Isaiah
Chapter 1
1 The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, that he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2 Hear, heavens, and give ear, earth; for Yahweh has spoken:
"I have nourished and brought up children, but they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knows his owner, and the donkey his master's feeding trough,
but Israel does not know, Israel does not understand."
4 Woe! Nation, sinners, a people weighed down with iniquity,
offspring of evildoers, sons who act corruptly!
They have abandoned Yahweh, they have despised the Holy One of Israel,
they have estranged themselves from him.
5 Why are you still being beaten? Why do you rebel more and more?
The whole head is sick, the whole heart is weak.
6 From the sole of the foot to the head there is no part unharmed;
only wounds, and bruises, and fresh open wounds;
they have not been closed, cleansed, bandaged, nor treated with oil.
7 Your country is ruined; your cities are burned;
your fields—in your presence, strangers are destroying them—
abandoned devastation, overthrown by strangers.
8 The daughter of Zion is left like a hut in a vineyard,
like a shed in a garden of cucumbers, like a besieged city.
9 If Yahweh of hosts had not left for us a small remnant,
we would have been like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.
10 Hear the word of Yahweh, you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah:
11 "What is the multitude of your sacrifices to me?" says Yahweh.
"I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fatted beasts;
and in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats I do not delight.
12 When you come to appear before me,
who has required this of you, to trample my courts?
13 Bring no more meaningless offerings; incense is an abomination to me;
your new moon and Sabbath assemblies—I cannot tolerate these wicked assemblies.
14 I hate your new moons and your appointed feasts;
they are a burden to me; I am tired of enduring them.
15 So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you;
even though you offer many prayers, I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash, cleanse yourselves;
remove the evil of your deeds from my sight;
stop being evil;
17 learn to do good;
seek justice, make straight the oppression, [1]
give justice to the fatherless, defend the widow."
18 "Come now, and let us reason together," says Yahweh;
"though your sins are like scarlet, they will be white like snow;
though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land,
20 but if you refuse and rebel, the sword will devour you,"
for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.
21 How the faithful city has become a prostitute!
She who was full of justice—she was full of righteousness,
but now she is full of murderers.
22 Your silver has become impure, your wine mixed with water.
23 Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves;
everyone loves bribes and runs after payoffs.
They do not defend the fatherless, nor does the widow's legal plea come before them.
24 Therefore this is the declaration of the Lord Yahweh of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel:
"Woe to them! I will take vengeance against my adversaries, and avenge myself against my enemies;
25 I will turn my hand against you,
refine away your dross as with lye, and take away all your dross.
26 I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning;
after that you will be called the city of righteousness, a faithful town."
27 Zion will be redeemed by justice, and her repentant ones by righteousness.
28 Rebels and sinners will be crushed together, and those who abandon Yahweh will be done away with.
29 "For you will be ashamed of the sacred oak trees that you desired,
and you will be embarrassed by the gardens that you have chosen.
30 For you will be like an oak whose leaf fades,
and like a garden that has no water.
31 The strong man will be like tinder, and his work like a spark;
they will both burn together, and no one will quench them."
Chapter 2
1 The things that Isaiah son of Amoz perceived in a vision, concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 It will be in the last days
that the mountain of the house of Yahweh
will be established as the highest of the mountains,
and it will be raised up above the hills,
and all the nations will flow to it.
3 Many peoples will come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob,
so he may teach us some of his ways, and we may walk in his paths."
For out of Zion will go the law, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge between the nations and will render decisions for many peoples;
they will hammer their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation will not lift up sword against nation, nor will they train for war any longer.
5 House of Jacob, come, and let us walk in the light of Yahweh.
6 For you have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob,
because they are filled with customs from the east and they practice divination like the Philistines,
and they shake hands with sons of foreigners.
7 Their land is full of silver and gold, and is there no limit to their wealth;
their land also is full of horses, nor is there limit to their chariots.
8 Their land also is full of idols;
they worship the craftsmanship of their own hands, things that their own fingers have made.
9 The people will be bowed down, and individuals will fall down; therefore do not raise them up.
10 Go into the rocky places and hide in the ground
from the terror of Yahweh and from the glory of his majesty.
11 The lofty gaze of man will be brought low, and the pride of men will be brought down,
and Yahweh alone will be exalted on that day.
12 For there will be a day of Yahweh of hosts
against everyone who is proud and raised up, and against everyone who is arrogant—and he will be brought down—
13 and against all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up,
and against all the oaks of Bashan.
14 That day of Yahweh of hosts will be against all the high mountains, and against all the hills that are lifted up,
15 and against every high tower, and against every impregnable wall,
16 and against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all beautiful sailing vessels.
17 The pride of man will be brought low, and the haughtiness of men will fall;
Yahweh alone will be exalted on that day.
18 The idols will completely pass away.
19 Men will go into the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground,
from the terror of Yahweh, and from the glory of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.
20 On that day people will throw away their idols of silver and of gold
that they have made for themselves to worship—they will throw them away to the moles and bats.
21 The people will go into the crevices in the rocks and into the clefts of the ragged rocks,
from the terror of Yahweh and from the glory of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.
22 Stop trusting in man, whose life-breath is in his nostrils,
for what does he amount to?
Chapter 3
1 See, the Lord Yahweh of hosts is about to take away from Jerusalem and from Judah
support and staff: the whole supply of bread and the whole supply of water,
2 the mighty man and the warrior, the judge and the prophet, the one who practices divination and the elder,
3 the captain of fifty and the respected citizen, the counselor, the expert craftsman and the skillful enchanter.
4 "I will place mere youths as their leaders, and the young will rule over them.
5 The people will be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbor;
the child will insult the elderly, and the degraded will challenge the honorable.
6 A man will even take hold of his brother in his father's house
and say, 'You have a coat; be our ruler, and let this ruin be in your hands.'
7 On that day he will shout and say,
'I will not be a healer; I have no bread or clothing.
You will not make me ruler of the people.'"
8 For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen,
because their speech and their actions are against Yahweh, defying the eyes of his glory.
9 The look on their faces witnesses against them; and they tell of their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it.
Woe to them! For they have completed a catastrophe for themselves.
10 Tell the righteous person that it will be well, for they will eat the fruit of their deeds.
11 Woe to the wicked! It will go badly for him, for the recompense of his hands will be done to him.
12 My people—children are their oppressors, and women rule over them.
My people, those who guide you lead you astray and confuse the direction of your path.
13 Yahweh stands up for an accusation; he is standing to accuse the people.
14 Yahweh will come with judgment against the elders of his people and their leaders:
"You have ruined the vineyard; the plunder from the poor is in your houses.
15 Why do you crush my people and grind the faces of the poor?"
This is the declaration of the Lord Yahweh of hosts.
16 Yahweh says that because the daughters of Zion are proud,
they walk with their necks extended,
with flirting eyes, walking with tiny steps as they go,
making tinkling sounds from bracelets on their ankles.
17 Therefore the Lord will form scabs on the heads of the daughters of Zion,
and Yahweh will make them bald.
18 On that day the Lord will remove their beautiful ankle jewelry, head bands, the crescent ornaments, 19 the ear pendants, the bracelets, and the veils; 20 the headscarves, the ankle chains, the sashes, and the perfume boxes, and the lucky charms.
21 He will remove the rings and the nose jewels;
22 the festive robes, the mantles, the veils, and the handbags;
23 the hand mirrors, the fine linen, the head pieces, and the wraps.
24 Instead of sweet perfume there will be stench; and instead of a sash, a rope;
instead of well-arranged hair, baldness; and instead of a robe, a covering of sackcloth;
and branding instead of beauty.
25 Your men will fall by the sword, and your strong men will fall in war.
26 Jerusalem's gates will lament and mourn; and she will be alone and sit upon the ground.
Chapter 4
1 On that day seven women will take hold of one man and say,
"Our own food we will eat, our own clothing we will wear.
But let us take your name to remove our shame."
2 On that day the branch of Yahweh will be beautiful and glorious,
and the fruit of the land will be tasty
and delightful for those survivors in Israel.
3 It will happen that the one who is left in Zion
and the one who remains in Jerusalem will be called holy,
everyone who is written down as living in Jerusalem.
4 This will happen when the Lord will have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion,
and will have cleansed the blood stains from Jerusalem's midst,
by means of the spirit of judgment and the spirit of flaming fire.
5 Then over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her place of assembly,
Yahweh will create cloud and smoke by day,
and the shining of a flaming fire by night;
it will be a canopy over all the glory.
6 It will be a shelter for shade in the daytime from the heat,
and a refuge and a cover from the storm and rain.
Chapter 5
1 Let me sing for my well beloved, a song of my beloved about his vineyard.
My well beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
2 He spaded it, removed the stones, and planted it with an excellent kind of vine.
He built a tower in the middle of it, and also built a winepress.
He waited for it to produce grapes, but it only produced wild grapes.
3 So now, inhabitant of Jerusalem and man of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
4 What more could have been done for my vineyard, that I have not done for it?
When I looked for it to produce grapes, why did it produce wild grapes?
5 Now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will remove the hedge,
I will turn it into a pasture, I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled down.
6 I will lay it waste, and it will not be pruned nor hoed. Instead, briers and thorns will spring up.
I will also command the clouds not to rain on it.
7 For the vineyard of Yahweh of hosts is the house of Israel,
and the man of Judah his pleasant planting;
he waited for justice, but instead, there was killing; for righteousness, but, instead, a shout for help.
8 Woe to those who join house to house, who join field to field,
until no room remains, and you alone remain in the land!
9 Yahweh of hosts told me,
many houses will be empty, even great and impressive ones, without any inhabitant.
10 For a ten-yoke vineyard will yield only one bath, and one homer of seed will yield only an ephah.
11 Woe to those who rise up early in the morning to obtain strong drink,
those who linger late into the night until wine inflames them.
12 They have harp and lute, tambourine, flute, and wine at their feasts,
but they do not honor what Yahweh has done or respect the work of his hands.
13 Therefore my people have gone into captivity for lack of understanding;
their honored leaders go hungry, and their common people have nothing to drink.
14 Therefore Sheol has made its appetite greater and has opened its mouth very wide;
their elite, the people, their leaders, and the revelers and those who are happy among them, descend into Sheol.
15 Man will be forced to bend down, and mankind will be humbled; the eyes of the lofty will be cast down.
16 Yahweh of hosts will be exalted in his justice, and God the Holy One will show himself holy by his righteousness.
17 Then the sheep will feed as in their own pasture, and in the ruins, lambs will graze as foreigners. [1]
18 Woe to those who pull along iniquity with useless cords and who pull along sin as if it were with a cart rope.
19 Woe to those who say, "Let God hurry, let him act quickly, so we can see it happen;
and let the plans of the Holy One of Israel come, so that we may know them."
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
who represent darkness as light, and light as darkness;
who represent bitter as sweet, and sweet as bitter!
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own understanding!
22 Woe to those who are champions at drinking wine, and masters at mixing strong drinks;
23 who acquit the wicked for payment, and deprive the innocent of his rights!
24 Therefore as the tongue of fire devours stubble, and as the dry grass goes down in flame,
so their root will rot, and their blossom will blow away like dust.
This will happen because they have rejected the law of Yahweh of hosts, and because they have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 Therefore the anger of Yahweh is kindled against his people. He has reached out with his hand against them and has punished them.
The mountains tremble, and their corpses are like garbage in the streets.
In all these things, his anger does not subside; instead, his hand is still stretched out.
26 He will lift up a signal flag for far away nations and will whistle for those at the end of the earth.
Look, they will come speedily and promptly.
27 None tire or stumble among them; none slumbers or sleeps.
Nor are their belts loose, or the thongs of their sandals broken.
28 Their arrows are sharp and all their bows are bent;
their horses' hooves are like flint, and their chariot wheels like storms.
29 Their roaring will be like a lion; they will roar like young lions.
They will growl and seize the prey and drag it away, with none to rescue.
30 On that day they will roar against the prey as the sea roars.
If anyone looks over the land, he will see darkness and suffering; even the light will be made dark by the clouds.
Chapter 6
1 In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne; he was high and elevated, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were the seraphim; each one had six wings; with two each covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 Each one called to another and said,
"Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of hosts! The whole earth is full of his glory."
4 The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voices of those who were crying out, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then I said,
"Woe is me! For I am doomed because I am a man of unclean lips,
and I live among a people of unclean lips,
because my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh, Yahweh of hosts!"
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me; he had a glowing coal in his hand, that he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said,
"See, this has touched your lips; your guilt has been taken away, and your sin atoned for."
8 I heard the voice of the Lord say, "Whom will I send; who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am; send me."
9 He said, "Go and tell this people,
'Listen, but do not understand; see, but do not perceive.' 10 Make the heart of this people insensitive, and their ears dull, and blind their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and then turn and be healed."
11 Then I said, "Lord, how long?" He answered,
"Until cities crash into ruins and are without inhabitants,
and the houses are without people, and the land falls into a desolate waste,
12 and until Yahweh has sent the people far away, and the whole land is completely abandoned.
13 Even if a tenth of the people remain in it, it will again be destroyed;
as a terebinth or an oak is cut down and whose trunk remains,
the holy seed is in its stump."
Chapter 7
1 During the days of Ahaz son of Jotham son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Aram, and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it, but they could not prevail against it. 2 It was reported to the house of David that Aram was allied with Ephraim. His heart trembled, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest shake in the wind. [1]
3 Then Yahweh said to Isaiah, "Go out with your son Shear-Jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the road to Launderer's Field. 4 Tell him, 'Be careful, remain calm, do not be afraid or intimidated by these two smoldering firebrands, by the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and of Pekah son of Remaliah. 5 Aram, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have planned evil against you; they have said, 6 "Let us attack Judah and terrify her, and let us break into her and set up our king there, the son of Tabeel."
7 The Lord Yahweh says, "It will not take place; it will not happen,
8 because the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin.
Within sixty-five years, Ephraim will be shattered and will no longer be a people.
9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son.
If you do not remain firm in faith, surely you will not remain secure."'"
10 Then Yahweh spoke again to Ahaz, 11 "Ask a sign of Yahweh your God; ask for it in the depths or in the height above." 12 But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, nor will I test Yahweh." 13 So Isaiah replied, "Listen, house of David. Is it not enough for you people to test the patience of people? Must you also test the patience of my God? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you people a sign: See, the young woman will conceive, bear a son, and will call his name Immanuel. 15 He will eat curds and honey when he knows to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the child knows to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be desolate. 17 Yahweh will bring on you, on your people, and on your father's house days unlike any since Ephraim seceded from Judah—he will bring on you the king of Assyria."
18 At that time
Yahweh will whistle for a fly from the distant streams of Egypt,
and for a bee from the land of Assyria.
19 They will all come and settle down into all the gorges, into the clefts of the rocks,
on all the thornbushes, and onto all the pastures.
20 At that time the Lord will shave with a razor that was hired beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria—
the head and the hair of the legs; it will also sweep away the beard.
21 On that day, a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep,
22 and because of the abundance of milk they give, he will eat curds,
for everyone left in the land will eat curds and honey.
23 At that time, where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels,
there will be nothing but briers and thorns.
24 Men will go there to hunt with bows, because all the land will be briers and thorns.
25 They will stay away from all the hills that were cultivated with the hoe, for fear of the briers and thorns;
but it will be a place where cattle and sheep graze.
Chapter 8
1 Yahweh said to me, "Take a large tablet and write on it, 'Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.' 2 I will summon faithful witnesses to attest for me, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah." 3 I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then Yahweh said to me, "Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 4 For before the child knows to cry, 'My father,' and, 'My mother,' the riches of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria."
5 Yahweh spoke to me again,
6 "Because this people has refused the gentle waters of Shiloah,
and is happy over Rezin and Remaliah's son,
7 therefore the Lord is about to bring up on them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory.
It will come up over all its channels and overflow its banks.
8 The River will sweep onward into Judah, flooding and passing on, until it reaches to your neck.
Its outstretched wings will fill the breadth of your land, Immanuel."
9 You peoples will be broken to pieces. Listen, all you distant countries:
arm yourselves for war and be broken in pieces; arm yourselves and be broken in pieces.
10 Form a plan, but it will not be carried out; issue the command, but it will not be carried out,
for God is with us.
11 Yahweh spoke to me, with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people.
12 Do not call conspiracy anything that this people calls conspiracy,
you will not fear what they fear, and do not be terrified.
13 It is Yahweh of hosts whom you will honor as holy; he is the one you must fear, and he is the one you must dread.
14 He will become a sanctuary;
but he will be a stone of striking, and a rock of stumbling—
for both the houses of Israel,
and he will be a trap and a snare
to the people of Jerusalem.
15 Many will stumble over it and fall and be broken, and be ensnared and captured.
16 Bind up my testimony, seal the official record, and give it to my disciples.
17 I will wait for Yahweh, who hides his face from the house of Jacob; I will trust in him.
18 See, I and the sons whom Yahweh has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel
from Yahweh of hosts, who lives on Mount Zion.
19 They will say to you, "Consult with those who speak with the dead and with spirits," the ones who chirp and mutter incantations. But should a people not consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not say such things, it is because they have no light of dawn.
21 They will pass through the land greatly distressed and hungry. When they are hungry, they will become angry
and curse their king and their God, as they turn their faces upward.
22 They will look at the earth
and see distress, darkness, and oppressive gloom. They will be driven into a land of darkness.
Chapter 9
1 The gloom will be dispelled from her who was in anguish.
In an earlier time he humiliated
the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
but in the latter time he will make it glorious, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
those who have lived in the land of the shadow of death, the light has shone on them.
3 You have multiplied the nation; you have increased their joy.
They rejoice before you like the joy at harvest time,
as men rejoice when they divide the plunder.
4 For the yoke of his burden, the beam across his shoulder,
the rod of his oppressor, you have shattered as on the day of Midian.
5 For every boot treading in the tumult
and the garments rolled in blood
will be burned, fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child has been born, to us a son has been given;
and the rule will be on his shoulder;
and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end,
as he rules on the throne of David, and over his kingdom,
to establish it and sustain it
with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and for evermore.
The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will do this.
8 The Lord sent a word against Jacob, and it fell on Israel.
9 All the people will know, even Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who say in pride and with an arrogant heart,
10 "The bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild with chiseled stone; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place."
11 Therefore Yahweh will raise up against him Rezin, his adversary, and will stir up his enemies,
12 the Arameans on the east, and the Philistines on the west. They will devour Israel with open mouth.
In all these things, his anger does not subside; instead, his hand is still stretched out.
13 Yet the people will not turn to him who struck them, nor will they seek Yahweh of hosts.
14 Therefore Yahweh will cut off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed, in one day.
15 The leader and the noble man are the head; and the prophet that teaches lies is the tail.
16 Those who lead this people lead them astray, and those who are led by them are swallowed up.
17 Therefore the Lord will not rejoice over their young men nor will he have compassion on their fatherless and widows,
since every one is godless and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks foolish things.
In all these things, his anger does not subside; instead, his hand is still stretched out.
18 Wickedness burns like a fire; it devours the briers and thorns;
it even burns the thickets of the forest, which rise in a column of smoke.
19 Through the fury of Yahweh of hosts the land is scorched, and the people are like fuel for the fire.
No man spares his brother.
20 They will grab food on the right hand but still be hungry; they will eat food on the left hand but will not be satisfied.
Each will even eat the flesh of his own arm. [1]
21 Manasseh will devour Ephraim, and Ephraim, Manasseh; and they together will attack Judah.
In all these things, his anger does not subside; instead, his hand is still stretched out.
Chapter 10
1 Woe to those who enact unjust laws and write unfair decrees.
2 They deprive the needy of justice, rob the poor of my people of their rights,
plunder widows, and make the fatherless their prey!
3 What will you do on judgment day when the destruction comes from far away?
To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth?
4 Nothing remains, and you crouch among the prisoners or fall among the killed.
In all these things, his anger does not subside; instead, his hand is still stretched out.
5 Woe to the Assyrian, the club of my anger, the rod by whom I wield my fury!
6 I send him against an arrogant nation and against the people who bear my overflowing wrath.
I order him to take the spoil, to take the prey, and to trample them like mud in the streets.
7 But this is not what he intends, nor does he think this way.
It is in his heart to destroy and eliminate many nations.
8 For he says, "Are not all my princes kings?
9 Is not Kalno like Carchemish?
Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus?
10 As my hand has overcome idolatrous kingdoms, whose carved figures were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
11 just as I did to Samaria and her worthless idols,
will I not also do the same to Jerusalem and to her idols?"
12 When the Lord has finished his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and his prideful looks. 13 For he says,
"By my strength and by my wisdom I acted. I have understanding,
and I have removed the boundaries of the peoples. I have stolen their treasures,
and like a bull I have brought down the inhabitants.
14 My hand has seized, as from a nest, the wealth of nations,
and as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth.
None fluttered their wings or opened their mouth or chirped."
15 Will the ax boast about itself against the one who wields it?
Will the saw praise itself more than the one who cuts with it?
It is as if a rod could lift up those who raise it, or as if a wooden club could lift up a person.
16 Therefore the Lord Yahweh of hosts will send emaciation among his elite warriors;
and under his glory there will be kindled a burning like fire.
17 The light of Israel will become a fire, and his Holy One a flame;
it will burn and devour his thorns and briers in one day.
18 Yahweh will consume the glory of his forest and of his fruitful land, both soul and body;
it will be like when a sick man's life wastes away.
19 The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few, that a child could count them.
20 On that day, the remnant of Israel, the family of Jacob that has escaped, will no longer rely on the one who defeated them, but will indeed depend on Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel.
21 A remnant of Jacob will return to the mighty God.
22 For though your people, Israel, are like the sand of the seashore, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, as overflowing righteousness demands.
23 For the Lord Yahweh of hosts, is about to carry out the destruction determined throughout the land.
24 Therefore the Lord Yahweh of hosts says, "My people who live in Zion, do not fear the Assyrian. He will strike you with the rod and raise his staff against you, as the Egyptians did. 25 Do not fear him, for in a very short time my anger against you will end, and my anger will lead to his destruction."
26 Then Yahweh of hosts will wield a whip against them, as when he defeated Midian at the rock of Oreb. He will raise his rod over the sea and lift it up as he did in Egypt.
27 On that day, his burden is lifted from your shoulder and his yoke from off your neck, and the yoke will be destroyed because of fatness. [1]
28 The enemy has come to Aiath
and has passed through Migron; at Mikmash he has stored his provisions.
29 They have crossed over the pass and they lodge at Geba.
Ramah trembles and Gibeah of Saul has fled.
30 Cry aloud, daughter of Gallim! Give attention, Laishah!
You poor Anathoth!
31 Madmenah is fleeing,
and the inhabitants of Gebim run for safety.
32 This very day he will halt
at Nob and shake his fist at the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.
33 Behold, the Lord Yahweh of hosts will lop off the boughs with a terrifying crash;
the tallest trees will be cut down, and the lofty will be brought low.
34 He will chop down the thickets of the forest with an ax, and Lebanon in his majesty will fall.
Chapter 11
1 A shoot will sprout from the stump of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of Yahweh will rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of instruction and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh.
3 His delight will be the fear of the Lord;
he will not judge by what his eyes see, nor decide by what his ears hear.
4 Instead, he will judge the poor with righteousness and decide fairly for the humble of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his hips.
6 The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat;
the calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf together, and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow and the bear will graze together, and their young will lie down together.
The lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 A baby will play over the hole of the snake,
and the weaned child will put his hand on the serpent's den.
9 They will not hurt nor destroy on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of knowledge of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea.
10 On that day, the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples.
The nations will seek him out, and his resting place will be glorious.
11 On that day, the Lord will again extend his hand
to recover the remnant of his people who remain in Assyria, Egypt,
Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the islands of the sea.
12 He will set up a banner for the nations and will gather the outcasts of Israel
and the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
13 He will turn aside the envy of Ephraim, and hostilities of Judah will be cut off.
Ephraim will not envy Judah, and Judah will no longer be hostile to Ephraim.
14 Instead they will swoop down on the Philistine hills on the west,
and together they will plunder the people of the east.
They will attack Edom and Moab, and the people of Ammon will obey them.
15 Yahweh will completely destroy the gulf of the Sea of Egypt.
With his scorching wind he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River
and will divide it into seven streams, so it can be crossed over in sandals.
16 There will be a highway for the remnant of his people that return from Assyria,
as there was for Israel in their coming up from the land of Egypt.
Chapter 12
1 On that day you will say,
"I will give thanks to you, Yahweh. For though you were angry with me, your wrath has turned away, and you have comforted me.
2 See, God is my salvation; I will trust and will not fear,
for Yahweh, yes, Yahweh is my strength and song. He has become my salvation."
3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
4 On that day you will say, "Give thanks to Yahweh and call upon his name;
declare his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 Sing to Yahweh, for he has done glorious things; let this be known throughout the earth.
6 Cry aloud and shout for joy, you inhabitants of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel."
Chapter 13
1 A declaration about Babylon, that Isaiah son of Amoz received:
2 On the bare mountain set up a signal flag, cry aloud to them,
wave your hand for them to go into the gates of the nobles.
3 "I have commanded my chosen ones;
I have summoned my mighty ones to vent my anger—
those who rejoice in my triumph.
4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains, as of many people!
The noise of a tumult of the kingdoms like many nations gathered together!
Yahweh of hosts is mustering the army for the battle.
5 They come from a far country, from way over the horizon.
It is Yahweh with his instruments of judgment, to destroy the whole land.
6 Howl, for the day of Yahweh is near; it comes with destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore all hands hang limp, and every heart melts.
8 They will be terrified; pain and agony will seize them, like a woman in labor.
They will look in astonishment at one another; their faces will be aflame.
9 See, the day of Yahweh comes with cruel wrath and overflowing anger,
to make the land a desolation and to destroy the sinners from it.
10 The stars of heaven and the constellations will not give their light.
The sun will be darkened even from dawn, and the moon will not shine.
11 I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the proud and will bring down the arrogance of the ruthless.
12 I will make men more rare than fine gold and mankind harder to find than the pure gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place,
by the fury of Yahweh of hosts, and on the day of his fierce anger.
14 Like a hunted gazelle or like a sheep with no shepherd,
every man will turn toward his own people and will flee to his own land.
15 Every one who is found will be killed, and every one who is captured will die by the sword.
16 Their infants also will be dashed in pieces before their eyes.
Their houses will be plundered and their wives raped.
17 Look, I am about to stir up the Medes to attack them,
who will not be concerned about silver, nor do they delight in gold.
18 Their bows will strike down the young men;
they will have no mercy on infants and they will not look with pity on children.
19 Then Babylon, the most admired of kingdoms, the splendor of Chaldean pride,
will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 It will not be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation.
The Arab will not pitch his tent there, nor will shepherds have their flocks rest there.
21 But wild animals of the desert will lie there. Their houses will be full of owls;
and ostriches and wild goats will skip about there.
22 Hyenas will cry in their fortresses, and jackals in the beautiful palaces. Her time is near, and her days will not be delayed.
Chapter 14
1 Yahweh will have compassion on Jacob; he will again choose Israel and restore them into their own land. Foreigners will join with them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 2 The nations will bring them to their own place. Then the house of Israel will take them in the land of Yahweh as male and female servants. They will take captive those who had captured them, and they will rule over their oppressors.
3 On the day that Yahweh gives you rest from your suffering and anguish, and from the hard labor which you were required to perform, 4 you will sing this taunt song against the king of Babylon,
"How the oppressor has come to an end, the proud fury ended! [1]
5 Yahweh has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of those rulers,
6 that struck the peoples in wrath with unceasing blows,
that ruled the nations in anger, with an attack that was unrestrained.
7 The whole earth is at rest and is quiet; they begin celebrating with singing.
8 Even the cypress trees rejoice over you with the cedars of Lebanon;
they say, 'Since you are laid low, no woodcutter comes up to cut us down.'
9 Sheol below is eager to meet you when you go there.
It arouses the dead for you, all the kings of the earth,
making them rise up from their thrones, all the kings of the nations.
10 They all will speak and say to you,
'You have become as weak as us. You have become like us.
11 Your pomp has been brought down to Sheol with the sound of your lutes.
Maggots are spread under you, and worms cover you.'
12 How you are fallen from heaven, daystar, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground, you who conquered the nations!
13 You had said in your heart, 'I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God,
and I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north.
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High God.'
15 Yet you are now brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the pit.
16 Those who see you will gaze at you and they will pay attention to you.
They will say, 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,
17 who made the world like a wilderness, who overthrew its cities and did not let his prisoners go home?'
18 All the kings of the nations,
all of them lie down in honor, each one in his own tomb.
19 But you are cast out of your grave like a branch thrown away.
The dead cover you like a garment, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit.
20 You will not join them in burial, because you have destroyed your land
and killed your people.
The offspring of evildoers will never be mentioned again."
21 Prepare your slaughter for his children, for the iniquity of their ancestors,
so they will not rise up and possess the earth and fill the whole world with cities.
22 "I will rise up against them"—this is the declaration of Yahweh of hosts.
"I will cut off from Babylon name, descendant, and posterity"—this is Yahweh's declaration.
23 "I will also make her into a possession of owls, and into pools of water,
and I will sweep her with the broom of destruction"—this is the declaration of Yahweh of hosts.
24 Yahweh of hosts has sworn,
"Surely, as I have intended, so it will come about;
and as I have purposed, so it will be:
25 I will break the Assyrian in my land, and on my mountains trample him underfoot.
Then his yoke will be lifted from off them and his burden from off their shoulder."
Then his yoke will be lifted from off them and his burden from off their shoulder."
26 This is the plan that is intended for the whole earth, and this is the hand that is raised over all the nations.
27 For Yahweh of hosts has planned this; who will stop him? His hand is raised, and who will turn it back?
28 In the year that king Ahaz died this declaration came:
29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken.
For out of the serpent's root will grow out an adder,
and his offspring will be a fiery flying serpent.
30 The firstborn of the poor will graze their sheep in my pastures,
and the needy will lie down in safety.
I will kill your root with famine
that will put to death all your survivors.
31 Howl, gate; cry, city; all of you will melt away, Philistia.
For out of the north comes a cloud of smoke,
and there is no straggler in his ranks.
32 How will they respond to the messengers of that nation?
"Yahweh has founded Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people will find refuge."
Chapter 15
1 A declaration about Moab.
Indeed, in one night Ar of Moab is laid waste and destroyed;
indeed, in one night Kir of Moab is laid waste and destroyed.
2 They have gone up to the temple, the people of Dibon went up to the heights to weep;
Moab laments over Nebo and over Medeba.
All their heads are shaved bare and all their beards are cut off.
3 In their streets they wear sackcloth; on their housetops
and in the square everyone wails, melting in tears.
4 Heshbon and Elealeh call out for help; their sound is heard as far as Jahaz.
So the armed men of Moab call out for help; they tremble within themselves.
5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar and to Eglath Shelishiyah.
They go up the ascent of Luhith weeping;
on the road to Horonaim they loudly wail over their destruction.
6 The waters of Nimrim are a desolation;
the grass is withered;
the vegetation has dried up;
there is no more green grass.
7 The abundance they have grown and stored
they carry away over the brook of the poplars.
8 The cry has gone around the territory of Moab;
the wailing as far as Eglaim and Beer Elim.
9 For the waters of Dimon are full of blood; but I will bring even more upon Dimon.
A lion will attack those who escape from Moab and also those remaining in the land.
Chapter 16
1 Send rams to the ruler of the land
from Selah in the wilderness, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2 As wandering birds, as a scattered nest,
so the women of Moab are at the fords of the Arnon River.
3 "Give instruction, execute justice; provide some shade like night in the middle of the day;
hide the fugitives; do not betray the fugitives.
4 Let them live among you, the refugees from Moab;
be a hiding place for them from the destroyer."
For the oppression will stop, and destruction will cease,
those who trample will disappear from the land.
5 A throne will be established in covenant faithfulness; and one from David's tent will faithfully sit there.
He will judge as he seeks justice and does righteousness.
6 We have heard of Moab's pride, his arrogance,
his boasting, and his anger. But his boastings are empty words.
7 So Moab wails for Moab—they all wail! Mourn, you who are utterly destroyed, for the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth.
8 The fields of Heshbon have dried up as well as the vines of Sibmah.
The rulers of the nations have trampled the choice vines
that reached to Jazer and spread into the desert.
Its shoots spread abroad; they went over to the sea.
9 Indeed I will weep along with Jazer for the vineyard of Sibmah.
I will water you with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh.
For on your fields of summer fruits and harvest I have ended the shouts of joy.
10 Gladness and joy are taken away from the fruit tree groves; and there is no singing, or shouts in the vineyards.
No one treads out wine in the presses, for I have put an end to the shouts of the one who treads.
11 So my heart sighs like a harp for Moab, and my inward being for Kir Hareseth.
12 When Moab wears himself out on the high place
and enters his temple to pray, his prayers will accomplish nothing.
13 This is the word that Yahweh spoke concerning Moab previously. 14 Again Yahweh speaks, "Within three years, the glory of Moab will disappear; in spite of his many people, the remnant will be very few and insignificant."
Chapter 17
1 A declaration about Damascus.
2 The cities of Aroer will be abandoned.
They will be places for flocks to lie down, and no one will frighten them.
3 Fortified cities will disappear from Ephraim, the kingdom from Damascus,
and the remnant of Aram—they will be like the glory of the people of Israel—this is the declaration of Yahweh of hosts.
4 It will come about on that day
that the glory of Jacob will become thin, and the fatness of his flesh will become lean.
5 It will be as when a harvester gathers the standing grain, and his arm reaps the heads of grain.
It will be as when one gleans heads of grain in the Valley of Rephaim.
6 Gleanings will be left, however, as when the olive tree is shaken:
two or three olives in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the highest branches of a fruitful tree—this is the declaration of Yahweh, the God of Israel.
7 On that day men will look toward their Maker, and their eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel.
8 They will not look to the altars, the work of their hands, nor will they look to what their fingers have made, the Asherah poles or the sun images.
9 On that day their strong cities will be like the abandoned wooded slopes on the hill summits,
which were forsaken because of the people of Israel, and they will become a desolation.
10 For you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have ignored the rock of your strength.
So you plant pleasant plants, and set out vine branches received from a stranger.
11 But though on the day you plant them you hedge them in, and though in the morning your seed grows,
the harvest will fail on a day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
12 Woe! The uproar of many peoples, who roar like the roaring of the seas,
and the rushing of nations, who rush like the rushing of mighty waters!
13 The nations will roar like the rushing of many waters,
but he will rebuke them and they will flee far away,
they will be chased before the wind like chaff on the mountains,
and like weeds whirling before a storm.
14 In the evening, see, terror! Before the morning they will be gone!
This is the portion of those who loot us, the lot of those who rob us.
Chapter 18
1 Woe to the land of the rustling of wings, which is along the rivers of Cush;
2 who send ambassadors by the sea, in vessels of papyrus on the waters.
Go, you swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth,
to a people feared far and near, a nation strong and trampling down, whose land the rivers divide.
3 All you inhabitants of the world and you who live on the earth,
when a signal is lifted up on the mountains, look; and when the trumpet is blown, listen.
4 This is what Yahweh said to me, "I will quietly observe from my home,
like the simmering heat in sunshine, like a cloud of mist in the heat of harvest.
5 Before the harvest, when the blossoming is over, and the flower is ripening into a grape,
he will cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and he will cut down and take away the spreading branches.
6 They will be left together for the birds of the mountains and for the animals of the earth.
The birds will summer on them, and all the animals of the earth will winter on them."
7 At that time tribute will be brought to Yahweh of hosts from a people tall and smooth,
from a people feared far and near, a nation strong and trampling down, whose land the rivers divide,
to the place of the name of Yahweh of hosts, to Mount Zion.
Chapter 19
1 A declaration about Egypt.
See, Yahweh rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt;
the idols of Egypt quake before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within themselves.
2 "I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians: A man will fight against his brother, and a man against his neighbor;
city will be against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
3 The spirit of Egypt will be weakened from within. I will destroy his advice,
though they sought the advice of idols, dead men's spirits, mediums, and spiritualists.
4 I will give the Egyptians into the hand of a harsh master, and a strong king will rule over them—
this is the declaration of the Lord Yahweh of hosts."
5 The waters of the sea will dry up, and the river will dry up and become empty.
6 The rivers will become foul; the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up;
the reeds and flags will wither away.
7 The reeds along the Nile,
at the mouth of the Nile,
and every sown field beside the Nile will become parched,
will be driven away, and will be no more.
8 The fishermen will wail and mourn, and all who cast a hook into the Nile will mourn,
and those who spread nets on the waters will grieve.
9 The workers in combed flax and those who weave white cloth will turn pale.
10 The cloth workers of Egypt will be crushed; all who work for hire will be grieved within themselves.
11 The princes of Zoan are completely foolish. The advice of the wisest advisors of Pharaoh has become senseless.
How can you say to Pharaoh, "I am the son of wise men, a son of ancient kings?"
12 Where then are your wise men?
Let them tell you and make known what Yahweh of hosts plans concerning Egypt.
13 The princes of Zoan have become fools, the princes of Memphis are deceived; they have made Egypt go astray, who are the cornerstones of her tribes. [1]
14 Yahweh has mixed a spirit of distortion into her midst,
and they have led Egypt astray in all she does, like a drunk staggering in his vomit.
15 There is nothing anyone can do for Egypt, whether head or tail, palm branch or reed.
16 In that day, the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble and fear because of the upraised hand of Yahweh of hosts that he raises over them. 17 The land of Judah will become a cause of staggering to Egypt. Whenever anyone reminds them of her, they will be afraid, because of the plan of Yahweh, that he is planning against them. 18 In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to Yahweh of hosts. One of these will be called The City of the Sun. [2]
19 In that day there will be an altar to Yahweh in the middle of the land of Egypt, and a stone pillar at the border to Yahweh. 20 It will be as a sign and a witness to Yahweh of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to Yahweh because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and a defender, and he will deliver them. 21 Yahweh will become known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will acknowledge Yahweh on that day. They will worship with sacrifices and offerings, and will make vows to Yahweh and fulfill them. 22 Yahweh will afflict Egypt, afflicting and healing. They will return to Yahweh; he will hear their prayer and will heal them.
23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come to Egypt, and the Egyptian to Assyria; and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. 24 In that day, Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth; 25 Yahweh of hosts will bless them and say, "Blessed be Egypt, my people; Assyria, the work of my hands; and Israel, my inheritance."
Chapter 20
1 In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, he fought against Ashdod and took it. 2 At that time Yahweh spoke by Isaiah son of Amoz and said, "Go and remove the sackcloth from your waist, and take your sandals off your feet." He did so, walking naked and barefoot. 3 Yahweh said, "Just as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years, it is a sign and an omen concerning Egypt and concerning Cush— 4 in this way the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt, and the exiles of Cush, young and old, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. 5 They will be dismayed and ashamed, because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their glory. 6 The inhabitants of these coasts will say on that day, 'Indeed, this was our source of hope, where we fled for help to be rescued from the king of Assyria, and now, how can we escape?'"
Chapter 21
1 A declaration about the desert by the sea.
Like stormwinds sweeping through the Negev it comes
passing through from the wilderness, from a terrible land.
2 A distressing vision has been given to me:
the treacherous man deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys.
Go up and attack, Elam; besiege, Media;
I will stop all her groaning.
3 Therefore my loins are filled with pain;
pains like the pains of a woman in labor have taken hold of me;
I am bowed down by what I heard; I am disturbed by what I saw.
4 My heart pounds; I shake with fear.
Twilight was my desire, but it brought me terror.
5 They prepare the table, they spread rugs and eat and drink;
arise, princes, anoint your shields with oil.
6 For this is what the Lord said to me,
"Go, post a watchman; he must report what he sees.
7 When he sees a chariot, a pair of horsemen,
riders on donkeys, and riders on camels,
then he must pay attention and be very alert."
8 The watchman cries out, [1]
"Lord, on the watchtower I stand all day, every day,
and at my post I stand all night long."
9 Here comes a chariot with a man and a pair of horsemen.
He calls out, "Babylon has fallen, fallen,
and all the carved figures of its gods are broken to the ground."
10 My threshed and winnowed ones, children of my threshing floor!
What I have heard from Yahweh of hosts,
the God of Israel, I have declared to you.
11 A declaration about Dumah.
One calls to me from Seir,
"Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night?"
12 The watchman said, "The morning comes and also the night.
If you want to ask, then ask; and come back again."
13 A declaration about Arabia.
In the wilderness of Arabia you spend the night, you caravans of Dedanites.
14 Bring water for the thirsty;
inhabitants of the land of Tema, meet the fugitives with bread.
15 For they have fled from the sword, from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow, and from the weight of war.
16 For this is what the Lord said to me, "Within a year, as a laborer hired for a year would see it, all the glory of Kedar will end. 17 Only a few of the archers, the warriors of Kedar will remain," for Yahweh, the God of Israel, has spoken.
Chapter 22
1 A declaration about the Valley of Vision:
What is the reason that you have all gone up to the housetops?
2 Is it so you may hear a city full of noises, a town full of revelry?
Your dead were not killed with the sword, and they did not die in battle.
3 All your rulers fled away together, but they were captured without using a bow;
all of them were captured together, though they had fled far away.
4 Therefore I said, "Do not look at me, I will weep bitterly;
do not try to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people."
5 For there is a day of tumult, treading down, and confusion for the Lord Yahweh of hosts,
in the Valley of Vision, a breaking down of the walls, and people crying out to the mountains.
6 Elam takes up the quiver, with chariots of men and horsemen,
and Kir lays the shield bare.
7 It will come about that your choicest valleys
will be full of chariots, and the horsemen will take their positions at the gate.
8 He took away the protection of Judah;
and you looked in that day to the weapons in the Palace of the Forest.
9 You saw the breaches of the city of David, that they were many,
and you collected the water of the lower pool.
10 You counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you tore down the houses to fortify the wall.
11 You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool.
But you did not consider the city's maker, who had planned it long ago.
12 The Lord Yahweh of hosts called on that day
for weeping, for mourning, for shaved heads, and the wearing of sackcloth.
13 But look, instead, celebration and gladness, killing cattle and slaughtering sheep,
eating meat and drinking wine; let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die.
14 This was revealed in my ears by Yahweh of hosts:
"Surely this iniquity will not be forgiven you, even when you die," says the Lord Yahweh of hosts.
15 The Lord Yahweh of hosts, says this, "Go to this administrator, to Shebna, who is over the house, and say,
16 'What are you doing here and who gave you permission to cut out a tomb for yourself,
hewing out a grave on the heights and carving out a resting place in the rock?'"
17 See, Yahweh is about to throw you, a mighty man, about to throw you down; he will grasp you tightly.
18 He will surely wind you round and round, and toss you like a ball into a vast country.
There you will die, and there your glorious chariots will be; you will be the shame of your master's house!
19 "I will thrust you from your office and from your station. You will be pulled down.
20 It will come about on that day that I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah.
21 I will clothe him with your tunic and put on him your sash, and I will transfer your authority into his hand.
He will be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
22 I will place the key of the house of David on his shoulder;
he will open, and none will shut; he will shut, and none will open.
23 I will fasten him, a peg in a secure place,
and he will become a seat of glory for his father's house.
24 They will hang on him all the glory of his father's house,
the offspring and descendants,
every small container from the cups to all the jugs.
25 On that day—this is the declaration of Yahweh of hosts—the peg driven in a firm place will give way, break off, and fall, and the weight that was on it will be cut off—for Yahweh has spoken.
Chapter 23
1 A declaration about Tyre:
Howl, you ships of Tarshish; for there is neither home nor harbor;
from the land of Cyprus it has been revealed to them. [1]
2 Be silent, you inhabitants of the coast; the merchant of Sidon,
who travels over the sea, has filled you. [2]
3 Upon the great waters was the grain of Shihor,
the harvest of the Nile was her produce;
and it became the commerce of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, Sidon; for the sea has spoken, the mighty one of the sea. He says,
"I have not labored nor given birth,
nor have I raised young men nor brought up young women."
5 When the report comes to Egypt, they will be grieved concerning Tyre.
6 Cross over to Tarshish; wail, you inhabitants of the coast.
7 Has this happened to you, the joyful city, whose origin is from ancient times,
whose feet carried her far away to foreign places to settle?
8 Who has planned this against Tyre, the giver of crowns,
whose merchants are princes, whose traders are the honored ones of the earth?
9 Yahweh of hosts has planned it to dishonor her pride
and all her glory, to shame all her honored ones of the earth.
10 Plow your land, as one plows the Nile, daughter of Tarshish. There is no longer a marketplace in Tyre. [3]
11 Yahweh has reached out with his hand over the sea, and he has shaken the kingdoms;
he has given a command concerning Phoenicia, to destroy the strongholds.
12 He said, "You will not rejoice again, oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon;
arise, pass over to Cyprus; but neither there you will have rest."
13 See the land of the Chaldeans. This people has ceased to be; the Assyrians have made it a wilderness for wild animals.
They set up their siege towers; they demolished its palaces; they made it a heap of ruins.
14 Howl, you ships of Tarshish; for your refuge has been destroyed.
15 In that day, Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days of a king. After the end of seventy years there will happen in Tyre something like in the song of the prostitute.
16 Take a harp, go about the city, you forgotten prostitute;
play it well, sing many songs, so that you may be remembered.
17 It will come about that after seventy years, Yahweh will help Tyre, and she will start making money again by doing the work of a prostitute, and she will offer her services to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 Her profits and earnings will be set apart to Yahweh. They will not be stored up or kept in the treasury, for her profits will be given to those who live in Yahweh's presence and will be used to supply them with abundant food and so they can have the best quality clothing.
Chapter 24
1 Look, Yahweh is about to empty the earth, to devastate it, mar its surface, and scatter its inhabitants.
2 It will come about that, as with the people, so with the priest;
as with the servant, so with his master;
as with the maid, so with her mistress;
as with the buyer, so with the seller;
as with the creditor, so with the debtor;
as with the receiver of interest, so with the giver of interest.
3 The earth will be completely devastated and completely stripped;
for Yahweh has spoken this word.
4 The earth dries up and withers, the world shrivels up and fades away,
the prominent people of the earth waste away.
5 The earth is polluted by its inhabitants
because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes,
and broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants are found guilty.
The inhabitants of the earth burn up, and few people are left.
7 The new wine dries up, the vine withers, all the merry-hearted groan.
8 The happy sound of the tambourines stops, and the revelry of those who rejoice;
the joy of the harp ceases.
9 They no longer drink wine and sing, and the beer is bitter to those who drink it.
10 The city of chaos has been broken down; every house is closed up and empty.
11 There is a crying in the streets because of the wine;
all joy is darkened, the gladness of the land has disappeared.
12 In the city is left a desolation, and the gate is broken into a ruin.
13 For this is how it will be on the whole earth among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten, as the gleanings when the grape harvest is done.
14 They will lift up their voices and shout the majesty of Yahweh,
and will joyfully shout from the sea.
15 Therefore in the east glorify Yahweh,
and in the isles of the sea give glory to the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.
16 From the farthest part of the earth we have heard songs,
"Glory to the righteous one!"
But I said, "I have wasted away, I have wasted away, woe is me!
The treacherous have dealt treacherously;
yes, the treacherous have dealt very treacherously."
17 Terror, the pit, and the snare are upon you, inhabitants of the earth.
18 He who flees from the sound of terror will fall into the pit,
and he who comes up out of the middle of the pit will be caught in the snare.
The windows of the heavens will be opened, and the foundations of the earth will shake.
19 The earth will be completely broken, the earth ripped apart;
the earth will be violently shaken.
20 The earth will stagger like a drunken man and it will sway back and forth like a hut.
Its sin will be heavy on it and it will fall and never rise again.
21 On that day Yahweh will punish the host of the heaven in the heavens,
and the kings of the earth on the earth.
22 They will be gathered together, prisoners in a pit,
and will be shut up in a prison;
and after many days they will be punished.
23 Then the moon will be ashamed, and the sun disgraced,
for Yahweh of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and before his elders in glory.
Chapter 25
1 Yahweh, you are my God; I will exalt you, I will praise your name;
for you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago, in perfect faithfulness.
2 For you have made the city a heap, a fortified city, a ruin,
and a fortress of strangers into no city.
3 Therefore a strong people will glorify you; a city of ruthless nations will fear you.
4 For you have been a place of safety for the one who is poor,
a shelter for the one who is needy in his distress—
a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.
When the breath of the ruthless was like a storm against a wall,
5 and like heat in a dry land,
you subdued the noise of foreigners,
as the heat is subdued by the shade of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless ones is answered.
6 On this mountain Yahweh of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of fat things,
of choice wines, of tender meats, a feast on the lees.
7 He will destroy on this mountain the covering over all peoples,
the web woven over all the nations.
8 He will swallow up death forever,
and the Lord Yahweh will wipe away tears from off all faces;
the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for Yahweh has spoken it.
9 It will be said on that day, "Look, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us.
This is Yahweh; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation."
10 For on this mountain the hand of Yahweh will rest;
and Moab will be trampled down in his place, even as straw is trampled down in a pit filled with manure.
11 They will spread their hands in the midst of it, as a swimmer spreads his hands to swim.
But Yahweh will bring down their pride in spite of the skill of their hands.
12 Your high fortress walls he will bring down to the ground, to the dust.
Chapter 26
1 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city; God has made salvation its walls and ramparts.
2 Open the gates, that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.
3 The mind that is stayed on you, you will keep him in perfect peace, for he trusts in you.
4 Trust in Yahweh forever; for in Yah, Yahweh, is an everlasting rock.
5 For he will bring down those who live proudly; the fortified city
he will lay low, he will lay low to the ground; he will level it to the dust.
6 It will be trampled down by the feet of the poor and the treading of the needy.
7 The path of the righteous is level, Righteous One; the path of the righteous you make straight.
8 Yes, in the path of your judgments, Yahweh, we wait for you;
your name and your reputation are our desire.
9 I have longed for you in the night; yes, my spirit within me seeks you earnestly.
For when your judgments come on the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn about righteousness.
10 Let favor be shown to the wicked one, but he will not learn righteousness. In the land of uprightness he acts wickedly
and does not see the majesty of Yahweh.
11 Yahweh, your hand is lifted up, but they do not notice.
But they will see your zeal for the people and be put to shame, because fire of your adversaries will devour them.
12 Yahweh, you will bring about peace for us; for indeed, you have also accomplished all our works for us.
13 Yahweh our God, other masters besides you have ruled over us; but we praise your name alone.
14 They are dead, they will not live; they are deceased, they will not arise.
Indeed, you came in judgment and destroyed them, and made every memory of them to perish.
15 You have increased the nation, Yahweh, you have increased the nation; you are honored;
you have extended all the borders of the land.
16 Yahweh, in trouble have they looked to you; they whispered prayers when your discipline was on them. [1]
17 As a pregnant woman nears the time for her to give birth,
when she is in pain and cries out in her labor pains,
so we have been before you, Lord.
18 We have been pregnant, we have been in labor, but it is as if we have only given birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth,
and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.
19 Your dead will live; their dead bodies will arise. Awake and sing for joy, you who live in the dust;
for your dew is the dew of light, and the earth will bring forth its dead.
20 Go, my people, enter into your rooms and shut your doors behind you;
hide for a little while, until the indignation has passed by.
21 For, look, Yahweh is about to come out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
the earth will uncover her bloodshed, and will no longer conceal her slain.
Chapter 27
1 On that day Yahweh with his hard, great and fierce sword
will punish Leviathan the slithering serpent, Leviathan the squirming serpent,
and he will kill the monster that is in the sea.
2 In that day: A vineyard of wine, sing of it.
3 "I, Yahweh, am its protector; I water it every moment.
I guard it night and day so no one will hurt it.
4 I am not angry, Oh, that there were briers and thorns!
In battle I would march against them; I would burn them all together;
5 unless they grasp my protection and make peace with me; let them make peace with me.
6 In the coming day, Jacob will take root; Israel will blossom and bud;
and they will fill the surface of the ground with fruit."
7 Has Yahweh attacked Jacob and Israel as he attacked those nations who attacked them? Have Jacob and Israel been killed as in the slaughter of those nations that were killed by them?
8 In exact measure you have contended, sending Jacob and Israel away; he drove them away with his fierce breath in the day of the east wind. [1]
9 So in this way, the iniquity of Jacob will be atoned for, for this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:
when he will make all the altar stones as chalk and crushed to pieces,
and no Asherah poles or incense altars will remain standing.
10 For the fortified city is desolate, the habitation is deserted and forsaken like the wilderness.
There a calf feeds, and there he lies down and consumes its branches.
11 When the boughs are withered, they will be broken off. Women will come and make fires with them,
for this is not a people of understanding.
Therefore their Maker will not have compassion on them, and he who made them will not be merciful to them.
12 It will come about on that day
that Yahweh will thresh from the Euphrates River to the Wadi of Egypt
and you, the people of Israel, will be gathered together one by one.
13 On that day a great trumpet will be blown;
and the perishing ones in the land of Assyria will come,
and the outcasts in the land of Egypt.
They will worship Yahweh on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.
Chapter 28
1 Woe to the proud garland crown that is worn by each of the drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
the garland that is set on the head of the lush Valley of those who are overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord sends one who is mighty and strong; like a storm of hail and a destructive windstorm,
like a driving rain and overflowing waters;
and he will throw each garland crown down to the ground.
3 The proud garland of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trodden underfoot.
4 The fading flower of his glorious beauty, that is on the head of the rich valley,
will be as the first ripe fig before the summer, that, when someone sees it,
while it is yet in his hand, he gulps it down.
5 In that day Yahweh of hosts will become a beautiful crown and a diadem of beauty for the remainder of his people,
6 a spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment, and strength for those who turn back their enemies at their gates.
7 But even these reel with wine, and stagger with strong drink.
The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, and they are swallowed up by wine.
They stagger with strong drink, staggering in vision and reeling in decision.
8 Truly, all tables are covered with vomit, so that there is no clean place.
9 To whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message?
To those who are weaned from milk or to those just taken from the breasts?
10 For it is command upon command, command upon command; rule upon rule, rule upon rule;
here a little, there a little.
11 Indeed, with mocking lips and a foreign tongue he will speak to this people.
12 In the past he said to them "This is the rest, give rest to him who is weary;
and this is the refreshing," but they would not listen.
13 So the word of Yahweh will be to them
command upon command, command upon command; rule upon rule, rule upon rule;
here a little, there a little;
so that they may go and fall backward, and be broken, ensnared, and captured.
14 So listen to the word of Yahweh, you who mock,
you who rule over this people who are in Jerusalem.
15 This will happen because you said, "We have made a covenant with death,
and with Sheol we have reached an agreement. So when the overwhelming whip passes through, it will not reach us.
For we have made a lie our refuge, and taken shelter in falsehood."
16 Therefore the Lord Yahweh says,
"See, I will lay in Zion a foundation stone, a tried stone,
a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He who believes will not be ashamed.
17 I will make justice the measuring stick, and righteousness the plumbline.
Hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and the floodwaters will overwhelm the hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be dissolved, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand.
When the raging flood passes through, you will be overwhelmed by it.
19 Whenever it passes through, it will overwhelm you,
and morning by morning it will pass through and by day and night it will come.
When the message is understood, it will cause terror.
20 For the bed is too short for a man to stretch out on, and the blanket too narrow for him to wrap himself in."
21 Yahweh will rise up as on Mount Perazim; he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon
to do his work, his strange work, and perform his strange deed.
22 Now therefore do not mock, or your bonds will be tightened.
I have heard from the Lord Yahweh of hosts, a decree of destruction on the earth.
23 Pay attention and listen to my voice; be attentive and listen to my words.
24 Does a farmer who plows all day to sow, only plow the ground? Does he continually break up and harrow the field?
25 When he has prepared the ground, does he not scatter caraway seed, sow the cumin,
put in the wheat in rows and the barley in the right place, and the spelt at its edges? [1]
26 His God instructs him; he teaches him wisely.
27 Moreover, the caraway seed is not threshed with a sledge,
nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cumin;
but caraway is beaten with a stick, and cumin with a rod.
28 Grain is ground for bread but not too finely,
and though the wheels of his cart and his horses scatter it, his horses do not crush it.
29 This too comes from Yahweh of hosts,
who gives wonderful counsel and whose sound wisdom is great.
Chapter 29
1 Woe to Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped!
Add year to year; let the festivals come round.
2 But I will besiege Ariel, and she will be mourning and lamenting;
and she will be to me like Ariel.
3 I will encamp against you in a circle
and will lay siege against you with a palisade, and I will raise siege works against you.
4 You will be brought down and will speak from the ground; your speech will be low from the dust.
Your voice will sound like a spirit that speaks from the ground, and out of the dust your speech will whisper.
5 The great number of your invaders will become like fine dust, and the multitude of the ruthless ones as chaff that passes away.
It will happen suddenly, in an instant.
6 Yahweh of hosts will come to you
with thunder, earthquake, great noise, with strong winds and violent storm, and the flames of a devouring fire.
7 It will be like a dream, a vision of the night:
A horde of all the nations will fight against Ariel
and her stronghold. They will attack her and her fortifications to press upon her.
8 It will be like when a hungry man dreams he is eating, but when he awakes, his stomach is empty.
It will be like when a thirsty man dreams that he is drinking and he awakes faint, with his thirst not quenched.
Yes, so will be the great number of nations that fights against Mount Zion.
9 Astonish yourselves and be astonished; blind yourselves and be blind!
Be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not with beer.
10 For Yahweh has poured out on you the spirit of deep sleep.
He has closed your eyes, the prophets, and has covered your heads, the seers.
11 All revelation has become to you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men might give to one who is learned, saying, "Read this." He also says, "I cannot, for it is sealed." 12 If the book is given to one who cannot read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot read."
13 The Lord said, "This people comes close to me with their mouths
and honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
Their honor for me is only a commandment of men that has been taught.
14 Therefore, see, I will proceed to do a marvelous thing among this people, wonder after wonder.
The wisdom of their wise men will perish, and the understanding of their prudent men will disappear."
15 Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from Yahweh,
and whose deeds are in darkness. They say, "Who sees us, and who knows us?"
16 You turn things upside down! Should the potter be considered like clay,
so that the thing that is made should say about him who made it, "He did not make me,"
or the thing formed say about him who formed it, "He does not understand"?
17 In just a little while,
Lebanon will be turned into a field, and the field will become a forest.
18 On that day the deaf will hear the words of a book,
and the eyes of the blind will see out of the deep darkness.
19 The oppressed will again rejoice in Yahweh,
and the poor among men will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the ruthless will cease, and the scoffer will vanish. All those who love to do evil will be eliminated,
21 who by a word make a man out to be an offender. They lay a snare for him
who seeks justice at the gate and put the righteous down with empty lies.
22 Therefore this is what Yahweh says concerning the house of Jacob—Yahweh, who redeemed Abraham,
"Jacob will no longer be ashamed, nor will his face be pale.
23 But when he sees his children, the work of my hands, they will make my name holy.
They will make holy the name of the Holy One of Jacob and they will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 Those who err in spirit will gain understanding, and complainers will learn knowledge."
Chapter 30
1 "Woe to the rebellious children," this is Yahweh's declaration.
"They make plans, but not from me; they make alliances with other nations,
but they were not directed by my Spirit, so they add sin to sin.
2 They set out to go down into Egypt, but have not asked for my direction.
They seek protection from Pharaoh and take refuge in the shadow of Egypt.
3 Therefore Pharaoh's protection will be your shame,
and the refuge in Egypt's shade, your humiliation,
4 although their princes are at Zoan, and their messengers have come to Hanes.
5 They will all be ashamed because of a people who cannot help them,
who are neither help nor aid, but a shame, and even a disgrace."
6 A declaration about the animals of the Negev:
Through the land of trouble and danger, of the lioness and the lion,
the viper and fiery flying serpent,
they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys,
and their treasures on the camels' humps,
to a people who cannot help them.
7 For Egypt's help is worthless;
therefore I have called her Rahab, who sits still.
8 Now go, write it in their presence on a tablet, and inscribe it on a scroll,
that it may be preserved for the time to come as a testimony.
9 For these are a rebellious people, lying children,
children who will not hear the instruction of Yahweh.
10 They say to the seers, "Do not see;"
and to the prophets, "Do not prophesy the truth to us;
speak flattering words to us, prophesy illusions. 11 Turn aside from the way, stray off the path;
cause the Holy One of Israel to cease speaking before our face."
12 Therefore the Holy One of Israel says,
"Because you reject this word
and trust in oppression and deceit and lean on it,
13 so this sin will be to you
like a broken part ready to fall, like a bulge in a high wall
whose fall will happen suddenly, in an instant."
14 He will break it as a potter's vessel is broken; he will not spare it,
so that there will not be found among its pieces a shard
with which to scrape fire from the hearth, or to scoop up water out of the cistern.
15 For this is what the Lord Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel says,
"In returning and resting you will be saved; in quietness and in trust will be your strength.
But you were not willing.
16 You said, 'No,
for we will flee on horses,' so you will flee;
and, 'We will ride upon swift horses,' so those who pursue you will be swift.
17 One thousand will flee at the threat of one;
at the threat of five you will flee
until your remnant will be like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, or like a flag on a hill."
18 Yet Yahweh is waiting to be gracious to you, therefore he is ready to show you mercy.
For Yahweh is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.
19 For a people will live in Zion, in Jerusalem, and you will weep no more.
He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. When he hears it, he will answer you.
20 Though Yahweh gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction,
even so, your teacher will not hide himself anymore, but you will see your teacher with your own eyes.
21 Your ears will hear a word behind you saying,
"This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
22 You will desecrate your carved figures overlaid with silver and your gold cast figures.
You will throw them away like a menstrual rag. You will say to them, "Get out of here."
23 He will give the rain for your seed when you sow the ground,
and bread with abundance from the ground, and the crops will be abundant.
In that day your cattle will graze in broad pastures.
24 The oxen and the donkeys, who plow the ground, will eat seasoned feed
that has been winnowed with a shovel and a fork.
25 On every high mountain and on every high hill, there will be flowing brooks and streams of waters,
in the day of the great slaughter when the towers fall.
26 The light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the sunlight of seven days.
Yahweh will bind up the breaking of his people and heal the bruises of his wounding them.
27 Look, the name of Yahweh comes from a distant place, burning with his anger and in dense smoke.
His lips are full of fury, and his tongue is like a devouring fire.
28 His breath is like an overflowing torrent that reaches up to the middle of the neck,
to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction. His breath is a bridle in the jaws of the peoples to cause them to wander away.
29 You will have a song as in the night when a holy feast is observed,
and gladness of heart, as when one goes with a flute to the mountain of Yahweh, to the Rock of Israel.
30 Yahweh will make the splendor of his voice heard and show the motion of his arm
in storming anger and flames of fire, with windstorm, rainstorm, and hailstones.
31 For at the voice of Yahweh, Assyria will be shattered; he will strike them with a staff.
32 Every stroke of the appointed rod that Yahweh will lay on them
will be accompanied with the music of tambourines and harps as he battles and fights with them.
33 For a place of burning was prepared long ago. Indeed, it is prepared for the king, and God has made it deep and wide.
The pile is ready with a fire and much wood.
The breath of Yahweh, like a stream of sulfur, will set it on fire.
Chapter 31
1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and lean on horses,
and trust in chariots (for they are many) and in horsemen (for they are countless).
But they are not concerned about the Holy One of Israel, nor do they seek Yahweh!
2 Yet he is wise, and he will bring disaster and will not retract his words.
He will arise against the evil house and against the helpers of those who commit sin.
3 Egypt is a man and not God, their horses flesh and not spirit.
When Yahweh reaches out with his hand, both the one who helps will stumble, and the one who is helped will fall; both will perish together.
4 This is what Yahweh says to me,
"As a lion, even a young lion, growls over its torn prey,
when a group of shepherds is called out against it,
but it does not tremble at their voices, nor creep away from their sound;
thus Yahweh of hosts will descend to fight on Mount Zion, on that hill.
5 Like birds in flight, so Yahweh of hosts will protect Jerusalem;
he will protect and rescue as he passes over it and preserves it.
6 Return to him from whom you have deeply turned away, people of Israel. 7 For in that day each one will get rid of his idols of silver
and his idols of gold that your own hands have sinfully made.
8 Assyria will fall by the sword; a sword not wielded by man will consume him.
He will flee from the sword, and his young men will be forced to do hard labor.
9 They will lose all confidence because of terror, and his princes will be afraid at the sight of Yahweh's battle flag—
this is Yahweh's declaration—whose fire is in Zion and whose firepot is in Jerusalem."
Chapter 32
1 Look, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice.
2 Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm,
like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a land of weariness.
3 Then the eyes of those who see will not be dim, and the ears of those who hear will hear attentively.
4 The rash will think carefully with understanding, and the stutterer will speak distinctly and with ease.
5 The fool will no longer be called honorable, nor the deceiver called principled.
6 For the fool speaks folly, and his heart plans evil
and godless actions, and he speaks wrongly against Yahweh.
He makes the hungry empty, and the thirsty he causes to lack drink.
7 The deceiver's methods are evil. He devises wicked schemes
to ruin the poor with lies, even when the poor say what is right.
8 But the honorable man makes honorable plans; and because of his honorable actions he will stand.
9 Rise up, you women who are at ease, and listen to my voice;
you carefree daughters, listen to me.
10 For in a little more than a year your confidence will be broken,
you carefree women, for the grape harvest will fail, the ingathering will not come.
11 Tremble, you women who are at ease; be troubled, you confident ones;
take off your fine clothes and make yourselves bare; put on sackcloth around your waists.
12 You will wail for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vines.
13 The land of my people will be overgrown with thorns and briers,
even in all the once joyful houses in the city of revelry.
14 For the palace will be forsaken, the crowded city will be deserted;
the hill and the watchtower will become caves forever,
a joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks;
15 until the Spirit is poured on us from on high,
and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is considered as a forest.
16 Then justice will reside in the wilderness; and righteousness will live in the fruitful field.
17 The work of righteousness will be peace; and the result of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.
18 My people will live in a peaceful habitation, in secure homes, and in quiet resting places.
19 Though hail flattens the forest and the city is completely leveled, 20 you will be blessed when you sow your seed beside every stream
and let the foot of the ox and donkey range free.
Chapter 33
1 Woe to you, destroyer who has not been destroyed!
Woe to the betrayer whom they have not betrayed!
When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed.
When you stop betraying, they will betray you.
2 Yahweh, be gracious to us; we wait for you;
be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble.
3 At the loud noise the peoples flee; when you arise, the nations are scattered.
4 Your spoil is gathered as the locusts gather; as locusts leap, men leap on it.
5 Yahweh is exalted. He lives in a high place. He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 He will be the stability in your times,
abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of Yahweh is his treasure.
7 Look, their envoys cry in the streets; the diplomats hoping for peace weep bitterly.
8 The highways are deserted; there are no more travelers.
Covenants are broken, witnesses are despised, and mankind is not respected. [1]
9 The land mourns and withers away; Lebanon is ashamed and withers away; [2]
10 "Now will I arise," says Yahweh; "now I will be lifted up; now I will be elevated.
11 You conceive chaff, and you give birth to stubble; your breath is a fire that will consume you.
12 The peoples will be burned to lime, as thornbushes are cut down and are burned.
13 You who are far away, hear what I have done; and, you who are near, acknowledge my might."
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless ones.
Who among us can sojourn with a raging fire? Who among us can sojourn with everlasting burnings?
15 He who walks righteously and speaks honestly;
who despises the gain of oppression,
who shakes his hand so that it will not accept a bribe,
who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed,
and who shuts his eyes from looking on evil—
16 this is the man who will dwell on the heights,
his place of defense will be the fortress among the cliffs,
his food will be given, and his water will be in steady supply.
17 Your eyes will see the king in his beauty; they will see a land off in the distance.
18 Your heart will recall the terror; where is the scribe, where is he who weighed the money? Where is he who counted the towers?
19 You will no longer see the defiant people, a people of a strange language that you do not understand.
20 Look at Zion, the city of our feasts;
your eyes will see Jerusalem as a quiet habitation, a tent that will not be removed,
whose stakes will never be pulled up nor will any of its cords be broken.
21 Instead, Yahweh in majesty will be with us, in a place of broad rivers and streams.
No warship with oars will travel it, and no large ships will sail by.
22 For Yahweh is our judge, Yahweh is our lawgiver, Yahweh is our king; he will save us.
23 Your riggings are slack; they cannot hold the mast in place; they cannot spread the sail;
when the great spoil is divided, even the lame will drag off the spoil.
24 The inhabitants will not say, "I am sick;" the people who live there will be forgiven for their iniquity.
Chapter 34
1 Come near, you nations, and listen;
pay attention, you people!
The earth and all that fills it must listen,
the world and all things that come from it.
2 For Yahweh is angry with all the nations,
and furious against all their armies;
he has completely destroyed them, he has handed them over to the slaughter.
3 The bodies of their dead will be thrown out. The stench of the dead bodies will be everywhere;
and the mountains will soak up their blood.
4 All the stars of the sky will fade away,
and the sky will be rolled up like a scroll; and all their stars will fade away,
as the leaf fades from off the vine, and as the overripe figs from the fig tree.
5 For when my sword will have drunk its fill in heaven;
look, it will now come down on Edom, on the people I am setting apart for destruction.
6 The sword of Yahweh is dripping with blood and covered with fat,
dripping with the blood of lambs and goats, covered with the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For Yahweh has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 Wild oxen will fall with them, and young bulls with the older ones.
Their land will be drunk with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.
8 For it will be a day of vengeance for Yahweh and a year when he will pay them back for the cause of Zion.
9 The streams of Edom will be turned into pitch, her dust into sulfur,
and her land will become burning pitch.
10 It will burn night and day; its smoke will rise forever;
from generation to generation it will be a wasteland; no one will pass through it forever and ever.
11 But wild birds and animals will live there; the owl and the raven will make their nest in it.
He will stretch over it the measuring line of ruin and the plumbline of destruction.
12 Her nobles
will have nothing left to call a kingdom, and all her princes will be nothing.
13 Thorns will overgrow her palaces, nettles and thistles her fortresses.
It will be a habitation of jackals, a place for ostriches.
14 The wild animals and the hyenas will meet there, and the wild goats will cry to one another.
Nocturnal animals will settle there and find for themselves a place of rest.
15 Owls will make nests, lay and hatch their eggs, hatch and protect their young.
Yes, there hawks will gather, each one with its mate.
16 Search through the scroll of Yahweh; not one of these will be missing.
None will lack for a mate; for his mouth has commanded it, and his spirit has gathered them.
17 He has cast lots for their places, and his hand has measured it out for them by a cord.
They will possess it forever; from generation to generation they will live there.
Chapter 35
1 The wilderness and the Arabah will be glad; and the desert will rejoice and blossom.
Like the rose,
2 it will blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing;
the glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of Yahweh, the splendor of our God.
3 Strengthen the weak hands, and steady the knees that shake.
4 Say to those with a fearful heart, "Be strong, do not fear!
Look, your God will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God. He will come and save you."
5 Then the eyes of the blind will see, and the ears of the deaf will hear.
6 Then the lame man will leap like a deer, and the mute tongue will sing,
for water breaks out in the Arabah, and streams in the wilderness.
7 The burning sand will become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water;
in the habitation of jackals, where they once lay, will be grass with reeds and rushes.
8 A highway will be there called The Holy Way.
The unclean will not travel it. But it will be for him who walks in it.
No fool will go on it.
9 No lion will be there, no ferocious beast will be on it; they will not be found there,
but the redeemed will walk there.
10 The ransomed of Yahweh will return
and come with singing to Zion, and everlasting joy will be on their heads;
gladness and joy will overtake them; sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Chapter 36
1 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 2 Then the king of Assyria sent the chief commander from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a great army. He approached the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway to the launderers' field, and stood by it. 3 The Israelite officials who went out of the city to talk with them were Hilkiah's son Eliakim, the palace administrator, Shebna the king's secretary, and Asaph's son Joah, who wrote down the government decisions.
4 The chief commander said to them, "Tell Hezekiah that the great king, the king of Assyria, says, 'What is the source of your confidence? 5 You speak only useless words, saying there is counsel and strength for war. Now in whom are you trusting? Who has given you courage to rebel against me? 6 Look, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed that you use as a walking staff, but if a man leans on it, it will stick into his hand and pierce it. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt is to anyone who trusts in him. 7 But if you say to me, "We are trusting in Yahweh our God," is not he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, "You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem"? 8 Now therefore, I want to make you a good offer from my master the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able to find riders for them. 9 How could you resist even one captain of the least of my master's servants? You have put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen! 10 Now then, have I traveled up here without Yahweh to fight against this land and destroy it? Yahweh said to me, "Attack this land and destroy it."'"
11 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah said to the chief commander, "Please speak to your servants in the Aramean language, Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak with us in the language of Judah in the ears of the people who are on the wall." 12 But the chief commander said, "Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words? Has he not sent me to the men who sit on the wall, who will have to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?"
13 Then the chief commander stood and shouted in a loud voice in the Jews' language, saying, "Listen to the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. 14 The king says, 'Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to rescue you. 15 Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh, saying, "Yahweh will surely rescue us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria."' 16 Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: 'Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and from his own fig tree, and drink from the water in his own cistern. 17 You will do this 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.' 18 Do not let Hezekiah mislead you, saying, 'Yahweh will rescue us.' Has any of the gods of the peoples rescued them from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they rescued Samaria from my power? 20 Among all the gods of these lands, is there any god who has rescued his land from my power, as if Yahweh could save Jerusalem from my power?"
21 But the people remained silent and did not respond, for the king's order was, "Do not answer him." 22 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and reported to him the words of the chief commander.
Chapter 37
1 It came about that when King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of Yahweh. 2 He sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, all covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet. 3 They said to him, "Hezekiah says, 'This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, like when a child is ready to be born, but the mother has no strength to give birth to her child. 4 It may be Yahweh your God will hear the words of the chief commander, whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which Yahweh your God has heard. Now lift up your prayer for the remnant that is still here.'"
5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 and Isaiah said to them, "Say to your master: 'Yahweh says, "Do not be afraid of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me. 7 Look, I will put a spirit in him, and he will hear a certain report and go back to his own land. I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land."'"
8 Then the chief commander returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had gone away from Lachish. 9 Then Sennacherib heard that Tirhakah king of Cush and Egypt had mobilized to fight against him, so he sent messengers again to Hezekiah with a message: 10 "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." 11 See, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them completely. So will you be rescued? 12 Have the gods of the nations rescued them, the nations that my fathers destroyed: Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Tel Assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the cities of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah?'"
14 Hezekiah received this letter from the hand of the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the house of Yahweh and spread it before him. 15 Hezekiah prayed to Yahweh: 16 "Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, you who sit above the cherubim, you are God alone over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth. 17 Turn your ear, Yahweh, and listen. Open your eyes, Yahweh, and see, and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. 18 It is true, Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations and their lands. 19 They have put their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men's hands, just wood and stone. So the Assyrians have destroyed them. 20 So now, Yahweh our God, save us from his power, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are Yahweh alone."
21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah, saying, "Yahweh, the God of Israel says, 'Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word that Yahweh has spoken about him:
"The virgin daughter of Zion despises you and laughs you to scorn;
the daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head at you.
23 Whom have you defied and insulted? Against whom have you exalted your voice
and lifted up your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel.
24 By your servants you have defied the Lord and have said, 'With the multitude of my chariots
I have gone up to the heights of the mountains, to the highest elevations of Lebanon.
I will cut down its tall cedars and choice cypress trees there,
and I will enter into its farthest high places, its most fruitful forest.
25 I have dug wells and drunk water; [1]
I dried up all the rivers of Egypt under the soles of my feet.'
26 Have you not heard how I determined it long ago
and worked it out in ancient times? Now I am bringing it to pass.
You are here to reduce impregnable cities into heaps of ruins.
27 Their inhabitants, of little strength, are shattered and ashamed.
They are plants in the field, green grass,
the grass on the roof or in the field,
before the east wind.
28 But I know your sitting down, your going out, your coming in, and your raging against me.
29 Because of your raging against me, and because your arrogance has reached my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose, and my bit in your mouth;
I will turn you back the way you came."
30 This will be the sign for you:
This year you will eat what grows wild, and in the second year what grows from that.
But in the third year you must plant and harvest, plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
31 The remnant of the house of Judah that survives will again take root and bear fruit.
32 For from Jerusalem a remnant will come out; from Mount Zion survivors will come.
The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will do this.'"
33 Therefore Yahweh says this about the king of Assyria:
"He will not come into this city and he will not shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield or build up a siege ramp against it.
34 The way by which he came will be the same way he will leave; he will not enter this city—this is Yahweh's declaration.
35 For I will defend this city and rescue it, for my own sake and for David my servant's sake."
36 Then the angel of Yahweh went out and attacked the camp of the Assyrians, putting to death 185,000 soldiers. When the men arose early in the morning, dead bodies lay everywhere. 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria left Israel and went home and stayed in Nineveh. 38 Later, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisrok his god, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword. Then they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.
Chapter 38
1 In those days Hezekiah was sick to the point of dying. So Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet, came to him, and said to him, "Yahweh says, 'Set your house in order; for you will die, not live.'" 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahweh. 3 He said, "Please, Yahweh, call to mind how I have faithfully walked before you with my whole heart, and how I have done what was good in your sight." Then Hezekiah wept loudly. 4 Then the word of Yahweh came to Isaiah, saying, 5 "Go and say to Hezekiah, the leader of my people, 'This is what Yahweh, the God of David your ancestor, says: I have heard your prayer, and I have seen your tears. See, I am about to add fifteen years to your life. 6 Then I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city. 7 This will be the sign to you from Yahweh, that I will do what I have promised. 8 Look, I will cause the shadow on the stairs of Ahaz to go back ten steps.'" So the shadow went back ten steps of the stairs on which it had advanced.
9 This was the written prayer of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick and then recovered:
10 "I said that halfway through my life
I will go through the gates of Sheol; I am sent there for the rest of my years.
11 I said that I will no longer see Yahweh, Yahweh in the land of the living;
I will no longer look on mankind or the inhabitants of the world. [1]
12 My life is removed and carried away from me like a shepherd's tent;
I have rolled up my life like a weaver; you are cutting me off from the loom;
between day and night you are ending my life.
13 I cried out [2] until the morning;
like a lion he breaks all my bones.
Between day and night you are ending my life.
14 Like a swallow I chirp; I coo like a dove;
my eyes grow tired with looking upward. Lord, I am oppressed; help me.
15 What can I say? He has both spoken to me, and has done it;
I will walk slowly all my years because I am overcome with grief.
16 Lord, the sufferings you send are good for me; may my life be given back to me;
you have restored my life and health.
17 It was for my benefit that I experienced such grief.
You have rescued me from the pit of destruction;
for you have thrown all my sins behind your back.
18 For Sheol does not thank you; death does not praise you;
those who go down into the pit do not hope in your trustworthiness.
19 The living person, the living person, he is the one who gives you thanks, as I do this day;
a father makes known to children your trustworthiness.
20 Yahweh is about to save me, and we will celebrate with music
all the days of our lives in the house of Yahweh."
21 Now Isaiah had said, "Let them take a lump of figs and put it on the boil, and he will recover." 22 Hezekiah also had said, "What will be the sign that I should go up to the house of Yahweh?"
Chapter 39
1 At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah; for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick and had recovered. 2 Hezekiah was pleased by these things; he showed the messengers his storehouse of valuable things—the silver, the gold, the spices and precious oil, the storehouse of his weapons, and all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house, nor in all his kingdom, that Hezekiah did not show them. 3 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and asked him, "What did these men say to you? Where did they come from?" Hezekiah said, "They came to me from the distant country of Babylon." 4 Isaiah asked, "What have they seen in your house?" Hezekiah answered, "They have seen everything in my house. There is nothing among my valuable things that I have not shown them." 5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Listen to the word of Yahweh of hosts: 6 'Look, the days are about to come when everything in your palace, the things that your ancestors stored away until this present day, will be carried to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says Yahweh. 7 They will take away some of your own descendants, whom you will father, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.'" 8 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The word of Yahweh that you have spoken is good." For he thought, "There will be peace and stability in my days."
Chapter 40
1 "Comfort, comfort my people," says your God.
2 "Speak tenderly to Jerusalem; and proclaim to her
that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received double from Yahweh's hand for all her sins."
3 A voice cries out,
"In the wilderness prepare the way of Yahweh;
make straight in the Arabah a highway for our God." [1]
4 Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled;
and the rugged land will be made level, and the rough places a plain;
5 and the glory of Yahweh will be revealed, and all people will see it together; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.
6 A voice says, "Cry." Another answers, "What should I cry?"
"All flesh is grass, and all their covenant faithfulness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers and the flower wilts when the breath of Yahweh blows on it; surely humanity is grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower wilts, but the word of our God will stand forever."
9 Go up on a high mountain, Zion, bearer of good news. [2]
Shout out loud, Jerusalem. You who bring good news, raise your voice, do not be afraid. [3]
Say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God!"
10 Look, the Lord Yahweh comes as a victorious warrior, and his strong arm rules for him.
See, his reward is with him, and those he has rescued go before him.
11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather in his arm the lambs,
and carry them close to his heart,
and will gently lead the ewes nursing their young.
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, measured the sky with the span of his hand,
held the dust of the earth in a basket, weighed the mountains in scales,
or the hills in a balance?
13 Who has comprehended the mind of Yahweh, or instructed him as his counselor?
14 From whom did he ever receive instruction? Who taught him the correct way to do things,
and taught him knowledge, or showed to him the way of understanding?
15 Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are regarded like the dust on the scales;
see, he weighs the isles as a speck.
16 Lebanon is not sufficient fuel,
nor its wild animals sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All the nations are insufficient before him; they are regarded by him as nothing.
18 To whom then will you compare God? To what idol will you liken him?
19 An idol! A craftsman casts it: The goldsmith overlays it with gold
and forges silver chains for it.
20 To make an offering one chooses a wood that will not rot;
he seeks a skillful artisan to make an idol that will not fall over.
21 Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 He is the one who sits above the horizon of the earth; and the inhabitants are like grasshoppers before him.
He stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out as a tent to live in.
23 He reduces rulers to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth insignificant.
24 They are barely planted, barely sown, their stem has barely taken root in the earth,
when he blows upon them and they wither, and the wind carries them away like straw.
25 "To whom then will you compare me, whom do I resemble?" says the Holy One.
26 Look up at the sky! Who has created all these stars?
He leads out their formations and calls them all by name.
By the greatness of his might and by the strength of his power, not one is missing.
27 Why do you say, Jacob, and declare, Israel,
"My way is hidden from Yahweh, and my God is not concerned about my vindication"?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth,
does not get tired or weary; there is no limit to his understanding.
29 He gives strength to the tired; and to the weak he gives renewed energy.
30 Even young people become tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall:
31 but those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength; they will soar with wings like eagles;
they will run and not be weary; they will walk and not faint.
Chapter 41
1 "Listen before me in silence, you coastlands; let the nations renew their strength;
let them come near and speak; let us come near together to argue a dispute.
2 Who has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness to his service?
He hands nations over to him and helps him subdue kings.
He turns them to dust with his sword, like windblown stubble with his bow.
3 He pursues them and passes by safely, by a swift path that his feet scarcely touch.
4 Who has performed and accomplished these deeds? Who has summoned the generations from the beginning?
I, Yahweh, the first, and with the last ones, I am he.
5 The isles have seen and are afraid; the ends of the earth tremble;
they approach and come.
6 Everyone helps his neighbor, and every one says to one another, 'Be encouraged.'
7 So the carpenter encourages the goldsmith, and he who works with the hammer encourages him who works with an anvil,
saying of the welding, 'It is good.' They fasten it with nails so it will not topple over.
8 But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen,
the descendants of Abraham my friend,
9 I took you from the ends of the earth and called you from the farthest places,
saying to you, 'You are my servant.' I have chosen you and I have not rejected you. 10 Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be anxious, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, and I will help you, and I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
11 See, they will be ashamed and disgraced, all who have been angry with you;
they will be as nothing and will perish, those who oppose you.
12 You will seek and will not find those who contended with you;
those who warred against you will be like nothing, absolutely nothing.
13 For I, Yahweh your God, will hold your right hand,
saying to you, 'Do not fear; I am helping you.'
14 Do not fear, Jacob you worm, and you men of Israel;
I will help you—this is Yahweh's declaration, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 Look, I am making you like a sharp threshing sledge, new and two-edged;
you will thresh the mountains and crush them; you will make the hills like chaff.
16 You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away; the wind will scatter them.
You will rejoice in Yahweh, you will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
17 The oppressed and needy look for water, but there is none, and their tongues are parched for thirst;
I, Yahweh, will respond to their prayers; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will make streams to flow down the slopes, and springs in the middle of the valleys;
I will make the desert into a pool of water, and the dry land into springs of water.
19 In the wilderness I will set the cedar, the acacia, and the myrtle, and the olive tree.
I will set the cypress in the desert plain, with the pines and the cypress box trees.
20 I will do this so that the people may see, recognize, and understand together,
that the hand of Yahweh has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21 'Present your case,' says Yahweh,
'present your best arguments for your idols,' says the King of Jacob.
22 Let them bring us their own arguments; have them come forward and declare to us what will happen,
so we may know these things well.
Have them tell us of earlier predictive declarations, so we can reflect on them and know how they were fulfilled.
23 Tell things about the future, that we may know if you are gods;
do something good or evil, that we may be frightened and impressed.
24 See, you idols are nothing and your deeds are nothing; the one who chooses you is detestable.
25 I have raised up one from the north, and he comes; from the sun's rising I summon him who calls on my name,
and he will trample the rulers like mud, like a potter who is treading on the clay.
26 Who announced this from the beginning, that we might know? Before this time, that we may say, 'He is right'?
Indeed none of them decreed it, yes, none heard you say anything.
27 I first said to Zion, 'Look here they are!' I sent a herald to Jerusalem.
28 When I look, there is no one, not one among them who can give good advice,
who, when I ask, can answer a word.
29 Look, all of them are nothing,
and their deeds are nothing; their cast metal figures are wind and emptiness.
Chapter 42
1 Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen one, in him I take delight.
I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry out nor shout, nor make his voice heard in the streets.
3 A crushed reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench:
he will faithfully execute justice.
4 He will not grow faint nor be discouraged
until he has established justice on the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his law.
5 This is what God Yahweh says—
the one who created the heavens and stretched them out, the one who made the earth and all that it produces,
the one who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who live on it:
6 "I, Yahweh, have called you in righteousness and will hold your hand.
I will keep you and set you as a covenant for the people, as a light for the Gentiles,
7 to open the eyes of the blind, to release the prisoners from the dungeon,
and from the house of confinement those who sit in darkness.
8 I am Yahweh, that is my name;
and my glory I will not share with another nor my praise with carved idols.
9 See, the previous things came to pass,
now I am about to declare new events.
Before they begin to occur I will tell you about them."
10 Sing to Yahweh a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth;
you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, the coastlands, and those who live there.
11 Let the desert and the cities cry out, the villages where Kedar lives, shout for joy!
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing; let them shout from the mountaintops.
12 Let them give glory to Yahweh and declare his praise in the coastlands.
13 Yahweh will go out as a warrior; as a man of war he will stir up his zeal.
He will shout, yes, he will roar his battle cries; he will show his enemies his power.
14 I have kept quiet for a long time; I have been still and restrained myself;
now I will cry out like a woman in labor; I will gasp and pant.
15 I will lay waste mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation;
and I will turn the rivers into islands and will dry up the marshes.
16 I will bring the blind by a way that they do not know; in paths that they do not know I will lead them.
I will turn the darkness into light before them, and make the crooked places straight.
These things I will do, and I will not abandon them.
17 They will be turned back, they will be completely put to shame, those who trust in carved figures,
who say to cast metal figures, "You are our gods."
18 Listen, you deaf; and look, you blind, that you may see.
19 Who is blind but my servant? Or deaf like my messenger I send?
Who is as blind as my covenant partner, or blind as Yahweh's servant?
20 You see many things, but do not comprehend; ears are open, but no one hears.
21 It pleased Yahweh to praise his justice and to make his law glorious.
22 But this is a people robbed and plundered;
they are all trapped in pits, held captive in prisons;
they have become a plunder with no one to rescue them, and no one says, "Bring them back!"
23 Who among you will listen to this? Who will listen and hear in the future?
24 Who gave Jacob over to the robber, and Israel to the looters?
Was it not Yahweh, against whom we have sinned,
in whose ways they refused to walk, and whose law they refused to obey?
25 Therefore he poured out on them his fierce anger and the violence of war,
Its flames encircled them, yet they did not understand;
it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.
Chapter 43
1 But now this is what Yahweh says, he who created you, Jacob, and he who formed you, Israel:
"Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you.
When you walk through the fire you will not be burned, and the flames will not destroy you.
3 For I am Yahweh your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
4 Since you are precious and special in my sight, I love you;
therefore I will give people in exchange for you, and other peoples in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east, and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, 'Hand them over;' and to the south, 'Do not hold any back;'
Bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the remote regions of the earth,
7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I have created for my glory, whom I have formed, yes, whom I have made.
8 Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, and the deaf, even though they have ears.
9 All the nations gather together, and the peoples assemble.
Who among them could have declared this and announced to us earlier events?
Let them bring their witnesses to prove themselves right, let them listen and affirm, 'It is true.'
10 You are my witnesses," declares Yahweh, "and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe in me, and understand that I am he.
Before me there was no god formed, and there will be none after me.
11 I, I am Yahweh, and there is no savior but me.
12 I have declared, saved, and proclaimed, and there is no other god among you.
You are my witnesses," declares Yahweh, "I am God.
13 From this day on I am he,
and no one can rescue anyone from my hand. I act, and who can turn it back?"
14 This is what Yahweh says, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
"For your sake I send to Babylon and lead them all down as fugitives,
turning the Babylonians' expressions of joy into songs of lamentation.
15 I am Yahweh, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King."
16 This is what Yahweh says (who opened a way through the sea and a path in the mighty waters,
17 who led out the chariot and the horse, the army and the warrior. They fell down together;
they will never rise again; they are extinguished, quenched like a burning wick.)
18 "Do not think about these former things, nor consider the things of long ago.
19 Look, I am about to do a new thing; now it begins to happen; do you not perceive it?
I will make a road in the desert and streams of water in the wilderness.
20 The wild animals of the field will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches,
because I give water in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert,
for my chosen people to drink,
21 this people whom I formed for myself,
that they might recount my praises.
22 But you have not called on me, Jacob; you have become tired of me, Israel.
23 You have not brought me any of your sheep as burnt offerings,
or honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with grain offerings, nor wearied you with demands for incense.
24 You have bought me no sweet-smelling cane with money, neither have you poured out to me the fat of your sacrifices;
but you have burdened me with your sins, you have wearied me with your evil deeds.
25 I, yes, I, am he who blots out your offenses for my own sake; and I will not call to mind your sins any longer.
26 Remind me of what happened. Let us debate together; present your cause, that you may be proved innocent.
27 Your first father sinned, and your leaders have transgressed against me.
28 Therefore I will defile the holy officials; I will hand Jacob over to complete destruction, and Israel to abusive humiliation."
Chapter 44
1 Now listen, Jacob my servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen:
2 This is what Yahweh says, he who made you and formed you in the womb
and who will help you: "Do not fear, Jacob my servant; and you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty ground, and flowing streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your descendants.
4 They will spring up among the grass, like willows by the streams of water.
5 One will say, 'I belong to Yahweh,' and another will call out the name of Jacob,
and another will write on his hand 'Belonging to Yahweh,' and name himself by the name of Israel."
6 This is what Yahweh says—the King of Israel and his Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts:
"I am the first, and I am the last; and there is no God but me.
7 Who is like me? Let him announce it and explain to me
the events that occurred since I established my ancient people, and let them declare the events to come.
8 Do not fear or be afraid. Have I not declared to you long ago, and announced it?
You are my witnesses: Is there any God besides me? There is no other Rock; I know of none."
9 All who fashion idols are nothing; the things they delight in are worthless;
their witnesses cannot see or know anything, and they will be put to shame.
10 Who would form a god or cast an idol that is worthless?
11 Look, all his associates will be put to shame; the craftsmen are only men.
Let them take their stand together; they will cower and be put to shame.
12 The smith works with his tools, forming it, working over the coals.
He shapes it with hammers and works it with his strong arm.
He is hungry, and his strength wanes; he drinks no water and becomes faint.
13 The carpenter measures the wood with a line, and marks it with a stylus.
He shapes it with his tools and marks it out with a compass.
He shapes it after the figure of a man, like an attractive human, so it may stay in a house.
14 He cuts down cedars, or chooses a cypress tree or an oak tree.
He picks for himself trees in the forest. He plants a fir tree and the rain makes it grow.
15 Then a man uses it for a fire and warms himself. Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
Then he makes from it a god and bows down to it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.
16 He burns part of the wood for the fire, roasting his meat over it. He eats and is satisfied.
He warms himself and says, "Ah, I am warm, I have seen the fire."
17 With the rest of the wood he makes a god, his carved image; he bows down to it and reverences it,
and prays to it saying, "Rescue me, for you are my god."
18 They do not know, nor do they understand, for their eyes are blind and cannot see, and their hearts cannot perceive.
19 No one thinks, nor do they comprehend and say,
"I have burned part of the wood in the fire; yes, I have also baked bread upon its coals. I have roasted meat over its coals and eaten.
Now should I make the other part of the wood into something disgusting to worship? Should I bow down to a block of wood?"
20 It is as if he were eating ashes; his deceived heart misleads him. He cannot rescue himself, nor does he say, "This thing in my right hand is a false god."
21 Think about these things, Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant:
I have formed you; you are my servant: Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
22 I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your rebellious deeds, and like a cloud, your sins;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.
23 Sing, you heavens, for Yahweh has done this; shout, you depths of the earth.
Break out into singing, you mountains, you forest with every tree in it;
for Yahweh has redeemed Jacob, and will show his glory in Israel.
24 This is what Yahweh says, your Redeemer, he who formed you from the womb:
"I am Yahweh, who made everything,
who alone stretched out the heavens, who alone fashioned the earth.
25 I who frustrate the omens of the empty talkers and who disgrace those who read omens;
I who overturn the wisdom of the wise and make their advice foolish.
26 I, Yahweh, who confirmed the words of his servant and brings to pass the predictions of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem, 'She will be inhabited,' and of the towns of Judah, 'They will be built again, and I will raise up their ruins';
27 who says to the deep sea, 'Be dry, and I will dry up your currents.'
28 Yahweh is the one who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd, he will do my every wish; he will decree about Jerusalem, 'She will be rebuilt,' and about the temple, 'Let its foundations be laid.'"
Chapter 45
1 This is what Yahweh says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold,
in order to subdue nations before him, to disarm kings,
and to open the doors before him, so that gates remain open:
2 "I will go before you and level the mountains;
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut in pieces their iron bars,
3 and I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches hidden away,
that you may know that it is I, Yahweh, who call you by your name, I, the God of Israel.
4 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel my chosen,
I have called you by your name, giving you a title of honor, though you have not known me.
5 I am Yahweh, and there is no other; there is no God but me.
I will arm you for battle, though you have not known me;
6 that people may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is no god but me:
I am Yahweh, and there is no other.
7 I form the light and create darkness;
I bring peace and create disaster; I am Yahweh, who does all these things.
8 You heavens, rain down from above! Let the skies rain down righteousness.
Let the earth absorb it, that salvation may sprout up,
and righteousness spring up together with it. I, Yahweh, have created them both.
9 Woe to anyone who argues with the one who formed him, to him who is like any other earthen pot among all the earthen pots in the ground!
Does the clay say to the potter, 'What are you making?' or 'Your work has no handles on it'?
10 Woe to him who says to a father, 'What are you fathering?' or to a woman, 'What are you giving birth to?'
11 This is what Yahweh says, the Holy One of Israel, his Maker:
'Why do you ask questions about what I will do for my children? Do you tell me what to do concerning the work of my hands?'
12 'I made the earth and created man on it.
It was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all the stars to appear.
13 I stirred Cyrus up in righteousness, and I will smooth out all his paths.
He will build my city; he will let my exiled people go home, and not for price nor bribe,'" says Yahweh of hosts.
14 This is what Yahweh says,
"The earnings of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush with the Sabeans, men of tall stature,
will be brought to you. They will be yours. They will follow after you, coming in chains.
They will bow down to you and plead with you saying,
'Surely God is with you, and there is no other except him.'"
15 Truly you are a God who hides yourself, God of Israel, Savior.
16 They will all be ashamed and disgraced together; those who carve idols will walk in humiliation.
17 But Israel will be saved by Yahweh with an everlasting salvation;
you will never again be ashamed or humiliated.
18 This is what Yahweh says, who created the heavens, the true God
who created the earth and made it, who established it.
He created it, not as a waste, but designed it to be inhabited:
"I am Yahweh, and there is no other.
19 I have not spoken in private, in some hidden place;
I did not say to Jacob's descendants, 'Seek me in vain!'
I am Yahweh, who speaks sincerely; I declare the things that are right.
20 Assemble yourselves and come! Gather together, you refugees from among the nations!
They have no knowledge, those who carry carved images and pray to gods that cannot save.
21 Come close and declare it to me, bring the evidence! Let them conspire together.
Who has shown this from long ago? Who announced it?
Was it not I, Yahweh? There is no God except me, a just God and a Savior; there is no one besides me.
22 Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.
23 By myself I swear,
speaking my just decree, and it will not turn back:
'To me every knee will bend, every tongue will swear.
24 They will say of me, "In Yahweh alone are salvation and strength."'"
They will all be ashamed who are angry at him.
25 In Yahweh all the descendants of Israel will be justified; they will take pride in him.
Chapter 46
1 Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low.
Their idols weigh down the animals who carry them,
and you load your cattle with heaven burdens for weary animals.
2 Together they bend low, kneel down; they cannot rescue the images,
and they themselves have gone off into captivity.
3 Listen to me, house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been carried by me from before your birth, carried from the womb.
4 Even to your old age I am he, and until your hair is gray I will carry you.
I made you and I will bear you; I will carry you and I will rescue you.
5 To whom will you compare me? Who do you think I resemble, so that we may be compared?
6 People pour out gold from the bag and weigh silver on the scale.
They hire a metalsmith, and he makes it into a god; they bow down and worship it.
7 They lift it on their shoulder and carry it; they set it in its place, and it stands in its place and does not move from it.
They cry out to it, but it cannot answer nor save anyone from his trouble.
8 Think about these things; never ignore them, you rebels!
9 Think about the earlier things, those of times past,
for I am God, and there is no other, I am God, and there is no one like me.
10 I announce the end from the beginning, and beforehand what has not yet happened;
I say, "My plan will happen, and I will do as I desire."
11 I call a bird of prey from the east, the man of my choice from a distant land;
yes, I have spoken; I will also accomplish it; I have purposed, I will also do it.
12 Listen to me, you stubborn people, who are far from doing what is right.
13 I am bringing my righteousness near; it is not far away, and my salvation does not wait;
and I will give salvation to Zion and my beauty to Israel.
Chapter 47
1 Come down and sit in the dust, virgin daughter of Babylon;
sit on the ground without a throne, daughter of the Chaldeans.
You will no longer be called dainty and delicate.
2 Take the millstone and grind flour; remove your veil,
strip off your flowing robe, uncover your legs, cross the streams.
3 Your nakedness will be uncovered, yes, your shame will be seen:
I will take vengeance and will not spare a man.
4 Our Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.
5 Sit in silence and go into darkness, daughter of the Chaldeans;
for you will no longer be called queen of kingdoms.
6 I was angry with my people; I defiled my heritage
and gave them over into your hand, but you showed them no mercy;
you placed a very heavy yoke on the old people.
7 You said, "I will rule forever as sovereign queen."
You did not take these things to heart, nor did you consider how they would turn out.
8 So now hear this, you who love pleasure and sit securely;
you who say in your heart, "I exist, and there is no one else like me;
I will never sit as a widow, nor will I ever experience loss of children."
9 But these two things will come to you in a moment in one day:
the loss of children and widowhood; in full force they will come on you,
despite your sorceries and your many incantations and amulets.
10 You have trusted in your wickedness; you have said, "No one sees me";
your wisdom and your knowledge lead you astray,
but you say in your heart, "I exist, and there is no one else like me."
11 Disaster will overcome you; you will not be able to drive it away with your incantations.
Destruction will fall on you; you will not be able to ward it off.
Calamity will strike you suddenly, before you know it.
12 Persist in casting your spells and your many sorceries
which you have faithfully recited since your childhood;
perhaps you will be successful, perhaps you will scare away disaster.
13 You are tired out with your many consultations; let those men stand up
and save you—those who chart the heavens and look at the stars,
those who declare the new moons—let them save you from what will happen to you.
14 See, they will become like stubble. The fire will burn them up.
They will not save themselves from the hand of the flame.
There are no coals to warm them and no fire for them to sit by!
15 This is what they have become to you—
those with whom you have worked,
and you have bought and sold with them since your youth—
they wandered about each one in his own direction;
there is no one who can rescue you."
Chapter 48
1 Hear this, house of Jacob,
who are called by the name Israel, and have come from the sperm of Judah;
you who swear by the name of Yahweh and invoke the God of Israel,
but not sincerely nor in a righteous manner.
2 For they call themselves people of the holy city
and trust in the God of Israel. Yahweh of hosts is his name.
3 "I have declared the things from long ago; they came out from my mouth, and I made them known;
then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.
4 Because I knew that you were obstinate,
your neck muscles tight as iron, and your forehead like bronze,
5 therefore I declared these things to you beforehand; before they happened I informed you,
so you could not say, 'My idol has done them,' or 'My carved figure and my cast metal figure has ordained these things.'
6 You heard about these things; look at all this evidence; and you, will you not admit what I said is true? From now on, I am showing you new things, hidden things that you have not known.
7 Now, and not from previously, they come into being, and before today you have not heard about them,
so you will not be able to say, 'Yes, I knew about them.'
8 You never heard; you did not know; these things were not unfolded to your ears beforehand.
For I knew that you have been very deceitful, and that you have been a rebel from birth.
9 For the sake of my name I will defer my anger, and for my honor I will hold back from destroying you.
10 Look, I refined you, but not as silver; I have purified you in the furnace of affliction.
11 For my own sake, for my own sake I will act; for how can I allow my name to be profaned?
I will not give my glory to anyone else.
12 Listen to me, Jacob, and Israel, whom I called:
I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.
13 Yes, my hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens;
when I call to them, they stand up together.
14 Assemble yourselves, all of you, and listen! Who among you has announced these things?
Yahweh's ally will accomplish his purpose against Babylon. He will carry out Yahweh's will against the Chaldeans.
15 I, I have spoken, yes, I have summoned him, I have brought him, and he will succeed.
16 Come near to me, listen to this:
From the beginning I have not spoken in secret; when it happens, I am there."
Now the Lord Yahweh has sent me, and his Spirit.
17 This is what Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says,
"I am Yahweh your God, who teaches you how to succeed,
who leads you by the way that you should go.
18 If only you had obeyed my commandments!
Then your peace and prosperity would have flowed like a river, and your salvation like the waves of the sea.
19 Your descendants would have been as numerous as the sand, and the children from your womb as numerous as the grains of sand;
their name would not have been cut off nor blotted out from before me.
20 Come out from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans!
With the sound of a ringing cry announce it! Make this known, make it go out to the ends of the earth!
Say, 'Yahweh has redeemed his servant Jacob.'
21 They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;
he made the water to flow out of the rock for them;
he split open the rock, and the waters gushed out.
22 There is no peace for the wicked—says Yahweh."
Chapter 49
1 Listen to me, you coastlands! Now give me your attention, you distant peoples.
Yahweh has called me from birth by name, when my mother brought me into the world.
2 He has made my mouth like a sharp sword; he hid me in the shadow of his hand;
he has made me into a polished arrow; in his quiver he has hidden me.
3 He said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, through whom I show my glory."
4 But I replied, "Though I thought I have labored in vain, I have spent my energy for nothing,
yet my justice is with Yahweh, and my reward is with my God."
5 Now Yahweh has spoken—he who formed me from birth to be his servant,
to restore Jacob again to himself, so that Israel would be gathered to him,
for I am honored in the eyes of Yahweh, and my God has become my strength—
6 and he says, "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,
and to restore the survivors of Israel. I will make you a light to the Gentiles,
that you may be my salvation to the ends of the earth."
7 This is what Yahweh says, the Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One,
to the one whose life is despised, hated by the nations, and a slave of rulers,
"Kings will see you and arise, and princes will see you and bow down,
because of Yahweh who is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."
8 This is what Yahweh says,
"At a time I decide to show my favor I will answer you, and in a day of salvation I will help you;
I will protect you, and give you as a covenant for the people,
to rebuild the land, to reassign the desolate inheritance.
9 You will say to the prisoners, 'Come out;' to those in dark dungeons, 'Show yourselves.'
They will graze along the roads, and on all the bare slopes will be their pasture.
10 They will not be hungry or thirsty; nor will the heat or sun beat on them,
for he who has mercy on them will lead them; he will guide them to springs of water.
11 Then I will make all my mountains into a road, and make my highways level."
12 Look, these will come from far away, some from the north and the west; and others from the land of Sinim.
13 Sing, heavens, and be joyful, earth; break into singing, you mountains!
For Yahweh comforts his people, and will have compassion on his afflicted.
14 But Zion said, "Yahweh has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me."
15 "Can a woman forget her baby, nursing at her breast, so she does not have compassion on the son she has borne?
Yes, they may forget, but I will not forget you.
16 Look, I have inscribed your name on my palms; your walls are continually before me.
17 Your children are hurrying back, while those who destroyed you are going away.
18 Look around and see, they are all gathering and coming to you.
As surely as I live—this is Yahweh's declaration—you will surely wear them like jewelry, and you will put them on like a bride.
19 Though you were a waste and desolate, a land that was in ruins,
now you will be too small for the inhabitants, and those who devoured you will be far away.
20 The children born during the time of your bereavement will say in your hearing,
'The place is too cramped for us, make room for us, so we may live here.'
21 Then you will ask yourself, 'Who has borne these children for me?
I was bereaved and barren, exiled and divorced. Who has raised these children?
Look, I was left all alone; where did these come from?'"
22 This is what the Lord Yahweh says,
"Look, I will raise my hand to the nations; I will raise my signal flag to the peoples.
They will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.
23 Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursemaids;
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 wait for me will not be put to shame."
24 Can the spoils be taken from the warrior, or captives be rescued from the fierce? [1]
25 But this is what Yahweh says,
"Yes, the captives will be taken away from the warrior, and spoils will be rescued;
for I will oppose your adversary and save your children.
26 I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh; and they will get drunk on their own blood, as if it were wine.
Then all mankind will know that I, Yahweh, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."
Chapter 50
1 This is what Yahweh says,
"Where is the certificate of divorce with which I divorced your mother?
To which of my creditors did I sell you?
Look, you were sold because of your sins, and because of your rebellion, your mother was sent away.
2 Why did I come but there was no one there? Why did I call but no one answered?
Was my hand too short to ransom you? Was there no power in me to rescue you?
Look, at my rebuke I dry up the sea; I make the rivers a desert;
their fish die for lack of water and rot.
3 I clothe the sky with darkness; I cover it with sackcloth."
4 The Lord Yahweh has given me a tongue as one of those who are taught,
so that I speak a sustaining word to the weary one;
he wakes me morning by morning; he awakens my ear to hear like those who are taught.
5 The Lord Yahweh has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away backward.
6 I gave my back to those who beat me, and my cheeks to those who plucked out my beard;
I did not hide my face from acts of shame and spitting.
7 For the Lord Yahweh will help me; therefore I am not disgraced;
so I have made my face like flint, for I know that I will not be put to shame.
8 He who will justify me is close by. Who will oppose me? Let us stand and confront one another.
Who is my accuser? Let him come near to me.
9 See, the Lord Yahweh will help me. Who will declare me guilty?
See, they will all wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up.
10 Who among you fears Yahweh? Who obeys the voice of his servant?
Who walks in deep darkness without light?
He should trust in the name of Yahweh and lean on his God.
11 Look, all you who light fires, who equip yourselves with torches:
walk in the light of your fire and in the flames that you have ignited.
This is what you have received from me: You will lie down in a place of pain.
Chapter 51
1 Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek Yahweh:
look at the rock from which you were chiseled and to the quarry from which you were cut.
2 Look at Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who bore you; for when he was a lone individual,
I called him. I blessed him and made him many.
3 Yes, Yahweh will comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places;
her wilderness he made like Eden, and her desert plains beside the Jordan River valley like the garden of Yahweh;
joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving, and the sound of singing.
4 "Be attentive to me, my people; and listen to me, my people!
For I will issue a decree, and I will make my justice to be a light for the nations.
5 My righteousness is near; my salvation will go out, and my arm will judge the nations;
the coastlands will wait for me; for my arm they will eagerly wait.
6 Lift up your eyes to the sky, and look at the earth beneath,
for the heavens will vanish away like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its inhabitants will die like flies.
But my salvation will continue forever, and my righteousness will never stop working.
7 Listen to me, you who know what is right, you people who have my law in your heart:
Do not fear the insults of men, nor be disheartened by their abuse.
8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool;
but my righteousness will be forever, and my salvation to all generations."
9 Awake, awake, clothe yourself with strength, arm of Yahweh.
Awake as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times.
Is it not you who crushed Rahab, you who pierced the monster?
10 Did you not dry up the sea, the waters of the great deep,
and make the depths of the sea into a way for the redeemed to pass through?
11 The ransomed of Yahweh will return and come to Zion with cries of joy
and with gladness forever on their heads; and gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and mourning will flee away.
12 "I, I, am he who comforts you.
Why are you afraid of men, who will die, the sons of mankind, who are made like grass?
13 Why have you forgotten Yahweh your Maker, who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth? You are in constant dread every day
because of the hot fury of the oppressor when he decides to destroy. Where is the fury of the oppressor?
14 The one who is bent down, Yahweh will hurry to release; he will not die and go down to the pit, nor will he lack bread.
15 For I am Yahweh your God, who churns up the sea so that its waves roar—Yahweh of hosts is his name.
16 I have placed my words in your mouth, and I have covered you in the shadow of my hand,
that I may plant the heavens, lay the foundations of the earth, and say to Zion, 'You are my people.'"
17 Awake, awake, stand up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk out of the hand of Yahweh from the bowl of his anger;
you who have drunk out of the bowl, down to the dregs from the cup of staggering.
18 There is no one among all the sons she has born to guide her;
there is no one among all the sons that she has raised to take her by the hand.
19 These two troubles happened to you—who will grieve with you?—
desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword. Who will comfort you? [1]
20 Your sons have fainted; they lie at every street corner, like an antelope in a net;
they are filled with the anger of Yahweh, the rebuke of your God.
21 But now hear this, you oppressed one and drunken one, but not drunk with wine:
22 Your Lord Yahweh, your God, who pleads the cause of his people, says this,
"See, I have taken the cup of staggering from your hand—
the bowl, which is the cup of my anger—so that you will not drink it again.
23 I will put it into the hand of your tormentors, those who have said to you, 'Lie down, that we may walk over you';
you made your back like the ground and like the street for them to walk on."
Chapter 52
1 Awake, awake, put on your strength, Zion;
put on your beautiful garments, Jerusalem, holy city;
for never again will the uncircumcised or the unclean enter you.
2 Shake yourself off from the dust; arise and sit, Jerusalem;
take off the chain from your neck, captive, daughter of Zion.
3 For this is what Yahweh says, "You were sold for nothing, and you will be redeemed without money."
4 For this is what the Lord Yahweh says, "In the beginning my people went down to live temporarily in Egypt; and Assyria has oppressed them for no good reason.
5 Now what do I have here—this is Yahweh's declaration—seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Those who rule over them mock—this is Yahweh's declaration—and my name is blasphemed continually all day long. [1]
6 Therefore my people will know my name;
they will know in that day that I am the one who says, "Yes, it is I!"
7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news,
who announces peace, who bears good tidings, who announces salvation,
who says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
8 Listen, your watchmen raise their voices, together they shout for joy,
for they will see, every eye of theirs, Yahweh's return to Zion.
9 Break out into joyful singing together, you ruins of Jerusalem;
for Yahweh has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 Yahweh has bared his holy arm in the sight of all the nations;
all the earth will see the salvation of our God.
11 Leave, leave, go out from there; touch nothing unclean;
leave from her midst; purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of Yahweh.
12 For you will not go out in a rush, nor will you leave in a panic;
for Yahweh will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rearguard.
13 Look, my servant will act wisely;
he will be high and lifted up, and he will be exalted.
14 As many were horrified at you—
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man, and his form no longer looked like anything human.
15 Even so, my servant will sprinkle many nations and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For that which they had not been told, they will see, and that which they had not heard, they will understand.
Chapter 53
1 Who has believed what they heard from us, and to whom has the arm of Yahweh been revealed?
2 For he grew up before Yahweh like a sapling, and like a sprout out of parched earth;
he had no remarkable appearance or splendor; when we saw him, there was no beauty to attract us.
3 He was despised and rejected by people; a man of sorrows, and one familiar with pain.
Like one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised; and we considered him insignificant.
4 But surely he has borne our sicknesses and carried our sorrows;
yet we thought he was being punished by God, struck by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced because of our rebellious deeds; he was crushed because of our sins.
The punishment for our peace was on him, and with his wounds we are healed.
6 We all like sheep have gone astray; we have each turned to his own way,
and Yahweh has placed on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed; yet when he humbled himself, he did not open his mouth;
as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By coercion and judgment he was taken away.
As for his generation, who thought that he was cut off from the land of the living,
or that he was punished for the offenses of my people?
9 They placed his grave with the criminals, with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence, nor had there been any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was Yahweh's will to crush him and make him ill. When he makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring, he will prolong his days, and Yahweh's purpose will be accomplished through him.
11 After the suffering of his life, he will see light and be satisfied by his knowledge. [1]
My righteous servant will justify many; he will bear their iniquities. [2]
12 Therefore will I give him his portion among the multitudes, and he will divide the spoils with the many,
because he exposed himself to death and was numbered with the transgressors.
He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
Chapter 54
1 "Sing, you barren woman, you who have not given birth; break into joyful singing and cry aloud, you who have never been in birth labor.
For the children of the desolate one are more than the children of the married woman," says Yahweh.
2 "Make your tent larger and spread your tent curtains farther out, unsparingly;
lengthen your ropes and strengthen your stakes.
3 For you will spread out to the right hand and to the left,
and your descendants will conquer nations and resettle desolate cities.
4 Do not fear for you will not be ashamed, nor be discouraged for you will not be disgraced;
you will forget the shame of your youth and the disgrace of your abandonment. 5 For your Maker is your husband; Yahweh of hosts is his name.
The Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of the whole earth.
6 For Yahweh has called you back as a wife abandoned and grieved in spirit,
like a woman married young and rejected," says your God.
7 "For a short time I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will gather you.
8 In a flood of anger I hid my face from you momentarily;
but with everlasting covenant faithfulness I will have mercy on you—
says Yahweh, the one who rescues you.
9 For this is like the waters of Noah to me:
as I swore that the waters of Noah would never again pass over the earth,
so have I sworn that I will not be angry with you or rebuke you.
10 Though the mountains may fall and the hills be shaken,
yet my steadfast love will not turn away from you, nor will my covenant of peace be shaken—
says Yahweh, who has mercy on you.
11 Afflicted one, storm-driven and uncomforted one,
look, I will set your pavement in turquoise, and lay your foundations with sapphires.
12 I will make your pinnacles of rubies and your gates of sparkling stones,
and your outer wall of beautiful stones.
13 Then all your children will be taught by Yahweh;
and the peace of your children will be great.
14 In righteousness you will be established, and you will be far from oppression, for you will not fear; and from terror, for it will not come near to you.
15 Look, if anyone stirs up trouble, it will not be from me; anyone who stirs up trouble with you will fall in defeat.
16 See, I have created the craftsman, who blows the burning coals
and forges weapons as his work, and I have created the destroyer to destroy.
17 No weapon that is formed against you will succeed;
and you will condemn everyone who accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of Yahweh, and their vindication from me—this is Yahweh's declaration."
Chapter 55
1 "Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the water,
and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
2 Why do you weigh out silver for what is not bread, and why do you labor for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in fatness.
3 Turn your ears and come to me! Listen, that you may live!
I will make an everlasting covenant with you—my reliable, faithful love that I promised to David.
4 Look, I have placed him as a witness to the nations, as a leader and commander to the peoples.
5 Look, you will call to a nation that you did not know; and a nation that did not know you will run to you
because of Yahweh your God, the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you."
6 Seek Yahweh while he may be found; call on him while he is nearby.
7 Let the wicked leave his path, and the man of sin his thoughts.
Let him return to Yahweh, and he will pity him, and to our God, who will abundantly forgive him.
8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways—this is Yahweh's declaration—
9 for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain and snow come down from heaven
and do not return there unless they saturate the earth
and make it produce and sprout and give seed to the farmer who sows and bread to the eater,
11 so also my word will be that goes from my mouth—it will not return to me empty,
but it will achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
12 For you will go out in joy and be led along peacefully;
the mountains and the hills will break out in joyful shouts before you, and all the trees of the fields will clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thornbushes, the cypress will grow; and instead of the brier, the myrtle tree will grow,
and it will be for Yahweh, for his name, as an everlasting sign that will not be cut off."
Chapter 56
1 This is what Yahweh says, "Observe what is right, do what is just;
for my salvation is near, and my righteousness is about to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man that does this, and who holds it tightly.
He observes the Sabbath, not defiling it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil."
3 Let no foreigner who has become a follower of Yahweh say,
"Yahweh will certainly exclude me from his people."
The eunuch should not say, "See, I am a dry tree."
4 For this is what Yahweh says, "To the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths
and choose what pleases me, and hold fast my covenant,
5 to them I will set up in my house and within my walls a monument that is better than having sons and of daughters.
I will give them an everlasting monument that will never be cut off.
6 Also foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh—
to serve him, and who love the name of Yahweh, to worship him,
every one who observes the Sabbath and who keeps from defiling it, and who holds fast my covenant—
7 I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar.
For my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations,
8 this is the declaration of the Lord Yahweh, who gathers the outcasts of Israel—
I will still gather others in addition to them."
9 All you wild beasts of the field, come and devour, all you beasts in the forest!
10 All their watchmen are blind, they do not understand.
They are all silent dogs who cannot bark.
They dream, and lying down they love to sleep.
11 The dogs have big appetites; they can never get enough;
they are shepherds without discernment;
they have all turned to their own way, each one covetous for unjust gain.
12 "Come," they say, "let us drink wine and liquor.
Tomorrow will be like today, a day great beyond measure."
Chapter 57
1 The righteous perish, but no one considers it,
and the people of covenant faithfulness are gathered away, but no one understands
that the righteous is gathered away from the evil.
2 He enters into peace;
they rest in their beds, those who walk in their uprightness.
3 But come here, you sons of the sorceress,
children of the adulterer and the woman who has prostituted herself.
4 Whom are you merrily mocking?
Against whom are you opening the mouth and sticking out the tongue?
Are you not children of rebellion, children of deceit?
5 You heat yourselves up sleeping together under the oaks, under every green tree,
you who kill your children in the dry riverbeds, under the rocky overhangs.
6 Among the smooth things of the river valley are the things that have been assigned to you. They are the object of your devotion.
You pour out your drink offering to them and raise up a grain offering. In these things should I take pleasure?
7 You prepared your bed on a high mountain;
you also went up there to offer sacrifices.
8 Behind the door and the doorposts you set up your symbols;
you deserted me, made yourselves naked, and went up; you made your bed wide.
You made a covenant with them; you loved their beds; you saw their private parts.
9 You went to Molech with oil and increased your perfumes. [1]
You send your ambassadors far away; you went down to Sheol.
10 You were tired from your long journey, but you never said, "It is hopeless."
You found life in your hand; therefore you did not weaken.
11 "Whom are you worried about? Whom do you fear so much that has caused you to act so deceitfully,
so much that you would not remember me or think about me?
Because I was silent for so long, you are no longer afraid of me.
12 I will proclaim all your righteous acts and tell all that you have done,
but they will not help you.
13 When you cry out, let your collection of idols rescue you.
Instead the wind will carry them all away, a breath will carry them all away.
Yet he who takes refuge in me will inherit the land and will take possession of my holy mountain.
14 He will say,
'Build, build! Clear a way! Remove all the stumbling blocks from the path of my people!'"
15 For this is what the high and elevated One says, who lives eternally, whose name is holy,
"I live in the exalted and holy place, with him also that is of a crushed and humble spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble ones, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
16 For I will not accuse forever, nor will I be angry forever,
for then man's spirit would faint before me, the lives that I have made.
17 Because of the sin of his violent gain, I was angry, and I punished him; I hid my face and was angry,
but he went backward in the way of his heart.
18 I have seen his ways,
but I will heal him. I will lead him and comfort and console those who mourn for him,
19 and I create the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to those who are far off and to those who are near—says Yahweh—I will heal them.
20 But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest,
and its waters churn up mire and mud.
21 There is no peace for the wicked one—says God."
Chapter 58
1 "Cry loudly; do not hold back. Lift up your voice like a trumpet.
Confront my people with their rebellion, and the house of Jacob with their sins.
2 Yet they seek me daily and delight in the knowledge of my ways,
like a nation that practiced righteousness and did not abandon the law of their God.
They ask me for righteous judgments; they take pleasure in the thought of God coming near.
3 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'but you do not see it? Why have we humbled ourselves, but you do not notice?'
Look, on the day of your fast you find your own pleasure and oppress all your laborers.
4 Look, you fast to quarrel and fight, and to hit with your fist of wickedness;
you do not fast today to make your voice heard above.
5 Is this really the kind of fast that I would want: A day for anybody to humble himself,
for him to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under himself?
Do you really call this a fast, a day that pleases Yahweh?
6 Is not this the fast that I choose:
To release wicked bonds, to undo the ropes of the yoke,
to set the crushed ones free, and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not to break your bread with the hungry and to bring the poor and homeless into your house?"
When you see someone naked, you should clothe him; and you should not hide yourself from your own relatives.
8 Then your light would be broken open like the sunrise, and your healing would quickly sprout up;
your righteousness would go before you, and the glory of Yahweh would be your rearguard.
9 Then you would call, and Yahweh would answer; you would cry out for help, and he would say, "Here I am."
If you take away from among yourselves the yoke, the accusing finger, and the speech of wickedness,
10 if you yourselves provide for the hungry and satisfy the need of the distressed;
then your light will rise in the darkness, and your darkness will be like the noonday.
11 Then Yahweh will lead you continually and satisfy you in regions where there is no water,
and he will strengthen your bones. You will be like a watered garden,
and like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.
12 Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will raise up the ruins of many generations;
you will be called "The repairer of the wall," "The restorer of streets to live on."
13 Suppose that you turn back your feet from traveling on the Sabbath day, and from doing your own pleasure on my holy day.
Suppose that you call the Sabbath a delight, and that you call the matters of Yahweh holy and honored.
Suppose that you honor the Sabbath by leaving your own business, and by not finding your own pleasure and by not speaking your own words.
14 "Then you will find delight in Yahweh; and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
I will feed you from the inheritance of Jacob your father—for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken."
Chapter 59
1 Look, Yahweh's hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor his ear so dull, that it cannot hear.
2 Your sinful acts, however, have separated you from your God,
and your sins have made him hide his face from you and from hearing you.
3 For your hands are stained with blood and your fingers with sin.
Your lips speak lies and your tongue speaks maliciously.
4 No one calls in righteousness, and none pleads his case in truth.
They trust in empty words, and tell lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to sin.
5 They hatch eggs of a poisonous snake and weave a spider's web.
Whoever eats of their eggs dies, and if an egg is crushed, it hatches into a poisonous snake.
6 Their webs cannot be used for garments, nor can they cover themselves with their works.
Their works are works of sin, and deeds of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet run to evil, and they run to pour out innocent blood.
Their thoughts are thoughts of sin; violence and destruction are their roads.
8 The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths.
They have made crooked paths; whoever travels these paths does not know peace.
9 Therefore justice is far from us, nor does righteousness reach us.
We wait for light, but see darkness; we look for brightness, but we walk in darkness.
10 We grope for the wall like the blind, like those who cannot see.
We stumble at noonday as in the twilight; among the strong we are like dead men.
11 We growl like bears and moan like doves;
we wait for justice, but there is none; for rescue, but it is far from us.
12 For our many transgressions are before you, and our sins testify against us;
for our transgressions are with us, and we know our sins.
13 We have rebelled, denying Yahweh and turning away from following our God.
We have spoken extortion and turning aside, conceived complaining from the heart and words of lying.
14 Justice is driven back, and righteousness stands far off;
for truth stumbles in the public square, and right cannot come.
15 Trustworthiness has gone away, and he who turns away from evil makes himself a victim.
Yahweh saw it and was displeased that there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intervene.
Therefore his own arm brought salvation for him, and his righteousness sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation upon his head.
He clothed himself with garments of vengeance and wore zeal as a mantle.
18 He repaid them for what they had done, angry judgment to his adversaries, vengeance to his enemies, to the islands punishment as their reward.
19 So they will fear the name of Yahweh from the west, and his glory from the sun's rising; for he will come as a rushing stream, driven by the breath of Yahweh.
20 "A redeemer will come to Zion and to those who turn from their rebellious deeds in Jacob—this is Yahweh's declaration.
21 As for me, this is my covenant with them—says Yahweh—my spirit who is upon you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, will not leave your mouth, or go out of the mouth of your children, or go out of the mouths of your descendants—says Yahweh—from this time and forever."
Chapter 60
1 Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of Yahweh has risen on you.
2 Though darkness will cover the earth, and thick darkness the nations;
yet Yahweh will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen on you.
3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to your bright light that is rising.
4 Look all around and see. They all gather themselves together and come to you.
Your sons will come from far, and your daughters will be carried in their arms.
5 Then you will look and be radiant, and your heart will rejoice and overflow,
because the abundance of the sea will be poured out to you, the wealth of the nations will come to you.
6 Camel caravans will cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;
all of them will come from Sheba;
they will bring gold and frankincense, and will sing the praises of Yahweh.
7 All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you, the rams of Nebaioth will serve your needs;
they will be acceptable offerings on my altar; and I will glorify my glorious house.
8 Who are these who fly along like a cloud, and like the doves to their shelters?
9 The coastlands look for me, and the ships of Tarshish lead,
to bring your sons from far, their silver and their gold with them,
for the name of Yahweh your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has honored you.
10 Sons of foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you;
though in my wrath I punished you, yet in my favor I will have compassion on you.
11 Your gates also will remain open continually; they will not be shut day or night,
so that the wealth of the nations may be brought, with their kings being led.
12 Indeed, nations and kingdoms that will not serve you will perish; those nations will be completely destroyed.
13 The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the cypress tree, the fir, and the cypress box tree together,
to beautify my sanctuary; and I will glorify the place of my feet.
14 They will come to you to bow down, the sons of those who humbled you; they will bow at your feet;
they will call you The City of Yahweh, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
15 Instead of you remaining abandoned and hated, with no one passing through you,
I will make you a thing of pride forever, a joy from generation to generation.
16 You will also drink the milk of the nations, and will nurse at the breast of kings;
you will know that I, Yahweh, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. 17 Instead of bronze I will bring gold, instead of iron I will bring silver;
instead of wood, bronze, and instead of stones, iron. I will appoint peace as your governors, and justice your rulers.
18 Violence will no longer be heard in your land, or devastation nor shattering within your borders;
but you will call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.
19 The sun will no longer be your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you;
but Yahweh will be your everlasting light, and your God your glory.
20 Your sun will no longer set, nor will your moon withdraw and disappear;
for Yahweh will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning will be ended.
21 All your people will be righteous; they will take possession of the land for all time,
the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
22 The least of you will become a thousand, and the smallest one a mighty nation;
I, Yahweh, will swiftly accomplish these things when the time comes.
Chapter 61
1 The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh is on me, because Yahweh has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison for those who are bound.
2 He has sent me to proclaim the year of Yahweh's favor,
the day of vengeance of our God,
and to comfort all who mourn.
3 He has sent me—to give to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a turban instead of ashes,
oil of joy instead of mourning, a mantle of praise in place of a spirit of dullness,
to call them oaks of righteousness, the planting of Yahweh, that he may be glorified.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins; they will restore the former desolations.
They will restore the ruined cities, the desolations from many former generations.
5 Foreigners will stand and feed your flocks, and sons of foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
6 You will be called the priests of Yahweh; they will call you servants of our God.
You will eat the wealth of the nations, and you will boast in their riches.
7 Instead of your shame you will have double; and instead of dishonor they will rejoice over their share.
So they will have a double share of their land; everlasting joy will be theirs.
8 For I, Yahweh, love justice, and I hate robbery and violent injustice.
I will faithfully repay them, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge them, that they are the people whom Yahweh has blessed.
10 I will greatly rejoice in Yahweh; in my God I will be very glad.
For he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has clothed me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns himself with a turban, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth produces its sprouting plants, and as the garden makes its planting grow,
so the Lord Yahweh will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up in front of all the nations.
Chapter 62
1 For Zion's sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet,
until her righteousness proceeds brightly, and her salvation as a burning torch.
2 The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory.
You will be called by a new name that Yahweh will choose.
3 You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of Yahweh, and a turban of kingship in the hand of your God.
4 It will no more be said of you, "Abandoned"; nor of your land any longer will it be said, "Desolate."
Indeed, you will be called "My delight is in her," and your land "Married,"
for Yahweh delights in you, and your land will be married.
5 Truly, as a young man marries a young woman, so your sons will marry you,
and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, your God will rejoice over you.
6 I have put watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem;
they are not silent day or night.
You who keep reminding Yahweh, do not pause.
7 Do not allow him to rest until he reestablishes
Jerusalem and makes it a praise on earth.
8 Yahweh has sworn by his right hand and by the arm of his strength,
"Surely I will no longer give your grain as food for your enemies.
Foreigners will not drink your new wine, for which you have worked.
9 For those who harvest the grain will eat it and praise Yahweh,
and those who pick the grapes will drink the wine in the courts of my holy sanctuary."
10 Come through, come through the gates! Prepare the way for the people!
Build it, build the highway! Gather out the stones!
Raise up a signal flag for the nations!
11 Look, Yahweh announces to the ends of the earth,
"Say to the daughter of Zion: Look, your Savior is coming!
See, his reward is with him, and his recompense is going before him."
12 They will call you, "The holy people; the redeemed of Yahweh," and you will be called "Sought after; a city not abandoned."
Chapter 63
1 Who is this who comes from Edom, wearing red garments, from Bozrah?
Who is this, splendid in his clothing, marching in the greatness of his strength?
"It is I, speaking in righteousness, and mighty to save."
2 Why are your clothes red, and why do they look like you have been treading grapes in a winepress?
3 "I have trodden grapes in the winepress alone, and no one from the nations joined me.
I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my fury.
Their blood is spattered on my clothes and stained all my clothes.
4 For I looked forward to the day of vengeance, and the year for my redemption had arrived.
5 I looked, and there was no one to help. I wondered that there was none to help,
but my own arm brought victory for me, and my strong anger drove me on.
6 I trampled down the peoples in my anger and made them drunk in my wrath,
and I poured out their blood on the earth."
7 I will tell of the acts of Yahweh's covenant faithfulness, the praiseworthy deeds of Yahweh.
I will tell of all that Yahweh has done for us, and of his great goodness to the house of Israel.
This compassion he has shown us because of his mercy, and with many deeds of covenant faithfulness.
8 For he said, "For certain they are my people, children who are not disloyal."
He became their Savior.
9 Through all their suffering,
he suffered too, and the angel from his presence saved them.
In his love and mercy he saved them,
and he lifted them up and carried them through all the ancient times.
10 But they rebelled and grieved his holy Spirit.
So he became their enemy and fought against them.
11 His people thought about the ancient times of Moses.
They said, "Where is God, who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock?
Where is God, who put his holy Spirit among them?
12 Where is God, who made his glorious power go with the right hand of Moses,
and divided the water before them, to make an everlasting name for himself?
13 Where is God, who led them through the deep water? Like a horse running on flat land, they did not stumble.
14 As the cattle that go down into the valley, the Spirit of Yahweh gave them rest.
So you led your people, to make yourself a name of praise.
15 Look down from heaven and take notice from your holy and glorious habitation.
Where are your zeal and your mighty acts?
Your pity and your compassionate actions are kept from us.
16 For you are our Father,
though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not recognize us,
you, Yahweh, are our Father. 'Our Redeemer' has been your name from ancient times.
17 Yahweh, why do you make us wander from your ways and harden our hearts, so we do not obey you?
Return for your servants' sake, the tribes of your inheritance.
18 Your people possessed your holy place for a short time, but then our enemies trampled it.
19 We have become like those over whom you never ruled, like those who were never called by your name."
Chapter 64
1 "Oh, if you had split open the heavens and come down! The mountains would have shaken at your presence,
2 as when fire kindles the brushwood, or the fire makes water boil.
Oh, that your name would be known by your adversaries, that the nations would tremble at your presence!
3 Previously, when you did marvelous things that we had not expected, you came down, and the mountains trembled at your presence.
4 Since ancient times no one has heard or perceived,
nor eye seen any God besides you, who does things for him who waits for him.
5 You come to help those who rejoice in doing what is right, those who remember you in your ways.
You became angry with us because we sinned for a long time. How will we be saved?
6 For we have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a menstrual rag.
We have all withered like leaves; our iniquities, like the wind, carry us away.
7 There are none who calls on your name, who makes an effort to take hold of you.
For you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away in the hand of our iniquities.
8 Yet, Yahweh, you are our Father;
we are the clay. You are our potter; and we all are the work of your hand.
9 Be not too angry, Yahweh, nor always call to mind against us our sins.
Please look at us all, your people.
10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness;
Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and beautiful temple, where our fathers praised you,
has been destroyed by fire, and all that was so dear is in ruins.
12 How can you still hold back, Yahweh? How can you remain silent and continue to humiliate us?"
Chapter 65
1 "I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek.
I said, 'Here I am! Here I am!' to a nation that did not call on my name.
2 I have spread out my hands all day to a stubborn people,
who walk in a way that is not good, who have walked after their own thoughts and plans!
3 They are a people who continually offend me,
offering sacrifices in gardens, and burning incense on brick tiles.
4 They sit among the graves and keep watch all night,
and eat pork with the broth of foul meat in their dishes.
5 They say, 'Stand away, do not come near to me, for I am holier than you.'
These things are smoke in my nose, a fire that burns all day long.
6 Look, it is written before me:
I will not keep quiet, for I will pay them back; I will repay them into their laps,
7 for their sins and the sins of their fathers together," says Yahweh.
"I will repay them for burning incense on the mountains and for mocking me on the hills.
I will therefore measure out their past deeds into their laps."
8 This is what Yahweh says, "As when juice is found in a cluster of grapes,
when one says, 'Do not ruin it, for there is good in it,'
this is what I will do for my servants' sake: I will not ruin them all.
9 I will bring descendants from Jacob, and from Judah ones who will possess my mountains.
My chosen ones will possess the land, and my servants will live there.
10 Sharon will become a pasture for the flocks, and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,
for my people who seek me.
11 But you who abandon Yahweh, who forget my holy mountain,
who prepare a table for Fortune,
and fill wine glasses of mixed wine for Destiny.
12 I will appoint you for the sword, and you will all bow down to the slaughter,
because when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen.
But you did what was evil in my sight and chose to do what displeases me."
13 This is what the Lord Yahweh says,
"Look, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry;
look, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty;
look, my servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame.
14 Look, my servants will shout with joy because of gladness of heart,
but you will cry because of the pain of the heart, and will wail because of the crushing of the spirit.
15 You will leave behind your name as a curse for my chosen ones to speak; I, the Lord Yahweh, will kill you;
I will call my servants by another name.
16 Whoever pronounces a blessing on the earth will be blessed by me, the God of truth.
Whoever takes an oath on the earth will swear by me, the God of truth,
because the former troubles will be forgotten, for they will be hidden from my eyes.
17 For see, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth;
and the former things will not be remembered or be brought to mind.
18 But you will be glad and rejoice forever in what I am about to create. See, I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and her people as a delight.
19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem and be glad over my people;
weeping and cries of distress will no longer be heard in her.
20 Never again will an infant live there only a few days;
nor will an old man die before his time.
One who dies at one hundred years old will be considered a young person.
Anyone who fails to reach the age of one hundred years old will be considered cursed.
21 They will build houses and inhabit them, and they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 No longer will they build a house and another live in it; they will not plant, and another eat;
for as the days of trees will be the days of my people. My chosen will fully outlive the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor in vain, nor give birth to dismay.
For they are the children of those blessed by Yahweh, and their descendants with them.
24 Before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox;
but dust will be the serpent's food.
They will no longer hurt nor destroy on all my holy mountain," says Yahweh.
Chapter 66
1 This is what Yahweh says,
"Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where then is the house you will build for me? Where is the place where I may rest?
2 My hand has made all these things; that is how these things came to be—this is Yahweh's declaration.
This is the man of whom I approve, the broken and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at my word.
3 He who slaughters an ox also murders a man; he who sacrifices a lamb also breaks a dog's neck;
he who offers a grain offering offers swine's blood; he who offers a memorial of incense also blesses wickedness.
They have chosen their own ways, and they take pleasure in their abominations.
4 In the same way I will choose their own punishment; I will bring on them what they fear,
because when I called, no one answered; when I spoke, no one listened.
They did what was evil in my sight, and chose to do what displeases me."
5 Hear the word of Yahweh, you who tremble at his word,
"Your brothers who hate and exclude you for my name's sake have said,
'May Yahweh be glorified, then we will see your joy,'
but they will be put to shame.
6 A sound of battle tumult comes from the city, a sound from the temple,
the sound of Yahweh paying back his enemies.
7 Before she goes into labor, she gives birth;
before pain is upon her, she gave birth to a son.
8 Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things?
Will a land be born in one day? Can a nation be established in one moment?
Yet as soon as Zion goes into labor, she gives birth to her children. 9 Do I bring a baby to the birth opening and not permit the child to be born?—asks Yahweh.
Or do I bring a child to moment of delivery and then hold it back?—asks your God."
10 Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her;
rejoice with her, all you who mourned over her!
11 For you will nurse and be satisfied; with her breasts you will be comforted;
for you will drink them to the full and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.
12 This is what Yahweh says,
"I am about to spread prosperity over her like a river,
and the riches of the nations like an overflowing stream.
You will nurse at her side, be carried in her arms, and be dandled on her knees.
13 As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you, and you will be comforted in Jerusalem."
14 You will see this, and your heart will rejoice, and your bones will sprout like the tender grass.
The hand of Yahweh will be made known to his servants, but he will show his anger against his enemies.
15 For look, Yahweh is coming with fire, and his chariots are coming like the windstorm
to bring the heat of his anger and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For Yahweh executes judgment on mankind by fire and with his sword. Those killed by Yahweh will be many.
17 They consecrate themselves and make themselves pure, so they may enter the gardens, following the one in the middle of those who
eat the flesh of pig and abominable things like mice. [1]
"They will come to an end—this is Yahweh's declaration.
18 For I know their deeds and their thoughts. The time is coming when I will gather all nations and languages. They will come and will see my glory. [2] 19 I will set a sign among them. Then I will send survivors from them to the nations: To Tarshish, the Libyans and Lydians, [3] who draw the bow, to Tubal, Greece, [4] and to the distant coastlands where they have not heard about me nor seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. 20 They will bring back all your brothers out of all the nations, as an offering to Yahweh. They will come on horses, and in chariots, in wagons, on mules, and on camels, to my holy mountain Jerusalem—says Yahweh. For the people of Israel will bring a grain offering in a clean vessel into the house of Yahweh.
21 Some of these I will even choose as priests and Levites—says Yahweh.
22 For just as the new heavens and the new earth that I will make
will remain before me—this is Yahweh's declaration—so your descendants will remain, and your name will remain.
23 From one month to the next, and from one Sabbath to the next,
all people will come to bow down to me—says Yahweh.
24 They will go out and see the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me,
for the worms that eat them will not die, and the fire that consumes them will not be quenched;
and it will be an abhorrence to all flesh."