The LORD’s Comfort for Zion
ISAIAH 51 [†] d “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the LORD:
look to the rock from which you were hewn,
and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham your father
and to Sarah who bore you;
for e he was but one when I called him,
that I might bless him and multiply him.
3 For the LORD f comforts Zion;
he comforts all her waste places
and makes her wilderness like g Eden,
her desert like h the garden of the LORD;
i joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the voice of song.
4[†] j “Give attention to me, my people,
and give ear to me, my nation;
k for a law [1] will go out from me,
and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.
5 l My righteousness draws near,
my salvation has gone out,
and my arms will judge the peoples;
m the coastlands hope for me,
and for my arm they wait.
6 n Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look at the earth beneath;
o for the heavens vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and they who dwell in it will die in like manner; [2]
p but my salvation will be forever,
and my righteousness will never be dismayed.
7[†] q “Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
the people r in whose heart is my law;
s fear not the reproach of man,
nor be dismayed at their revilings.
8 t For the moth will eat them up like a garment,
and the worm will eat them like wool;
p but my righteousness will be forever,
and my salvation to all generations.”
9[†] u Awake, awake, v put on strength,
O w arm of the LORD;
awake, x as in days of old,
the generations of long ago.
Was it not you who cut y Rahab in pieces,
who pierced z the dragon?
10 a Was it not you who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,
who made the depths of the sea a way
for the redeemed to pass over?
11 b And the ransomed of the LORD shall return
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
12[†] “I, I am he c who comforts you;
who are you that you are afraid of d man who dies,
of the son of man who is made e like grass,
13 and have forgotten the LORD, your Maker,
f who stretched out the heavens
and g laid the foundations of the earth,
and you fear continually all the day
because of the wrath of h the oppressor,
when he sets himself to destroy?
And where is the wrath of h the oppressor?
14 i He who is bowed down shall speedily be released;
he shall not die and go down j to the pit,
neither shall his bread be lacking.
15[†] I am the LORD your God,
k who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the LORD of hosts is his name.
16 l And I have put my words in your mouth
m and covered you in the shadow of my hand,
n establishing [3] the heavens
and o laying the foundations of the earth,
and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”
17[†] p Wake yourself, wake yourself,
stand up, O Jerusalem,
q you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD
the cup of his wrath,
who have drunk to the dregs
the bowl, r the cup of staggering.
18 s There is none to guide her
among all the sons she has borne;
there is none to take her by the hand
among all the sons she has brought up.
19 t These two things have happened to you—
who will console you?—
devastation and destruction, famine and sword;
who will comfort you? [4]
20 u Your sons have fainted;
they lie at the head of every street
like an v antelope w in a net;
they are full of the wrath of the LORD,
the rebuke of your God.
21 x Therefore hear this, you who are afflicted,
who are drunk, but not with wine:
22 Thus says your Lord, the LORD,
your God y who pleads the cause of his people:
“Behold, I have taken from your hand r the cup of staggering;
the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more;
23 z and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors,
a who have said to you,
‘Bow down, that we may pass over’;
and b you have made your back like the ground
and like the street for them to pass over.”
The LORD’s Coming Salvation
put on your strength, O Zion;
d put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, e the holy city;
f for there shall no more come into you
the uncircumcised and the unclean.
2 g Shake yourself from the dust and arise;
be seated, O Jerusalem;
h loose the bonds from your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion.
3For thus says the LORD: i “You were sold for nothing, and j you shall be redeemed without money.” 4[†]For thus says the Lord GOD: k “My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing. [1] 5Now therefore what have I here,” declares the LORD, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail,” declares the LORD, “and l continually all the day my name is despised. 6Therefore my people shall know my name. m Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am.”
7[†] n How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, o who brings good news of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
8 The voice of p your watchmen—they lift up their voice;
together they sing for joy;
q for eye to eye they see
the return of the LORD to Zion.
9 r Break forth together into singing,
s you waste places of Jerusalem,
for t the LORD has comforted his people;
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
10[†] u The LORD has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations,
v and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.
11 w Depart, depart, go out from there;
touch no unclean thing;
go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves,
x you who bear the vessels of the LORD.
12 For you shall not y go out in haste,
and you shall not go in flight,
z for the LORD will go before you,
a and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions
13[†] Behold, b my servant shall act wisely; [2]
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
14[†] As many were astonished at you—
c his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
15 so d shall he sprinkle [3] many nations;
e kings shall shut their mouths because of him;
f for that which has not been told them they see,
and that which they have not heard they understand.
ISAIAH 53 [†] g Who has believed what he has heard from us? [1]
And to whom has h the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
i and like a root out of dry ground;
j he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3[†] k He was despised and rejected [2] by men;
a man of sorrows, [3] and acquainted with [4] grief; [5]
and as one from whom men hide their faces [6]
he was despised, and l we esteemed him not.
4[†] m Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
n smitten by God, and afflicted.
5[†] o But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
p and with his wounds we are healed.
6[†] q All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
r and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
s yet he opened not his mouth;
t like a u lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, v who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
w and with a rich man in his death,
although x he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10[†] Yet y it was the will of the LORD to crush him;
he has put him to grief; [7]
z when his soul makes [8] an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
a the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11[†] Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see [9] and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall b the righteous one, my servant,
c make many to be accounted righteous,
d and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 e Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, [10]
f and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, [11]
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
g yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.
The Eternal Covenant of Peace
ISAIAH 54 [†] h “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;
break forth into singing and cry aloud,
you who have not been in labor!
For the children of i the desolate one j will be more
than the children of her who is married,” says the LORD.
2 k “Enlarge the place of your tent,
and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
and strengthen your stakes.
3[†] l For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,
and your offspring will possess the nations
and will people the desolate cities.
4 “Fear not, m for you will not be ashamed;
be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
5 n For your Maker is your husband,
the LORD of hosts is his name;
o and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
p the God of the whole earth he is called.
6[†] q For the LORD has called you
like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of youth when she is cast off,
says your God.
7[†] r For a brief moment I deserted you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.
8 r In overflowing anger for a moment
I hid my face from you,
s but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
says the LORD, your Redeemer.
9 “This is like t the days of Noah [1] to me:
as I swore that the waters of Noah
should no more go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,
and will not rebuke you.
10[†] For the mountains may depart
and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and u my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
11 v “O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,
behold, w I will set your stones in antimony,
x and lay your foundations with sapphires. [2]
12 I will make your pinnacles of agate, [3]
your gates of carbuncles, [4]
and all your wall of precious stones.
13[†] y All your children z shall be taught by the LORD,
a and great shall be the peace of your children.
14 In righteousness you shall be established;
you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
and from terror, for it shall not come near you.
15[†] b If anyone stirs up strife,
it is not from me;
whoever stirs up strife with you
shall fall because of you.
16 Behold, I have created the smith
who blows the fire of coals
and produces a weapon for its purpose.
I have also created the ravager to destroy;
17 no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,
and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD
c and their vindication [5] from me, declares the LORD.”
The Compassion of the LORD
ISAIAH 55 [†] d “Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
e come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
2[†] f Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
3[†] Incline your ear, and come to me;
g hear, that your soul may live;
h and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
i my steadfast, sure love for j David.
4 k Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
l a leader and commander for the peoples.
5[†] k Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,
and m a nation that did not know you shall run to you,
because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,
n for he has glorified you.
6[†] o “Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
7[†] let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
9 p For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10[†] q “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
r giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but s it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
12[†] t “For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
u the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 v Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the LORD,
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
Salvation for Foreigners
ISAIAH 56 [†] Thus says the LORD:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
w for soon my salvation will come,
and my righteousness be revealed.
2[†] Blessed is the man who does this,
and the son of man who holds it fast,
x who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,
and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3[†] Let not y the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say,
“The LORD will surely separate me from his people”;
and let not the eunuch say,
“Behold, I am z a dry tree.”
4 For thus says the LORD:
“To the eunuchs x who keep my Sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant,
5 a I will give in my house and within my walls
a b monument and a name
better than sons and daughters;
c I will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.
6 “And y the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,
and to be his servants,
everyone x who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
and holds fast my covenant—
7 d these I will bring to e my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
f their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for g my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.”
8[†] The Lord GOD,
h who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,
i “I will gather yet others to him
besides those already gathered.”
Israel’s Irresponsible Leaders
9[†] j All you beasts of the field, come to devour—
all you beasts in the forest.
10 k His watchmen are blind;
they are all without knowledge;
they are all silent l dogs;
they cannot bark,
dreaming, lying down,
loving to slumber.
11 m The dogs have a mighty appetite;
they never have enough.
But n they are shepherds who have no understanding;
they have all turned to their own way,
o each to his own gain, one and all.
12 p “Come,” they say, “let me get wine;
let us fill ourselves with strong drink;
q and tomorrow will be like this day,
great beyond measure.”
Israel’s Futile Idolatry
ISAIAH 57 [†] The righteous man perishes,
and no one lays it to heart;
r devout men are taken away,
while no one understands.
For the righteous man is taken away from calamity;
2 s he enters into peace;
they rest t in their beds
who walk in their uprightness.
3[†] But you, draw near,
sons of the sorceress,
u offspring of the adulterer and the loose woman.
4 Whom are you mocking?
Against whom v do you open your mouth wide
and stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of w transgression,
x the offspring of deceit,
5 you who burn with lust among y the oaks, [1]
under every green tree,
z who slaughter your children in the valleys,
under the clefts of the rocks?
6[†] Among the smooth stones of a the valley is your portion;
they, they, are your lot;
to them you have poured out a drink offering,
you have brought a grain offering.
Shall I relent for these things?
7[†] b On a high and lofty mountain
you have set your bed,
and there you went up to offer sacrifice.
8 Behind the door and the doorpost
you have set up your memorial;
for, deserting me, c you have uncovered your bed,
you have gone up to it,
d you have made it wide;
and you have made a covenant for yourself with them,
you have loved their bed,
you have looked on nakedness. [2]
9[†] You journeyed to the king with oil
and multiplied your perfumes;
e you sent your envoys far off,
and sent down even to Sheol.
10 You were wearied with the length of your way,
f but you did not say, “It is hopeless”;
you found new life for your strength,
and so you were not faint. [3]
11 g Whom did you dread and fear,
h so that you lied,
and did not remember me,
did not lay it to heart?
i Have I not held my peace, even for a long time,
and you do not fear me?
12[†] I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,
but they will not profit you.
13 j When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!
The wind will carry them all off,
a breath will take them away.
k But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land
and shall inherit l my holy mountain.
Comfort for the Contrite
14[†] And it shall be said,
m “Build up, build up, prepare the way,
remove every obstruction from my people’s way.”
15[†] For thus says n the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is o Holy:
p “I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also q with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
r to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
16[†] s For I will not contend forever,
nor will I always be angry;
for the spirit would grow faint before me,
and the breath of life that I made.
17 Because of the iniquity of his t unjust gain I was angry,
I struck him; I hid my face and was angry,
but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.
18 I have seen his ways, u but I will heal him;
I will lead him v and restore comfort to him and his mourners,
19 w creating x the fruit of the lips.
y Peace, peace, z to the far and to the near,” says the LORD,
u “and I will heal him.
20 a But the wicked are like the tossing sea;
for it cannot be quiet,
and its waters toss up mire and dirt.
21 b There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
True and False Fasting
ISAIAH 58 “Cry aloud; do not hold back;
c lift up your voice like a trumpet;
d declare to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
they delight to draw near to God.
3 f ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, [1]
g and oppress all your workers.
4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
will not make your voice to be heard on high.
5 h Is such the fast that I choose,
i a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
and a day acceptable to the LORD?
6[†] “Is not this the fast that I choose:
j to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps k of the yoke,
to let the oppressed [2] go free,
and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not l to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
m and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8[†] n Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
o and your healing shall spring up speedily;
p your righteousness shall go before you;
q the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away r the yoke from your midst,
s the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10[†] t if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
n then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
11 And the LORD will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be u like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
12 v And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to dwell in.
13[†] w “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
from doing your pleasure [3] on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the LORD honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
or seeking x your own pleasure, [4] or talking idly; [5]
14 then you shall take delight in the LORD,
y and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; [6]
z I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
a for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Evil and Oppression
ISAIAH 59 Behold, b the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
2[†] c but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
3[†] d For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies;
your tongue mutters wickedness.
4 e No one enters suit justly;
no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,
f they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
5 They hatch adders’ eggs;
they weave the spider’s web;
he who eats their eggs dies,
and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched.
6 g Their webs will not serve as clothing;
men will not cover themselves with what they make.
Their works are works of iniquity,
and deeds of violence are in their hands.
7 h Their feet run to evil,
and they are swift to shed innocent blood;
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
desolation and destruction are in their highways.
8 The way of peace they do not know,
and there is no justice in their paths;
they have made their roads crooked;
i no one who treads on them knows peace.
9[†] Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not overtake us;
j we hope for light, and behold, darkness,
and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10[†] k We grope for the wall like the blind;
we grope like those who have no eyes;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight,
l among those in full vigor we are like dead men.
11[†] We all growl like bears;
m we moan and moan like doves;
n we hope for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
12[†] For our transgressions are multiplied before you,
and our sins testify against us;
for our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:
13 transgressing, and denying the LORD,
and turning back from following our God,
o speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.
Judgment and Redemption
14[†] p Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far away;
for truth has stumbled in the public squares,
and uprightness cannot enter.
15[†] Truth is lacking,
and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.
The LORD saw it, and it displeased him [1]
that there was no justice.
16 q He saw that there was no man,
and wondered that there was no one to intercede;
then his own arm brought him salvation,
and his righteousness upheld him.
17 r He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and wrapped himself in s zeal as a cloak.
18[†] t According to their deeds, so will he repay,
wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies;
u to the coastlands he will render repayment.
19[†] v So they shall fear the name of the LORD from the west,
and his glory from the rising of the sun;
w for he will come like a rushing stream, [2]
which the wind of the LORD drives.
20[†] x “And y a Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the LORD.
21[†]“And as for me, z this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit that is upon you, a and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the LORD, “from this time forth and forevermore.”
The Future Glory of Israel
ISAIAH 60 [†] b Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and c the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
2[†] For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the LORD will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
3 d And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.
4[†] e Lift up your eyes all around, and see;
they all gather together, they come to you;
f your sons shall come from afar,
and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.
5[†] Then you shall see and g be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and exult, [1]
because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
h the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
6 A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of i Midian and j Ephah;
all those from k Sheba shall come.
l They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall bring good news, the praises of the LORD.
7 All the flocks of m Kedar shall be gathered to you;
the rams of n Nebaioth shall minister to you;
o they shall come up with acceptance on my altar,
p and I will beautify my beautiful house.
8[†] Who are these that fly like a cloud,
and q like doves to their windows?
9 For r the coastlands shall hope for me,
s the ships of Tarshish first,
t to bring your children from afar,
their silver and gold with them,
for the name of the LORD your God,
and for the Holy One of Israel,
because u he has made you beautiful.
10[†] v Foreigners shall build up your walls,
and v their kings shall minister to you;
for in my wrath I struck you,
but in my favor I have had mercy on you.
11[†] w Your gates shall be open continually;
day and night they shall not be shut,
w that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations,
with their kings led in procession.
12 x For the nation and kingdom
that will not serve you shall perish;
those nations shall be utterly laid waste.
13[†] y The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
the cypress, the plane, and z the pine,
to beautify the place of my sanctuary,
and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
14 a The sons of those who afflicted you
shall come bending low to you,
b and all who despised you
shall bow down at your feet;
c they shall call you the City of the LORD,
the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
15 d Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
with no one passing through,
e I will make you majestic forever,
a joy from age to age.
16[†] f You shall suck the milk of nations;
you shall nurse at the breast of kings;
and you shall know that g I, the LORD, am your Savior
and your Redeemer, h the Mighty One of Jacob.
17 Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
and instead of iron I will bring silver;
instead of wood, bronze,
instead of stones, iron.
I will make your overseers peace
i and your taskmasters righteousness.
18 j Violence shall no more be heard in your land,
devastation or destruction within your borders;
k you shall call your walls Salvation,
and your gates Praise.
19[†] l The sun shall be no more
your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
give you light; [2]
but the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory. [3]
20 Your sun shall no more go down,
nor your moon withdraw itself;
for the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and m your days of mourning shall be ended.
21[†] n Your people shall all be righteous;
o they shall possess the land forever,
p the branch of my planting, the work of my hands,
that I might be glorified. [4]
22 q The least one shall become a clan,
and the smallest one a mighty nation;
r I am the LORD;
in its time I will hasten it.
The Year of the LORD’s Favor
ISAIAH 61 [†] s The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has t anointed me
to bring good news to the poor; [1]
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and u the opening of the prison to those who are bound; [2]
2 v to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor,
w and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
x to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
y the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
z that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, a that he may be glorified. [3]
4 b They shall build up the ancient ruins;
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.
5 c Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks;
foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;
6[†] d but you shall be called the priests of the LORD;
they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;
e you shall eat the wealth of the nations,
and in their glory you shall boast.
7 f Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;
instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;
therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;
they shall have everlasting joy.
8 g For I the LORD love justice;
I hate robbery and wrong; [4]
h I will faithfully give them their recompense,
i and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
that they are an offspring the LORD has blessed.
10[†] j I will greatly rejoice in the LORD;
my soul shall exult in my God,
k for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself l like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
m and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord GOD will cause n righteousness and praise
to sprout up before all the nations.
Zion’s Coming Salvation
ISAIAH 62 [†] o For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet,
p until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
and her salvation as a burning torch.
2 q The nations shall see your righteousness,
and all the kings your glory,
r and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the LORD will give.
3 You shall be s a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
4[†] t You shall no more be termed u Forsaken, [1]
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, [2]
r but you shall be called v My Delight Is in Her, [3]
and your land Married; [4]
for the LORD delights in you,
and your land shall be married.
5[†] For as a young man marries a young woman,
so w shall your sons marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so x shall your God rejoice over you.
6[†] On your walls, O Jerusalem,
I have set y watchmen;
all the day and all the night
they shall never be silent.
You who put the LORD in remembrance,
take no rest,
7 and give him no rest
until he establishes Jerusalem
and makes it z a praise in the earth.
8 The LORD has sworn a by his right hand
and by his mighty arm:
“I will not again give b your grain
to be food for your enemies,
c and foreigners shall not drink your wine
for which you have labored;
9 but d those who garner it shall eat it
and praise the LORD,
and d those who gather it shall drink it
in the courts of my sanctuary.” [5]
10[†] Go through, go through the gates;
e prepare the way for the people;
f build up, build up the highway;
clear it of stones;
g lift up a signal over the peoples.
11 Behold, the LORD has proclaimed
to the end of the earth:
h Say to the daughter of Zion,
i “Behold, your salvation comes;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.”
12[†] j And they shall be called The Holy People,
The Redeemed of the LORD;
k and you shall be called Sought Out,
A City Not Forsaken.
The LORD’s Day of Vengeance
ISAIAH 63 [†] Who is this who comes from l Edom,
in crimsoned garments from l Bozrah,
he who is splendid in his apparel,
m marching in the greatness of his strength?
“It is I, speaking in righteousness,
mighty to save.”
2 Why is your n apparel red,
and your garments like his o who treads in the winepress?
3[†] p “I have trodden the winepress alone,
q and from the peoples no one was with me;
I trod them in my anger
and trampled them in my wrath;
their lifeblood [1] spattered on my garments,
and stained all my apparel.
4[†] r For the day of vengeance was in my heart,
and my year of redemption [2] had come.
5 I looked, but s there was no one to help;
I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold;
so my own arm brought me salvation,
and my wrath upheld me.
6 I trampled down the peoples in my anger;
t I made them drunk in my wrath,
and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”
The LORD’s Mercy Remembered
7[†] I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD,
the praises of the LORD,
according to all that the LORD has granted us,
u and the great goodness to the house of Israel
that he has granted them according to his compassion,
according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
8 For he said, “Surely they are my people,
children who will not deal falsely.”
And he became their Savior.
9[†] v In all their affliction he was afflicted, [3]
and the angel of his presence saved them;
w in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
x he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
z and grieved his Holy Spirit;
therefore he turned to be their enemy,
and himself fought against them.
11 Then he remembered a the days of old,
of Moses and his people. [4]
b Where is he who brought them up out of the sea
with the shepherds of his flock?
Where is he who put in the midst of them
his Holy Spirit,
12[†] who caused his glorious arm
to go at the right hand of Moses,
c who divided the waters before them
d to make for himself an everlasting name,
13 who led them through the depths?
Like a horse in the desert,
they did not stumble.
14 Like livestock that go down into the valley,
e the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest.
So you led your people,
d to make for yourself a glorious name.
Prayer for Mercy
15[†] f Look down from heaven and see,
g from your holy and beautiful [5] habitation.
Where are h your zeal and your might?
The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion
are held back from me.
16 For i you are our Father,
though Abraham does not know us,
and Israel does not acknowledge us;
you, O LORD, are our Father,
j our Redeemer from of old is your name.
17[†] O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways
and k harden our heart, so that we fear you not?
l Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage.
18 m Your holy people held possession for a little while; [6]
n our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.
19 o We have become like those over whom you have never ruled,
like those who are not called by your name.
ISAIAH 64 p Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,
q that the mountains might quake at your presence—
2 [1] as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil—
r to make your name known to your adversaries,
and that the nations might tremble at your presence!
3 s When you did awesome things that we did not look for,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
4[†] t From of old no one has heard
or perceived by the ear,
u no eye has seen a God besides you,
who acts for those who wait for him.
5[†] You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,
those who remember you in your ways.
Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;
in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? [2]
6 v We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
w We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
7 x There is no one who calls upon your name,
who rouses himself to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have made us melt in [3] the hand of our iniquities.
8[†] y But now, O LORD, you are our Father;
z we are the clay, and you are our potter;
a we are all the work of your hand.
9 b Be not so terribly angry, O LORD,
c and remember not iniquity forever.
Behold, please look, we are all your people.
10 d Your holy cities have become a wilderness;
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
11 e Our holy and beautiful [4] house,
where our fathers praised you,
has been burned by fire,
and all our pleasant places have become ruins.
12[†] f Will you restrain yourself at these things, O LORD?
Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly?
Judgment and Salvation
ISAIAH 65 [†] g I was ready to be sought by h those who did not ask for me;
I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, “Here I am, here I am,”
to a nation that was not called by [1] my name.
2 i I spread out my hands all the day
to a rebellious people,
who walk in a way that is not good,
following their own devices;
3 a people who provoke me
to my face continually,
j sacrificing in gardens
and making offerings on bricks;
4 who sit in tombs,
and spend the night in secret places;
k who eat pig’s flesh,
and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels;
5 who say, “Keep to yourself,
do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”
l These are a smoke in my nostrils,
a fire that burns all the day.
6 Behold, m it is written before me:
n “I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
o I will indeed repay into their lap
7 both your iniquities p and your fathers’ iniquities together,
says the LORD;
q because they made offerings on the mountains
q and insulted me on the hills,
I will measure into their lap
payment for their former deeds.” [2]
8[†] Thus says the LORD:
r “As the new wine is found in the cluster,
and they say, ‘Do not destroy it,
for there is a blessing in it,’
so I will do for my servants’ sake,
s and not destroy them all.
9 t I will bring forth offspring from Jacob,
and from Judah possessors of my mountains;
my chosen shall possess it,
and my servants shall dwell there.
10 u Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks,
and v the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
for my people w who have sought me.
11 But x you who forsake the LORD,
who forget y my holy mountain,
who z set a table for Fortune
and z fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny,
12 I will destine you to the sword,
and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter,
a because, when I called, you did not answer;
when I spoke, you did not listen,
b but you did what was evil in my eyes
and chose what I did not delight in.”
13[†] Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
“Behold, c my servants shall eat,
but you shall be hungry;
behold, my servants shall drink,
but you shall be thirsty;
behold, my servants shall rejoice,
but you shall be put to shame;
14 behold, d my servants shall sing for gladness of heart,
but you shall cry out for pain of heart
and shall wail for breaking of spirit.
15[†] You shall leave your name to e my chosen f for a curse,
and the Lord GOD will put you to death,
but his servants g he will call by another name.
16 So that he who h blesses himself in the land
shall bless himself by h the God of truth,
and he who takes an oath in the land
shall swear by i the God of truth;
j because the former troubles are forgotten
and are hidden from my eyes.
New Heavens and a New Earth
17[†] “For behold, k I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create;
for behold, l I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
and her people to be a gladness.
19 m I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people;
n no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
and the cry of distress.
20 No more shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not fill out his days,
for o the young man shall die a hundred years old,
and p the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
21 q They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22[†] q They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
r for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy [3] the work of their hands.
23 s They shall not labor in vain
t or bear children for calamity, [4]
for u they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD,
and their descendants with them.
24 v Before they call I will answer;
w while they are yet speaking I will hear.
25[†] x The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;
the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
and y dust shall be the serpent’s food.
z They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain,”
says the LORD.
The Humble and Contrite in Spirit
ISAIAH 66 [†] a Thus says the LORD:
b “Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool;
what is the house that you would build for me,
and what is the place of my rest?
2[†] c All these things my hand has made,
and so all these things came to be,
declares the LORD.
d But this is the one to whom I will look:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit
and trembles at my word.
3 e “He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man;
he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers f pig’s blood;
he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol.
g These have chosen their own ways,
and their soul delights in their abominations;
4[†] h I also will choose harsh treatment for them
and bring i their fears upon them,
j because when I called, no one answered,
when I spoke, they did not listen;
k but they did what was evil in my eyes
and chose that in which I did not delight.”
5[†] Hear the word of the LORD,
you who tremble at his word:
“Your brothers who hate you
and cast you out for my name’s sake
have said, l ‘Let the LORD be glorified,
that we may see your joy’;
but it is they who shall be put to shame.
6 “The sound of an uproar from the city!
A sound from the temple!
The sound of the LORD,
m rendering recompense to his enemies!
Rejoice with Jerusalem
7[†] n “Before she was in labor
she gave birth;
before her pain came upon her
she delivered a son.
8 Who has heard such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Shall a land be born in one day?
Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment?
For n as soon as Zion was in labor
she brought forth her children.
9 Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?”
says the LORD;
“shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?”
says your God.
10[†] o “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
all you who love her;
rejoice with her in joy,
all you who mourn over her;
11 that you may nurse and be satisfied
from her consoling breast;
that you may drink deeply with delight
from her glorious abundance.” [1]
12 For thus says the LORD:
p “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river,
and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
and q you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip,
and bounced upon her knees.
13 As one whom his mother comforts,
so r I will comfort you;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
14 You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;
s your bones shall flourish like the grass;
and t the hand of the LORD shall be known to his servants,
and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.
Final Judgment and Glory of the LORD
15 “For behold, u the LORD will come in fire,
and v his chariots like the whirlwind,
to render his anger in fury,
and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16[†] For w by fire x will the LORD enter into judgment,
and by his sword, with all flesh;
and those slain by the LORD shall be many.
17 y “Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, z eating pig’s flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the LORD.
18[†]“For I know [2] their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming [3] a to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, 19[†]and I will set a sign among them. And from them b I will send survivors to the nations, to c Tarshish, d Pul, and d Lud, who draw the bow, to e Tubal and e Javan, f to the coastlands far away, g that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. 20 h And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations i as an offering to the LORD, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the LORD, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD. 21 j And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the LORD.
22[†] “For as k the new heavens and the new earth
that I make
shall remain before me, says the LORD,
so l shall your offspring and your name remain.
23 m From new moon to new moon,
and from Sabbath to Sabbath,
all flesh shall come to worship before me,
declares the LORD.
24[†]“And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For n their worm shall not die, o their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”