17 Your eyes will see the King in His abeauty;*
They will see the land that is very far off.
18 Your heart will *meditate on terror:
a“Where is the scribe?
Where is he who weighs?
Where is he who counts the towers?”
19 aYou will not see a fierce people,
bA people of obscure speech, beyond perception,
Of a 1stammering tongue that you cannot understand.
20 aLook upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;
Your eyes will see bJerusalem, a quiet home,
A tabernacle that will not be taken down;
cNot one of dits stakes will ever be removed,
Nor will any of its cords be broken.
21 But there the majestic LORD will be for us
A place of broad rivers and streams,
In which no 1galley with oars will sail,
Nor majestic ships pass by
22 (For the LORD is our aJudge,
The LORD is our bLawgiver,
cThe LORD is our King;
He will save us);
23 Your tackle is loosed,
They could not strengthen their mast,
They could not spread the sail.
Then the prey of great plunder is divided;
The lame take the prey.
24 And the inhabitant will not say, “I am sick”;
aThe people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity.
Judgment on the Nations
1 Come anear, you nations, to hear; And heed, you people!
bLet the earth hear, and all that is in it,
The *world and all things that come forth from it.
2 For the indignation of the LORD is against all nations,
And His fury against all their armies;
He has utterly destroyed them,
He has given them over to the aslaughter.
3 Also their slain shall be thrown out;
aTheir stench shall rise from their corpses,
And the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
4 aAll the *host of heaven shall be dissolved,
And the heavens shall be *rolled up like a scroll;
bAll their host shall fall down
As the leaf falls from the vine,
And as cfruit falling from a fig tree.
5 “For aMy sword shall be bathed in heaven;
Indeed it bshall come down on Edom,
And on the people of My curse, for judgment.
6 The asword of the LORD is filled with blood,
It is made 1overflowing with fatness,
With the blood of lambs and goats,
With the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For bthe LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 The wild oxen shall come down with them,
And the young bulls with the mighty bulls;
Their land shall be soaked with blood,
And their dust 1saturated with fatness.”
8 For it is the day of the LORD’s avengeance,
The year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
9 aIts streams shall be turned into pitch,
And its dust into brimstone;
Its land shall become burning pitch.
10 It shall not be quenched night or day;
aIts smoke shall ascend forever.
bFrom generation to generation it shall lie waste;
No one shall pass through it forever and ever.
11 aBut the 1pelican and the 2porcupine shall possess it,
Also the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.
And bHe shall stretch out over it
The line of confusion and the stones of emptiness.
12 They shall call its nobles to the kingdom,
But none shall be there, and all its princes shall be nothing.
13 And athorns shall come up in its palaces,
Nettles and brambles in its fortresses;
bIt shall be a habitation of jackals,
A courtyard for ostriches.
14 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the 1jackals,
And the wild goat shall bleat to its companion;
Also 2the night creature shall rest there,
And find for herself a place of rest.
15 There the arrow snake shall make her nest and lay eggs
And hatch, and gather them under her shadow;
There also shall the hawks be gathered,
Every one with her mate.
16 “Search from athe book of the LORD, and read:
Not one of these shall fail;
Not one shall lack her mate.
For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them.
17 He has cast the lot for them,
And His hand has divided it among them with a measuring line.
They shall possess it forever;
From generation to generation they shall dwell in it.”
The Future Glory of Zion
1 The awilderness and the 1wasteland shall *be glad for them,
And the bdesert2 shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;
2 aIt shall blossom abundantly and rejoice,
Even with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
The excellence of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the bglory of the LORD,
The excellency of our God.
3 aStrengthen* the 1weak hands,
And make firm the 2feeble knees.
4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted,
“Be strong, do not *fear!
Behold, your God will come with avengeance,
With the recompense of God;
He will come and bsave you.”
5 Then the aeyes of the blind shall be opened,
And bthe ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then the alame shall leap like a deer,
And the btongue of the dumb sing.
For cwaters shall burst forth in the wilderness,
And streams in the desert.
7 The parched ground shall become a pool,
And the thirsty land springs of water;
In athe habitation of jackals, where each lay,
There shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
8 A ahighway shall be there, and a road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.
bThe unclean shall not pass over it,
But it shall be for others.
Whoever walks the road, although a fool,
Shall not go astray.
9 aNo lion shall be there,
Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it;
It shall not be found there.
But the *redeemed shall walk there,
10 And the aransomed* of the LORD shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness,
And bsorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Sennacherib Boasts Against the LORD
1 Now ait came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah that Sennach-erib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them.
2 Then the king of Assyria sent the 1Rabshakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And he stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field.
3 And aEliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, bShebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to him.
4 aThen the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What confidence is this in which you trust?
5 “I say you speak of having plans and power for war; but they are 1mere words. Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me?
6 “Look! You are trusting in the astaff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who btrust in him.
7 “But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?” ’
8 “Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are *able on your part to put riders on them!
9 “How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
10 “Have I now come up without the LORD against this land to destroy it? The LORD said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’ ”
11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in 1Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”
12 But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?”
13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!
14 “Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you;
15 ‘nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ’
16 “Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; aand every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern;
17 ‘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 ‘Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, “The LORD will deliver us.” Has any one of the agods of the nations delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria?
19 ‘Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, have they delivered aSamaria from my hand?
20 ‘Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’ ”
21 But they 1held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.”
22 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.
Isaiah Assures Deliverance
1 And aso it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD.
2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the el-ders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the *prophet, the son of Amoz.
3 And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of atrouble and rebuke and 1blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth.
4 ‘It may be that the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to areproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’ ”
5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
6 And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.
7 “Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” ’ ”
Sennacherib’s Threat and Hezekiah’s Prayer
8 Then the Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.
9 And the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “He has come out to make war with you.” So when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
10 “Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”
11 ‘Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered?
12 ‘Have the agods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar?
13 ‘Where is the king of aHamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?’ ”
14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.
15 Then Hezekiah prayed to the LORD, saying:
16 “O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the *cherubim, You are God, You aalone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
17 a“Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and bhear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God.
18 “Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their alands,
19 “and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were anot gods, but the work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them.
20 “Now therefore, O LORD our God, asave us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may bknow that You are the LORD, You alone.”
The Word of the LORD Concerning Sennacherib
21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria,
22 ‘this is the word which the LORD has spoken concerning him:
“The *virgin, the daughter of Zion,
Has despised you, laughed you to scorn;
The daughter of Jerusalem
Has shaken her head behind your back!
23 “Whom have you reproached and blasphemed?
Against whom have you raised your voice,
And lifted up your eyes on high?
Against the Holy One of Israel.
24 By your servants you have reproached the Lord,
And said, ‘By the multitude of my chariots
I have come up to the height of the mountains,
To the limits of Lebanon;
I will cut down its tall cedars
And its choice cypress trees;
I will enter its farthest height,
To its fruitful forest.
25 I have dug and drunk water,
And with the soles of my feet I have dried up
All the brooks of 1defense.’
26 “Did you not hear along ago
How I made it,
From ancient times that I formed it?
Now I have brought it to pass,
That you should be
For crushing fortified cities into heaps of ruins.
27 Therefore their inhabitants had little power;
They were dismayed and confounded;
They were as the grass of the field
And the green herb,
As the grass on the housetops
And grain blighted before it is grown.
28 “But I know your dwelling place,
Your going out and your coming in,
And your rage against Me.
29 Because your rage against Me and your tumult
Have come up to My ears,
Therefore aI will put My hook in your nose
And My bridle in your lips,
And I will bturn you back
By the way which you came.” ’
30 “This shall be a sign to you:
You shall eat this year such as grows of itself,
And the second year what springs from the same;
Also in the third year sow and reap,
Plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them.
31 And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah
Shall again take root downward,
And bear fruit upward.
32 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant,
And those who escape from Mount Zion.
The azeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
33 “Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria:
‘He shall not come into this city,
Nor shoot an arrow there,
Nor come before it with shield,
Nor build a siege mound against it.
By the same shall he return;
And he shall not come into this city,’
Says the LORD.
35 ‘For I will adefend this city, to save it
For My own sake and for My servant bDavid’s sake.’ ”
Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death
36 Then the aangel1 of the LORD went out, and 2killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead.
37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh.
38 Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then aEsarhaddon his son reigned in his place.
Hezekiah’s Life Extended
1 In athose days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: b‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’ ”
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and *prayed to the LORD,
3 and said, a“Remember* now, O LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a 1loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your bsight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 And the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying,
5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: “I have heard your *prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years.
6 “I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and aI will defend this city.” ’
7 “And this is athe sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing which He has spoken:
8 “Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.” So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down.
9 This is the writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:
“In the prime of my life
I shall go to the gates of Sheol;
I am deprived of the remainder of my years.”
“I shall not see 1YAH,
The LORD ain the land of the living;
I shall observe *man no more 2among the inhabitants of 3the world.
12 aMy life span is gone,
Taken from me like a shepherd’s tent;
I have cut off my life like a weaver.
He cuts me off from the loom;
From day until night You make an end of me.
13 I have considered until morning—
Like a lion,
So He breaks all my bones;
From day until night You make an end of me.
14 Like a crane or a swallow, so I chattered;
aI mourned like a dove;
My eyes fail from looking upward.
O 1LORD, I am oppressed;
2Undertake for me!
15 “What shall I say?
1He has both spoken to me,
And He Himself has done it.
I shall walk carefully all my years
aIn the bitterness of my soul.
16 O Lord, by these things men live;
And in all these things is the life of my spirit;
So You will restore me and make me live.
17 Indeed it was for my own peace
That I had great bitterness;
But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption,
For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.
18 For aSheol cannot thank You,
Death cannot *praise You;
Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth.
19 The living, the living man, he shall praise You,
As I do this day;
aThe father shall make known Your truth to the children.
20 “The LORD was ready to save me;
Therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments
All the days of our life, in the house of the LORD.”
21 Now aIsaiah had said, “Let them take a lump of figs, and apply it as a poultice on the boil, and he shall recover.”
22 And aHezekiah had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?”
The Babylonian Envoys
1 At athat time 1Merodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered.
2 aAnd Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his trea-sures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.
3 Then Isaiah the *prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” So Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a afar country, from Babylon.”
4 And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.”
5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD of hosts:
6 ‘Behold, the days are coming awhen all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the LORD.
7 ‘And they shall take away some of your asons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ”
8 So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, a“The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “At least there will be peace and truth in my days.”
God’s People Are Comforted
1 “Comfort, yes, comfort My *people!”Says your God.
2 “Speak 1comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
That her warfare is ended,
That her *iniquity is pardoned;
aFor she has received from the LORD’s hand
Double for all her sins.”
3 aThe voice of one crying in the wilderness:
b“Prepare the way of the LORD;
cMake* straight 1in the desert
A highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill *brought low;
aThe crooked places shall be made 1straight
And the rough places smooth;
5 The aglory* of the LORD shall be *revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
6 The voice said, “Cry out!”
And 1he said, “What shall I cry?”
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But athe word of our God stands forever.”
You who bring good tidings,
Get up into the high mountain;
O Jerusalem,
You who bring good tidings,
Lift up your voice with strength,
Lift it up, be not afraid;
Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”
10 Behold, the Lord GOD shall come 1with a strong hand,
And aHis arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, bHis reward is with Him,
And His 2work before Him.
11 He will afeed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.
12 aWho has measured the 1waters in the hollow of His hand,
Measured heaven with a 2span
And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?
Weighed the mountains in scales
And the hills in a balance?
13 aWho has directed the Spirit of the LORD,
Or as His counselor has taught Him?
14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,
And ataught Him in the path of justice?
Who taught Him knowledge,
And showed Him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket,
And are counted as the small dust on the scales;
Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.
16 And Lebanon is not *sufficient to burn,
Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All nations before Him are as anothing,
And bthey are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.
18 To whom then will you aliken God?
Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
19 aThe workman molds an image,
The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,
And the silversmith casts silver chains.
20 Whoever is too impoverished for such 1a contribution
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks for himself a skillful workman
aTo prepare a carved image that will not totter.
21 aHave 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 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who astretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a btent to dwell in.
23 He 1brings the aprinces to nothing;
He makes the judges of the earth useless.
24 Scarcely shall they be planted,
Scarcely shall they be sown,
Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,
When He will also blow on them,
And they will wither,
And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.
25 “Toa whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
aHe calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His power;
Not one is missing.
And speak, O Israel:
“My way is hidden from the LORD,
And my just claim is passed over by my God”?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the LORD,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
aHis understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives *power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who await* on the LORD
bShall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
Israel Assured of God’s Help
1 “Keep asilence before Me, O coastlands,
And let the people renew their strength!
Let them come near, then let them speak;
Let us bcome near together for judgment.
2 “Who raised up one afrom the east?
Who in righteousness called him to His feet?
Who bgave the nations before him,
And made him rule over kings?
Who gave them as the dust to his sword,
As driven stubble to his bow?
3 Who pursued them, and passed 1safely
By the way that he had not gone with his feet?
4 aWho has performed and done it,
Calling the generations from the beginning?
‘I, the LORD, am bthe first;
And with the last I am cHe.’ ”
5 The coastlands saw it and feared,
The ends of the earth were afraid;
They drew near and came.
6 aEveryone helped his neighbor,
And said to his brother,
1“Be of good courage!”
7 aSo the craftsman encouraged the bgoldsmith;1
He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil,
Saying, 2“It is ready for the soldering”;
Then he fastened it with pegs,
cThat it might not totter.
8 “But you, Israel, are My servant,
Jacob whom I have achosen,
The descendants of Abraham My bfriend.
9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest regions,
And said to you,
‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not cast you away:
10 aFear not, bfor I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
11 “Behold, all those who were incensed against you
Shall be aashamed and disgraced;
They shall be as nothing,
And those who strive with you shall perish.
12 You shall seek them and not find them—
1Those who contended with you.
Those who war against you
Shall be as nothing,
As a nonexistent thing.
13 For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand,
Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’
14 “Fear not, you aworm Jacob,
You men of Israel!
I will help you,” says the LORD
And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 “Behold, aI will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth;
You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small,
And make the hills like chaff.
16 You shall awinnow them, the wind shall carry them away,
And the whirlwind shall scatter them;
You shall rejoice in the LORD,
And bglory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 “The poor and needy seek water, but there is none,
Their tongues fail for thirst.
I, the LORD, will hear them;
I, the God of Israel, will not aforsake them.
18 I will open arivers in desolate heights,
And fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the bwilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land springs of water.
19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree,
The myrtle and the oil tree;
I will set in the adesert the cypress tree and the pine
And the box tree together,
20 aThat they may see and *know,
And consider and understand together,
That the hand of the LORD has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has *created it.
The Futility of Idols
21 “Present your case,” says the LORD.
“Bring forth your strong reasons,” says the aKing of Jacob.
22 “Leta them bring forth and show us what will happen;
Let them show the bformer things, what they were,
That we may 1consider them,
And know the latter end of them;
Or declare to us things to come.
23 aShow the things that are to come hereafter,
That we may know that you are gods;
Yes, bdo good or do evil,
That we may be dismayed and see it together.
24 Indeed ayou are nothing,
And your work is nothing;
He who chooses you is an abomination.
25 “I have raised up one from the north,
And he shall come;
From the 1rising of the sun ahe shall call on My name;
bAnd he shall come against princes as though mortar,
As the potter treads clay.
26 aWho has declared from the beginning, that we may know?
And former times, that we may say, ‘He is righteous’?
Surely there is no one who shows,
Surely there is no one who declares,
Surely there is no one who hears your words.
27 aThe first time bI said to Zion,
‘Look, there they are!’
And I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings.
28 aFor I looked, and there was no man;
I looked among them, but there was no counselor,
Who, when I asked of them, could answer a word.
29 aIndeed they are all 1worthless;
Their works are nothing;
Their molded images are wind and confusion.
The Servant of the LORD
1 “Behold! aMy Servant whom I uphold,
My 1Elect One in whom My soul bdelights!
cI have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the *Gentiles.
2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,
Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
3 A bruised reed He will not break,
And 1smoking flax He will not 2quench;
He will bring forth justice for truth.
4 He will not fail nor be discouraged,
Till He has established justice in the earth;
aAnd the coastlands shall wait for His law.”
5 Thus says God the LORD,
aWho created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it,
bWho gives *breath to the people on it,
And spirit to those who walk on it:
6 “I,a the LORD, have called You in righteousness,
And will hold Your hand;
I will keep You band give You as a covenant to the people,
As ca light to the Gentiles,
7 aTo open blind eyes,
To bbring out prisoners from the prison,
Those who sit in cdarkness from the prison house.
8 I am the LORD, that is My name;
And My aglory I will not give to another,
Nor My praise to carved images.
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
And new things I declare;
Before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
Praise to the LORD
10 aSing* to the LORD a new song,
And His praise from the ends of the earth,
bYou who go down to the sea, and 1all that is in it,
You coastlands and you inhabitants of them!
11 Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice,
The villages that Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing,
Let them shout from the top of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory to the LORD,
And declare His praise in the coastlands.
13 The LORD shall go forth like a mighty man;
He shall *stir up His zeal like a man of war.
He shall cry out, ayes, shout aloud;
He shall prevail against His enemies.
Promise of the LORD’s Help
14 “I have held My peace a long time,
I have been still and restrained Myself.
Now I will cry like a woman in 1labor,
I will pant and gasp at once.
15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills,
And dry up all their vegetation;
I will make the rivers coastlands,
And I will dry up the pools.
16 I will bring the blind by a way they did not know;
I will lead them in paths they have not known.
I will make darkness light before them,
And crooked places straight.
These things I will do for them,
And not forsake them.
17 They shall be aturned back,
They shall be greatly ashamed,
Who trust in carved images,
Who say to the molded images,
‘You are our gods.’
And look, you blind, that you may see.
19 aWho is blind but My servant,
Or deaf as My messenger whom I send?
Who is blind as he who is perfect,
And blind as the LORD’s servant?
20 Seeing many things, abut you do not observe;
Opening the ears, but he does not hear.”
Israel’s Obstinate Disobedience
21 The LORD is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake;
He will exalt the law and make it honorable.
22 But this is a people robbed and plundered;
All of them are 1snared in holes,
And they are hidden in prison houses;
They are for prey, and no one delivers;
For plunder, and no one says, “Restore!”
23 Who among you will give ear to this?
Who will listen and hear for the time to come?
24 Who gave Jacob for plunder, and Israel to the robbers?
Was it not the LORD,
He against whom we have sinned?
aFor they would not walk in His ways,
Nor were they obedient to His law.
25 Therefore He has poured on him the fury of His anger
And the strength of battle;
aIt has set him on fire all around,
bYet he did not know;
And it burned him,
Yet he did not take it to cheart.
The Redeemer of Israel
1 But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, afor I have redeemed you;
bI have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
2 aWhen you pass through the waters, bI will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you cwalk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
3 For I am the LORD your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
aI gave Egypt for your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
4 Since you were precious in My sight,
You have been honored,
And I have aloved you;
Therefore I will give men for you,
And people for your life.
5 aFear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your descendants from the east,
And bgather you from the west;
6 I will say to the anorth, ‘Give them up!’
And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’
Bring My sons from afar,
And My daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 Everyone who is acalled by My name,
Whom bI have *created for My glory;
I have formed him, yes, I have made him.”
8 aBring out the blind people who have eyes,
And the bdeaf who have ears.
9 Let all the nations be gathered together,
And let the people be assembled.
aWho among them can declare this,
And show us former things?
Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified;
Or let them hear and say, “It is truth.”
10 “Youa are My witnesses,” says the LORD,
b“And My servant whom I have chosen,
That you may know and cbelieve* Me,
And *understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
Nor shall there be after Me.
And besides Me there is no savior.
I have proclaimed,
And there was no aforeign god among you;
bTherefore you are My witnesses,”
Says the LORD, “that I am God.
13 aIndeed before the day was, I am He;
And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand;
I work, and who will breverse it?”
14 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer,
The Holy One of Israel:
“For your sake I will send to Babylon,
And bring them all down as fugitives—
The Chaldeans, who rejoice in their ships.
15 I am the LORD, your Holy One,
The Creator of Israel, your aKing.”
16 Thus says the LORD, who amakes a way in the sea
And a bpath through the mighty waters,
17 Who abrings forth the chariot and horse,
The army and the power
(They shall lie down together, they shall not rise;
They are extinguished, they are quenched like a wick):
18 “Doa not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
19 Behold, I will do a anew thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
bI will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.
20 The beast of the field will honor Me,
The jackals and the ostriches,
Because aI give waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My people, My chosen.
21 aThis people I have formed for Myself;
They shall declare My bpraise.*
Pleading with Unfaithful Israel
22 “But you have not called upon Me, O Jacob;
And you ahave been weary of Me, O Israel.
23 aYou have not brought Me the sheep for your burnt offerings,
Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices.
I have not caused you to *serve with grain offerings,
Nor wearied you with incense.
24 You have bought Me no sweet cane with money,
Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices;
But you have burdened Me with your sins,
You have awearied Me with your iniquities.
25 “I, even I, am He who ablots out your *transgressions bfor My own sake;
cAnd I will not remember your sins.
Let us contend together;
State your case, that you may be 1acquitted.
And your 1mediators have transgressed against Me.
28 Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary;
aI will give Jacob to the curse,
And Israel to reproaches.
God’s Blessing on Israel
1 “Yet hear now, O Jacob My servant,
And Israel whom I have chosen.
2 Thus says the LORD who made you
And formed you from the womb, who will help you:
‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant;
And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty,
And floods on the dry ground;
I will pour My Spirit on your descendants,
And My blessing on your offspring;
4 They will spring up among the grass
Like willows by the watercourses.’
5 One will say, ‘I am the LORD’s’;
Another will call himself by the name of Jacob;
Another will write with his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’
And name himself by the name of Israel.
There Is No Other God
6 “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel,
And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:
a‘I am the First and I am the Last;
Besides Me there is no God.
7 And awho can proclaim as I do?
Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me,
Since I appointed the ancient people.
And the things that are coming and shall come,
Let them show these to them.
aHave I not told you from that time, and declared it?
bYou are My witnesses.
Is there a God besides Me?
Indeed cthere is no other Rock;
I know not one.’ ”
Idolatry Is Foolishness
9 aThose who make an image, all of them are useless,
And their precious things shall not profit;
They are their own witnesses;
bThey neither see nor know, that they may be ashamed.
10 Who would form a god or mold an image
aThat profits him nothing?
11 Surely all his companions would be aashamed;
And the workmen, they are mere men.
Let them all be gathered together,
Let them stand up;
Yet they shall fear,
They shall be ashamed together.
12 aThe blacksmith with the tongs works one in the coals,
Fashions it with hammers,
And works it with the strength of his arms.
Even so, he is hungry, and his strength fails;
He drinks no water and is faint.
13 The craftsman stretches out his rule,
He marks one out with chalk;
He fashions it with a plane,
He marks it out with the compass,
And makes it like the figure of a man,
According to the beauty of a man, that it may *remain in the house.
14 He cuts down cedars for himself,
And takes the cypress and the oak;
He 1secures it for himself among the trees of the forest.
He plants a pine, and the rain nourishes it.
15 Then it shall be for a man to burn,
For he will take some of it and warm himself;
Yes, he kindles it and bakes bread;
Indeed he makes a god and worships it;
He makes it a carved image, and falls down to it.
16 He burns half of it in the fire;
With this half he eats meat;
He roasts a roast, and is satisfied.
He even warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm,
I have seen the fire.”
17 And the rest of it he makes into a god,
His carved image.
He falls down before it and worships it,
Prays to it and says,
“Deliver me, for you are my god!”
18 aThey do not know nor understand;
For bHe has 1shut their eyes, so that they cannot see,
And their hearts, so that they cannot cunderstand.
19 And no one aconsiders in his heart,
Nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say,
“I have burned half of it in the fire,
Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals;
I have roasted meat and eaten it;
And shall I make the rest of it an abomination?
Shall I fall down before a block of wood?”
aA deceived heart has turned him aside;
And he cannot deliver his soul,
Nor say, “Is there not a blie in my right hand?”
Israel Is Not Forgotten
21 “Remember these, O Jacob,
And Israel, for you are My servant;
I have formed you, you are My servant;
O Israel, you will not be aforgotten by Me!
22 aI have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions,
And like a cloud, your sins.
*Return to Me, for bI have redeemed you.”
23 aSing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it!
Shout, you lower parts of the earth;
Break forth into singing, you mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!
For the LORD has redeemed Jacob,
And bglorified Himself in Israel.
Judah Will Be Restored
24 Thus says the LORD, ayour Redeemer,
And bHe who formed you from the womb:
“I am the LORD, who makes all things,
cWho stretches out the heavens 1all alone,
Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself;
25 Who afrustrates the signs bof the babblers,
And drives diviners mad;
Who turns wise men backward,
cAnd makes their knowledge foolishness;
26 aWho confirms the word of His servant,
And performs the counsel of His messengers;
Who says to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be inhabited,’
To the cities of Judah, ‘You shall be *built,’
And I will raise up her waste places;
27 aWho says to the deep, ‘Be dry!
And I will dry up your rivers’;
28 Who says of aCyrus, ‘He is My shepherd,
And he shall perform all My pleasure,
Saying to Jerusalem, b“You shall be built,”
And to the *temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.” ’