Salvation for the Gentiles
1Thus says the LORD:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
aFor My salvation is about to come,
And My righteousness to be revealed.
2Blessed is the man who does this,
And the son of man who lays hold on it;
bWho keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3Do not let cthe son of the foreigner
Who has joined himself to the LORD
Speak, saying,
“The LORD has utterly separated me from His people”;
Nor let the deunuch say,
“Here I am, a dry tree.”
4For thus says the LORD:
“To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And hold fast My covenant,
5Even to them I will give in eMy house
And within My walls a place fand a name
Better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give 1them an everlasting name
That shall not be cut off.
6“Also the sons of the foreigner
Who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him,
And to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants—
Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And holds fast My covenant—
7Even them I will gbring to My holy mountain,
And make them joyful in My hhouse of prayer.
iTheir burnt offerings and their sacrifices
Will be jaccepted on My altar;
For kMy house shall be called a house of prayer lfor all nations.”
8The Lord GOD, mwho gathers the outcasts of Israel, says,
n“Yet I will gather to him
Others besides those who are gathered to him.”
Israel’s Irresponsible Leaders
9oAll you beasts of the field, come to devour,
All you beasts in the forest.
They are all ignorant;
qThey are all dumb dogs,
They cannot bark;
2Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
And they are shepherds
Who cannot understand;
They all look to their own way,
Every one for his own gain,
From his own territory.
12“Come,” one says, “I will bring wine,
And we will fill ourselves with intoxicating tdrink;
And much more abundant.”
Israel’s Futile Idolatry
1The righteous perishes,
And no man takes it to heart;
aMerciful men are taken away,
bWhile no one considers
That the righteous is taken away from 1evil.
2He shall enter into peace;
They shall rest in ctheir beds,
Each one walking in his uprightness.
3“But come here,
dYou sons of the sorceress,
You offspring of the adulterer and the harlot!
4Whom do you ridicule?
Against whom do you make a wide mouth
And stick out the tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
Offspring of falsehood,
5Inflaming yourselves with gods eunder every green tree,
fSlaying the children in the valleys,
Under the clefts of the rocks?
6Among the smooth gstones of the stream
Is your portion;
They, they, are your lot!
Even to them you have poured a drink offering,
You have offered a grain offering.
Should I receive comfort in hthese? Image
7“Oni a lofty and high mountain
You have set jyour bed;
Even there you went up
To offer sacrifice.
8Also behind the doors and their posts
You have set up your remembrance;
For you have uncovered yourself to those other than Me,
And have gone up to them;
You have enlarged your bed
And 2made a covenant with them;
kYou have loved their bed,
Where you saw their 3nudity.
9lYou went to the king with ointment,
And increased your perfumes;
You sent your mmessengers far off,
And even descended to Sheol.
10You are wearied in the length of your way;
nYet you did not say, ‘There is no hope.’
You have found the life of your hand;
Therefore you were not grieved.
11“And oof whom have you been afraid, or feared,
That you have lied
And not remembered Me,
Nor taken it to your heart?
Is it not because pI have 4held My peace from of old
That you do not fear Me?
12I will declare your righteousness
And your works,
For they will not profit you.
13When you cry out,
Let your collection of idols deliver you.
But the wind will carry them all away,
A breath will take them.
But he who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land,
And shall inherit My holy mountain.”
Healing for the Backslider
14And one shall say,
q“Heap it up! Heap it up!
Prepare the way,
Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.”
15For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, rwhose name is Holy:
s“I dwell in the high and holy place,
tWith him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
uTo revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
16vFor I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would fail before Me,
And the souls wwhich I have made.
17For the iniquity of xhis covetousness
I was angry and struck him;
yI hid and was angry,
zAnd he went on 5backsliding in the way of his heart.
18I have seen his ways, and awill heal him;
I will also lead him,
And restore comforts to him
And to bhis mourners.
19“I create cthe fruit of the lips:
Peace, peace dto him who is far off and to him who is near,”
Says the LORD,
“And I will heal him.”
20eBut the wicked are like the troubled sea,
When it cannot rest,
Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
21“Theref is no peace,”
Says my God, “for the wicked.”
Fasting that Pleases God
1“Cry aloud, 1spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
aTell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.
2Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching God.
3‘Whyb have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?
Why have we cafflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’
“In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And 2exploit all your laborers.
4dIndeed you fast for strife and debate,
And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You will not fast as you do this day,
To make your voice heard on high.
5Is eit a fast that I have chosen,
fA day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And gto spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the LORD?
6“Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To hloose the bonds of wickedness,
jTo let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
7Is it not kto share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are 4cast out;
lWhen you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from myour own flesh?
8nThen your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
oThe glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
9Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
“If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The 5pointing of the finger, and pspeaking wickedness,
10If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your 6darkness shall be as the noonday.
11The LORD will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
12Those from among you
qShall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of 7Streets to Dwell In.
13“If ryou turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the LORD honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
14sThen you shall delight yourself in the LORD;
And I will cause you to tride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
uThe mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Separated from God
1Behold, the LORD’s hand is not ashortened,
That it cannot save;
Nor His ear heavy,
That it cannot hear.
2But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will bnot hear.
3For cyour hands are defiled with 1blood,
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken lies,
Your tongue has muttered perversity.
4No one calls for justice,
Nor does any plead for truth.
They trust in dempty words and speak lies;
eThey conceive 2evil and bring forth iniquity.
5They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web;
He who eats of their eggs dies,
And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out.
6fTheir webs will not become garments,
Nor will they cover themselves with their works;
Their works are works of iniquity,
And the act of violence is in their hands.
7gTheir feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed hinnocent blood;
iTheir thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
Wasting and jdestruction are in their paths.
8The way of kpeace they have not known,
And there is no justice in their ways;
lThey have made themselves crooked paths;
Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.
Sin Confessed
9Therefore justice is far from us,
Nor does righteousness overtake us;
mWe look for light, but there is darkness!
For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
10nWe grope for the wall like the blind,
And we grope as if we had no eyes;
We stumble at noonday as at twilight;
We are as dead men in desolate places.
11We all growl like bears,
And omoan sadly like doves;
We look for justice, but there is none;
For salvation, but it is far from us.
12For our ptransgressions are multiplied before You,
And our sins testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And as for our iniquities, we know them:
13In transgressing and lying against the LORD,
And departing from our God,
Speaking oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and uttering qfrom the heart words of falsehood.
14Justice is turned back,
And righteousness stands afar off;
For truth is fallen in the street,
And equity cannot enter.
15So truth fails,
And he who departs from evil makes himself a rprey.
The Redeemer of Zion
Then the LORD saw it, and 3it displeased Him
That there was no justice.
16sHe saw that there was no man,
And twondered that there was no intercessor;
uTherefore His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
17vFor He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing,
And was clad with zeal as a cloak.
18wAccording to their deeds, accordingly He will repay,
Fury to His adversaries,
Recompense to His enemies;
The coastlands He will fully repay.
19xSo shall they fear
The name of the LORD from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the enemy comes in ylike a flood,
The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.
20“Thez Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,”
Says the LORD.
21“Asa for Me,” says the LORD, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the LORD, “from this time and forevermore.”
The Gentiles Bless Zion
1Arise, ashine;
For your light has come!
And bthe glory of the LORD is risen upon you.
2For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the LORD will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3The cGentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
4“Liftd up your eyes all around, and see:
They all gather together, ethey come to you;
Your sons shall come from afar,
And your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
5Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy;
Because fthe abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.
6The multitude of camels shall cover your land,
The dromedaries of Midian and gEphah;
All those from hSheba shall come;
They shall bring igold and incense,
And they shall proclaim the praises of the LORD.
7All the flocks of jKedar shall be gathered together to you,
The rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;
They shall ascend with kacceptance on My altar,
And lI will glorify the house of My glory.
8“Who are these who fly like a cloud,
And like doves to their roosts?
9mSurely the coastlands shall wait for Me;
And the ships of Tarshish will come first,
nTo bring your sons from afar,
oTheir silver and their gold with them,
To the name of the LORD your God,
And to the Holy One of Israel,
pBecause He has glorified you.
10“Theq sons of foreigners shall build up your walls,
rAnd their kings shall minister to you;
For sin My wrath I struck you,
tBut in My favor I have had mercy on you.
11Therefore your gates ushall be open continually;
They shall not be shut day or night,
That men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles,
And their kings in procession.
12vFor the nation and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish,
And those nations shall be utterly ruined.
13“Thew glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
The cypress, the pine, and the box tree together,
To beautify the place of My sanctuary;
And I will make xthe place of My feet glorious.
14Also the sons of those who afflicted you
Shall come ybowing to you,
And all those who despised you shall zfall prostrate at the soles of your feet;
And they shall call you The City of the LORD,
aZion of the Holy One of Israel.
15“Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
So that no one went through you,
I will make you an eternal excellence,
A joy of many generations.
16You shall drink the milk of the Gentiles,
bAnd milk the breast of kings;
You shall know that cI, the LORD, 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 also make your officers peace,
And your magistrates righteousness.
18Violence shall no longer be heard in your land,
Neither 1wasting nor destruction within your borders;
But you shall call dyour walls Salvation,
And your gates Praise.
God the Glory of His People
19“The esun shall no longer be your light by day,
Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you;
But the LORD will be to you an everlasting light,
And fyour God your glory.
20gYour sun shall no longer go down,
Nor shall your moon withdraw itself;
For the LORD will be your everlasting light,
And the days of your mourning shall be ended.
21hAlso your people shall all be righteous;
iThey shall inherit the land forever,
jThe branch of My planting,
kThe work of My hands,
That I may be glorified.
22lA little one shall become a thousand,
And a small one a strong nation.
I, the LORD, will hasten it in its time.”
The Good News of Salvation
1“The aSpirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
Because the LORD bhas anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me cto 1heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim dliberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2eTo proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,
And fthe day of vengeance of our God;
gTo comfort all who mourn,
3To 2console those who mourn in Zion,
hTo give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
iThe planting of the LORD, jthat He may be glorified.”
4And they shall krebuild the old ruins,
They shall raise up the former desolations,
And they shall repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
5lStrangers shall stand and feed your flocks,
And the sons of the foreigner
Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
6mBut you shall be named the priests of the LORD,
They shall call you the servants of our God.
nYou shall eat the riches of the Gentiles,
And in their glory you shall boast.
7oInstead of your shame you shall have double honor,
And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion.
Therefore in their land they shall possess double;
Everlasting joy shall be theirs.
8“For pI, the LORD, love justice;
qI hate robbery 3for burnt offering;
I will direct their work in truth,
rAnd will make with them an everlasting covenant.
9Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles,
And their offspring among the people.
All who see them shall acknowledge them,
sThat they are the posterity whom the LORD has blessed.”
10tI will greatly rejoice in the LORD,
My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For uHe has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
vAs a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11For as the earth brings forth its bud,
As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth,
So the Lord GOD will cause wrighteousness and xpraise to spring forth before all the nations.
Assurance of Zion’s Salvation
1For Zion’s sake I will not 1hold My peace,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
And her salvation as a lamp that burns.
2aThe Gentiles shall see your righteousness,
And all bkings your glory.
cYou shall be called by a new name,
Which the mouth of the LORD will name.
3You shall also be da crown of glory
In the hand of the LORD,
And a royal diadem
In the hand of your God.
4eYou shall no longer be termed fForsaken,2
Nor shall your land any more be termed gDesolate;3
But you shall be called 4Hephzibah, and your land 5Beulah;
For the LORD delights in you,
And your land shall be married.
5For as a young man marries a virgin,
So shall your sons marry you;
And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
hSo shall your God rejoice over you.
6iI have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
They shall 6never hold their peace day or night.
You who 7make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent,
7And give Him no rest till He establishes
And till He makes Jerusalem ja praise in the earth.
8The LORD has sworn by His right hand
And by the arm of His strength:
“Surely I will no longer kgive your grain
As food for your enemies;
And the sons of the foreigner shall not drink your new wine,
For which you have labored.
9But those who have gathered it shall eat it,
And praise the LORD;
Those who have brought it together shall drink it lin My holy courts.”
10Go through,
Go through the gates!
mPrepare the way for the people;
Build up,
Build up the highway!
Take out the stones,
nLift up a banner for the peoples!
11Indeed the LORD has proclaimed
To the end of the world:
o“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Surely your salvation is coming;
Behold, His preward is with Him,
And His 8work before Him.’ ”
12And they shall call them The Holy People,
The Redeemed of the LORD;
And you shall be called Sought Out,
A City Not Forsaken.
The LORD in Judgment and Salvation
1Who is this who comes from Edom,
With dyed garments from Bozrah,
This One who is 1glorious in His apparel,
Traveling in the greatness of His strength?—
“I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”
2Why ais Your apparel red,
And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress?
3“I have btrodden the winepress alone,
And from the peoples no one was with Me.
For I have trodden them in My anger,
And trampled them in My fury;
Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments,
And I have stained all My robes.
4For the cday of vengeance is in My heart,
And the year of My redeemed has come.
5dI looked, but ethere was no one to help,
And I wondered
That there was no one to uphold;
Therefore My own farm brought salvation for Me;
And My own fury, it sustained Me.
6I have trodden down the peoples in My anger,
Made them drunk in My fury,
And brought down their strength to the earth.”
God’s Mercy Remembered
7I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD
And the praises of the LORD,
According to all that the LORD has bestowed on us,
And the great goodness toward the house of Israel,
Which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies,
According to the multitude of His lovingkindnesses.
8For He said, “Surely they are My people,
Children who will not lie.”
So He became their Savior.
9gIn all their affliction He was 2afflicted,
hAnd the Angel of His Presence saved them;
iIn His love and in His pity He redeemed them;
And jHe bore them and carried them
All the days of old.
10But they krebelled and lgrieved His Holy Spirit;
mSo He turned Himself against them as an enemy,
And He fought against them.
11Then he nremembered the days of old,
Moses and his people, saying:
“Where is He who obrought them up out of the sea
With the 3shepherd of His flock?
pWhere is He who put His Holy Spirit within them,
12Who led them by the right hand of Moses,
qWith His glorious arm,
rDividing the water before them
To make for Himself an everlasting name,
13sWho led them through the deep,
As a horse in the wilderness,
That they might not stumble?”
14As a beast goes down into the valley,
And the Spirit of the LORD causes him to rest,
So You lead Your people,
tTo make Yourself a glorious name.
A Prayer of Penitence
15uLook down from heaven,
And see vfrom Your habitation, holy and glorious.
Where are Your zeal and Your strength,
The yearning wof Your heart and Your mercies toward me?
Are they restrained?
16xDoubtless You are our Father,
Though Abraham ywas ignorant of us,
And Israel does not acknowledge us.
You, O LORD, are our Father;
Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.
17O LORD, why have You zmade us stray from Your ways,
And hardened our heart from Your fear?
Return for Your servants’ sake,
The tribes of Your inheritance.
18aYour holy people have possessed it but a little while;
bOur adversaries have trodden down Your sanctuary.
19We have become like those of old, over whom You never ruled,
Those who were never called by Your name.
1Oh, that You would 1rend the heavens!
That You would come down!
That the mountains might shake at Your apresence—
2As fire burns brushwood,
As fire causes water to boil—
To make Your name known to Your adversaries,
That the nations may tremble at Your presence!
3When bYou did awesome things for which we did not look,
You came down,
The mountains shook at Your presence.
4For since the beginning of the world
cMen have not heard nor perceived by the ear,
Nor has the eye seen any God besides You,
Who acts for the one who waits for Him.
5You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness,
Who remembers You in Your ways.
You are indeed angry, for we have sinned—
dIn these ways we continue;
And we need to be saved.
6But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all eour righteousnesses are like 2filthy rags;
We all ffade as a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind,
Have taken us away.
7And there is no one who calls on Your name,
Who stirs himself up to take hold of You;
For You have hidden Your face from us,
And have 3consumed us because of our iniquities.
8But now, O LORD,
You are our Father;
We are the clay, and You our gpotter;
And all we are the work of Your hand.
9Do not be furious, O LORD,
Nor remember iniquity forever;
Indeed, please look—we all are Your people!
10Your holy cities are a wilderness,
Zion is a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
11Our holy and beautiful 4temple,
Where our fathers praised You,
Is burned up with fire;
And all hour pleasant things 5are laid waste.
12iWill You restrain Yourself because of these things, O LORD?
The Righteousness of God’s Judgment
1“I was asought by those who did not ask for Me;
I was found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’
To a nation that bwas not called by My name.
2cI have stretched out My hands all day long to a drebellious people,
Who ewalk in a way that is not good,
According to their own thoughts;
3A people fwho provoke Me to anger continually to My face;
gWho sacrifice in gardens,
And burn incense on altars of brick;
And spend the night in the tombs;
iWho eat swine’s flesh,
And the broth of 1abominable things is in their vessels;
5jWho say, ‘Keep to yourself,
Do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These 2are smoke in My nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
6“Behold, kit is written before Me:
lI will not keep silence, mbut will repay—
Even repay into their bosom—
7Your iniquities and nthe iniquities of your fathers together,”
Says the LORD,
o“Who have burned incense on the mountains
pAnd blasphemed Me on the hills;
Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”
8Thus says the LORD:
“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it,
For qa blessing is in it,’
So will I do for My servants’ sake,
That I may not destroy them rall.
9I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
And from Judah an heir of My mountains;
My select shall inherit it,
And My servants shall dwell there.
10tSharon shall be a fold of flocks,
And uthe Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
For My people who have vsought Me.
11“But you are those who forsake the LORD,
Who forget wMy holy mountain,
Who prepare xa table for 3Gad,
And who furnish a drink offering for 4Meni.
12Therefore I will number you for the sword,
And you shall all bow down to the slaughter;
yBecause, when I called, you did not answer;
When I spoke, you did not hear,
But did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight.”
13Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
“Behold, 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 ashamed;
14Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart,
But you shall cry for sorrow of heart,
And zwail for 5grief of spirit.
15You shall leave your name aas a curse to bMy chosen;
For the Lord GOD will slay you,
And ccall His servants by another name;
16dSo that he who blesses himself in the earth
Shall bless himself in the God of truth;
And ehe who swears in the earth
Shall swear by the God of truth;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My eyes.
The Glorious New Creation
17“For behold, I create fnew heavens and a new earth;
And the former shall not be remembered or 6come to mind.
18But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing,
And her people a joy.
19gI will rejoice in Jerusalem,
And joy in My people;
The hvoice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her,
Nor the voice of crying.
20“No more shall an infant from there live but a few days,
Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days;
For the child shall die one hundred years old,
iBut the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.
21jThey shall build houses and inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22They shall not build and another inhabit;
They shall not plant and kanother eat;
For las the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people,
And mMy elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
23They shall not labor in vain,
nNor bring forth children for trouble;
For othey shall be the descendants of the blessed of the LORD,
And their offspring with them.
24“It shall come to pass
That pbefore they call, I will answer;
And while they are still speaking, I will qhear.
25The rwolf and the lamb shall feed together,
The lion shall eat straw like the ox,
sAnd dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,”
Says the LORD.
True Worship and False
1Thus says the LORD:
a“Heaven is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.
Where is the house that you will build Me?
And where is the place of My rest? Image
2For all those things My hand has made,
And all those things exist,”
Says the LORD.
b“But on this one will I look:
cOn him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,
And who trembles at My word.
3“Hed who kills a bull is as if he slays a man;
He who sacrifices a lamb, as if he ebreaks a dog’s neck;
He who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine’s blood;
He who burns incense, as if he blesses an idol.
Just as they have chosen their own ways,
And their soul delights in their abominations,
4So will I choose their delusions,
And bring their fears on them;
fBecause, when I called, no one answered,
When I spoke they did not hear;
But they did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight.”
The LORD Vindicates Zion
5Hear the word of the LORD,
You who tremble at His word:
“Your brethren who ghated you,
Who cast you out for My name’s sake, said,
h‘Let the LORD be glorified,
That iwe may see your joy.’
But they shall be ashamed.”
6The sound of noise from the city!
A voice from the temple!
The voice of the LORD,
Who fully repays His enemies!
7“Before she was in labor, she gave birth;
Before her pain came,
She delivered a male child.
8Who has heard such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day?
Or shall a nation be born at once?
For as soon as Zion was in labor,
She gave birth to her children.
9Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” says the LORD.
“Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?” says your God.
10“Rejoice with Jerusalem,
And be glad with her, all you who love her;
Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her;
11That you may feed and be satisfied
With the consolation of her bosom,
That you may drink deeply and be delighted
With the abundance of her glory.”
12For thus says the LORD:
“Behold, jI will extend peace to her like a river,
And the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream.
Then you shall kfeed;
On her sides shall you be lcarried,
And be dandled on her knees.
13As one whom his mother comforts,
So I will mcomfort you;
And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”
The Reign and Indignation of God
14When you see this, your heart shall rejoice,
And nyour bones shall flourish like grass;
The hand of the LORD shall be known to His servants,
And His indignation to His enemies.
15oFor behold, the LORD will come with fire
And with His chariots, like a whirlwind,
To render His anger with fury,
And His rebuke with flames of fire.
16For by fire and by pHis sword
The LORD will judge all flesh;
And the slain of the LORD shall be qmany.
17“Thoser who sanctify themselves and purify themselves,
To go to the gardens
1After an idol in the midst,
Eating swine’s flesh and the abomination and the mouse,
Shall 2be consumed together,” says the LORD.
18“For I know their works and their sthoughts. It shall be that I will tgather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory.
19u“I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and 3Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. vAnd they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles.
20“Then they shall wbring all your brethren xfor an offering to the LORD out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the LORD, “as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.
21“And I will also take some of them for ypriests and Levites,” says the LORD.
22“For as zthe new heavens and the new earth
Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the LORD,
“So shall your descendants and your name remain.
That from one New Moon to another,
And from one Sabbath to another,
bAll flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the LORD.
24“And they shall go forth and look
Upon the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their cworm does not die,
And their fire is not quenched.
They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”