it, And My slaves will dwell there. “Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks, And the valley of Achor a resting place for herds, For My people who seek Me. “But you who forsake Yahweh, Who forget My holy mountain, Who set a table for Fortune, And who fill cups with mixed wine for Destiny, I will destine you for the sword, And all of you will bow down to the slaughter, Because I called, but you did not answer; I spoke, but you did not hear. And you did what was evil in My eyes And chose that in which I was not pleased.” Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, My slaves will eat, but you will be hungry. Behold, My slaves will drink, but you will be thirsty. Behold, My slaves will be glad, but you will be put to shame. “Behold, My slaves will shout joyfully with a merry heart, But you will cry out with a pained heart, And you will wail with a broken spirit. “You will leave your name for a curse to My chosen ones, And Lord Yahweh will put you to death. But My slaves will be called by another name, Because he who is blessed in the earth Will be blessed by the God of truth, And he who swears in the earth Will swear by the God of truth; Because the former distresses are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My sight! “For behold, I am creating a new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come upon the heart. “But be joyful and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing And her people for joy. “I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be joyful in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of weeping and the voice of crying. “No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, Or an old man who does not fulfill his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred, And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred Will be thought accursed. “They will build houses and inhabit them; They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit. “They will not build and another inhabit; They will not plant and another eat; For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands. “They will not labor in vain, Or bear children for terror; For they are the seed of those blessed by Yahweh, And their offspring with them. “And it will be that before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear. “The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil nor act corruptly in all My holy mountain,” says Yahweh.

~~~~~~66~~~~~ ~~~~~~66~~~~~ ~~~~~~66~~~~~ ~~~~~~66~~~~~ ~~~~~~66~~~~~ Thus says Yahweh, “Heaven is My throne, and the earth is the footstool of My feet. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? “For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being,” declares Yahweh. “But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word. “But he who slaughters an ox is the one who strikes down a man; He who sacrifices a lamb is the one who breaks a dog’s neck; He who offers a grain offering is the one who offers swine’s blood; He who offers a memorial offering of frankincense is the one who blesses wickedness. As they have chosen their own ways, And their soul takes pleasure in their detestable things, So I will choose their punishments And will bring on them what they dread, Because I called, but no one answered; I spoke, but they did not listen. And they did what was evil in My eyes And chose that in which I did not take pleasure.” Hear the word of Yahweh, you who tremble at His word: “Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you for My name’s sake, Have said, ‘Let Yahweh be glorified, that we may see your gladness.’ But they will be put to shame. “A voice of rumbling from the city, a voice from the temple, The voice of Yahweh who is paying recompense to His enemies. “Before she was in labor pains, she gave birth; Before her pangs came, she delivered a male child. “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be brought forth through labor pains in one day? Can a nation be born all at once? As soon as Zion was in labor pains, she also gave birth to her sons. “Shall I bring to the point of breaking forth and not cause birth?” says Yahweh. “Or shall I who causes birth shut the womb?” says your God. “Be glad with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who love her; Be exceedingly joyful with her, all you who mourn over her, That you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts, That you may suck and be delighted with her bountiful bosom.” For thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I stretch out peace to her like a river, And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; And you will be nursed; you will be carried on the hip and played with on the knees. “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.” Then you will see this, and your heart will be joyful, And your bones will flourish like the new grass; And the hand of Yahweh will be made known to His slaves, But He will be indignant toward His enemies. For behold, Yahweh will come in fire And His chariots like the whirlwind, To return His anger with wrath, And His rebuke with flames of fire. For Yahweh will execute judgment by fire And by His sword on all flesh, And those slain by Yahweh will be many. “Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens, Following one in the center, Who eat swine’s flesh, detestable things, and mice, Will come to an end altogether,” declares Yahweh. “And I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory. “I will set a sign among them and will send those who have escaped from them to the nations: Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Tubal, and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My report nor seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the nations. “Then they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as a grain offering to Yahweh, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says Yahweh, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of Yahweh. “I will also take some of them for priests and for Levites,” says Yahweh. “For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will endure before Me,” declares Yahweh, “So your seed and your name will endure. “And it shall be from new moon to new moon And from sabbath to sabbath, All mankind will come to worship before Me,” says Yahweh. “Then they will go forth and look On the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm will not die And their fire will not be quenched; And they will be an object of contempt to all mankind.”
