Cyrus, God’s Instrument
1 “Thus says the LORD to His anointed,
To aCyrus, whose bright hand I have 1held—
cTo subdue nations before him
And dloose the armor of kings,
To open before him the double doors,
So that the gates will not be shut:
aAnd1 *make the 2crooked places straight;
bI will break in pieces the gates of bronze
And cut the bars of iron.
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden riches of secret places,
aThat you may know that I, the LORD,
Who bcall you by your name,
Am the God of Israel.
4 For aJacob My servant’s sake,
And Israel My elect,
I have even called you by your name;
I have named you, though you have not known Me.
5 I aam the LORD, and bthere is no other;
There is no God besides Me.
cI will gird you, though you have not known Me,
6 aThat they may bknow from the rising of the sun to its setting
That there is none besides Me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other;
7 I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and acreate calamity;
I, the LORD, do all these things.’
8 “Raina down, you heavens, from above,
And let the skies pour down righteousness;
Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation,
And let righteousness spring up together.
I, the LORD, have created it.
9 “Woe to him who strives with ahis Maker!
Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth!
bShall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’?
10 Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What are you begetting?’
Or to the woman, ‘What have you brought forth?’ ”
The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:
a“Ask Me of things to come concerning bMy sons;
And concerning cthe work of My hands, you command Me.
12 aI have made the earth,
And bcreated man on it.
I—My hands—stretched out the heavens,
And call their host I have commanded.
13 aI have raised him up in righteousness,
And I will 1direct all his ways;
He shall bbuild My city
And let My exiles go free,
cNot for price nor reward,”
Says the LORD of hosts.
The LORD, the Only Savior
14 Thus says the LORD:
a“The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush
And of the Sabeans, men of stature,
Shall come over to you, and they shall be yours;
They shall walk behind you,
They shall come over bin chains;
And they shall bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you, saying, c‘Surely God is in you,
And there is no other;
dThere is no other God.’ ”
15 Truly You are God, awho hide Yourself,
O God of Israel, the Savior!
16 They shall be aashamed
And also disgraced, all of them;
They shall go in confusion together,
Who are makers of idols.
17 aBut Israel shall be *saved by the LORD
With an beverlasting salvation;
You shall not be ashamed or cdisgraced
Forever and ever.
aWho created the heavens,
Who is God,
Who formed the earth and made it,
Who has established it,
Who did not create it 1in vain,
Who formed it to be binhabited:
c“I am the LORD, and there is no other.
19 I have not spoken in asecret,
In a dark place of the earth;
I did not say to the seed of Jacob,
bI, the LORD, speak righteousness,
I declare things that are right.
20 “Assemble yourselves and come;
Draw near together,
You who have escaped from the nations.
aThey have no knowledge,
Who carry the wood of their carved image,
And pray to a god that cannot save.
21 Tell and bring forth your case;
Yes, let them take counsel together.
aWho has declared this from ancient time?
Who has told it from that time?
Have not I, the LORD?
bAnd there is no other God besides Me,
A just God and a Savior;
There is none besides Me.
aAll you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness,
And shall not return,
That to Me every bknee shall bow,
cEvery tongue shall take an oath.
1‘Surely in the LORD I have arighteousness and strength.
To Him men shall come,
And ball shall be ashamed
Who are incensed against Him.
25 aIn the LORD all the descendants of Israel
Shall be justified, and bshall glory.’ ”
Dead Idols and the Living God
1 Bel abows down, Nebo stoops; Their idols were on the beasts and on the cattle.
Your carriages were heavily loaded,
bA burden to the weary beast.
2 They stoop, they bow down together;
They could not deliver the burden,
aBut have themselves gone into captivity.
3 “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob,
And all the remnant of the house of Israel,
aWho have been upheld by Me from 1birth,
Who have been carried from the womb:
4 Even to your old age, aI am He,
And even to gray hairs bI will carry you!
I have made, and I will bear;
Even I will carry, and will deliver you.
5 “Toa whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal
And compare Me, that we should be alike?
6 aThey lavish gold out of the bag,
And weigh silver on the scales;
They hire a bgoldsmith, and he makes it a god;
They prostrate themselves, yes, they worship.
7 aThey bear it on the shoulder, they carry it
And set it in its place, and it stands;
From its place it shall not move.
Though bone cries out to it, yet it cannot answer
Nor save him out of his trouble.
8 “Remember this, and 1show yourselves men;
aRecall to mind, O you transgressors.
9 aRemember the former things of old,
For I am God, and bthere is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me,
10 aDeclaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, b‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’
11 Calling a bird of prey afrom the east,
The man bwho executes My counsel, from a far country.
Indeed cI have spoken it;
I will also bring it to pass.
I have purposed it;
I will also do it.
12 “Listen to Me, you astubborn-hearted,
bWho are far from righteousness:
13 aI bring My righteousness near, it shall not be far off;
My salvation bshall not 1linger.
And I will place csalvation in Zion,
For Israel My glory.
The Humiliation of Babylon
1 “Come adown and bsit in the dust,O virgin daughter of cBabylon;
Sit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of the Chaldeans!
For you shall no more be called
Tender and 1delicate.
2 aTake the millstones and grind meal.
Remove your veil,
Take off the skirt,
Uncover the thigh,
*Pass through the rivers.
3 aYour nakedness shall be uncovered,
Yes, your shame will be seen;
bI will take vengeance,
And I will not arbitrate with a man.”
4 As for aour Redeemer, the LORD of *hosts is His name,
The Holy One of Israel.
5 “Sit in asilence, and go into darkness,
O daughter of the Chaldeans;
bFor you shall no longer be called
The Lady of Kingdoms.
6 aI was angry with My people;
bI have profaned My inheritance,
And given them into your hand.
You showed them no mercy;
cOn the *elderly you laid your yoke very heavily.
7 And you said, ‘I shall be aa lady forever,’
So that you did not btake these things to heart,
cNor remember the latter end of them.
8 “Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures,
Who dwell securely,
Who say in your heart,
‘I am, and there is no one else besides me;
I shall not sit as a widow,
Nor shall I know the loss of children’;
9 But these two things shall come to you
aIn a moment, in one day:
The loss of children, and widowhood.
They shall come upon you in their fullness
Because of the multitude of your sorceries,
For the great abundance of your enchantments.
10 “For you have trusted in your wickedness;
You have said, ‘No one asees me’;
Your wisdom and your knowledge have 1warped you;
And you have said in your heart,
‘I am, and there is no one else besides me.’
11 Therefore evil shall come upon you;
You shall not know from where it arises.
And trouble shall fall upon you;
You will not be able 1to put it off.
And adesolation shall come upon you bsuddenly,
Which you shall not know.
12 “Stand now with your enchantments
And the multitude of your sorceries,
In which you have labored from your youth—
Perhaps you will be able to profit,
Perhaps you will prevail.
13 aYou are wearied in the multitude of your counsels;
Let now bthe1 astrologers, the stargazers,
And 2the monthly prognosticators
Stand up and save you
From what shall come upon you.
14 Behold, they shall be aas stubble,
The fire shall bburn them;
They shall not deliver themselves
From the power of the flame;
It shall not be a coal to be warmed by,
Nor a fire to sit before!
With whom you have labored,
aYour merchants from your youth;
They shall wander each one to his 1quarter.
No one shall save you.
Israel Refined for God’s Glory
1 “Hear this, O house of Jacob,Who are called by the name of Israel,
And have come forth from the wellsprings of Judah;
Who swear by the name of the LORD,
And make mention of the God of Israel,
But anot in truth or in righteousness;
2 For they call themselves aafter the holy city,
And blean on the God of Israel;
The LORD of hosts is His name:
3 “I have adeclared the former things from the beginning;
They went forth from My mouth, and I caused them to hear it.
Suddenly I did them, band they came to pass.
4 Because I knew that you were 1obstinate,
And ayour neck was an iron sinew,
And your brow bronze,
5 Even from the beginning I have declared it to you;
Before it came to pass I proclaimed it to you,
Lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them,
And my carved image and my molded image
Have commanded them.’
See all this.
And will you not declare it?
I have made you hear new things from this time,
Even hidden things, and you did not know them.
7 They are created now and not from the beginning;
And before this day you have not heard them,
Lest you should say, ‘Of course I knew them.’
Surely you did not know;
Surely from long ago your ear was not opened.
For I knew that you would deal very treacherously,
And were called aa transgressor from the womb.
9 “Fora My name’s sake bI will 1defer My anger,
And for My praise I will restrain it from you,
So that I do not cut you off.
10 Behold, aI have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tested you in the bfurnace of affliction.
11 For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it;
For ahow should My name be profaned?
And bI will not give My glory to another.
God’s Ancient Plan to Redeem Israel
12 “Listen to Me, O Jacob,
And Israel, My called:
I am also the Last.
13 Indeed aMy hand has laid the foundation of the earth,
And My right hand has stretched out the heavens;
When bI call to them,
They stand up together.
14 “All of you, assemble yourselves, and hear!
Who among them has declared these things?
aThe LORD loves him;
bHe shall do His pleasure on Babylon,
And His arm shall be against the Chaldeans.
Yes, aI have called him,
I have brought him, and his way will prosper.
16 “Come near to Me, hear this:
aI have not spoken in secret from the beginning;
From the time that it was, I was there.
And now bthe Lord GOD and His Spirit
1Have sent Me.”
17 Thus says athe LORD, your Redeemer,
The Holy One of Israel:
“I am the LORD your God,
Who teaches you to profit,
bWho leads you by the way you should go.
18 aOh, that you had heeded My commandments!
bThen your peace would have been like a river,
And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
19 aYour descendants also would have been like the sand,
And the offspring of your body like the grains of sand;
His name would not have been cut off
Nor destroyed from before Me.”
20 aGo forth from Babylon!
Flee from the Chaldeans!
With a voice of *singing,
Declare, proclaim this,
Utter it to the end of the earth;
Say, “The LORD has bredeemed
His servant Jacob!”
21 And they adid not thirst
When He led them through the deserts;
He bcaused the waters to flow from the rock for them;
He also split the rock, and the waters gushed out.
22 “Therea is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.”
The Servant, the Light to the Gentiles
1 “Listen, aO coastlands, to Me,And take heed, you peoples from afar!
bThe LORD has called Me from the womb;
From the 1matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name.
2 And He has made aMy mouth like a sharp sword;
bIn the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me,
And made Me ca polished shaft;
In His quiver He has hidden Me.”
3 “And He said to me,
a‘You are My servant, O Israel,
bIn whom I will be glorified.’
4 aThen I said, ‘I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength *for nothing and in vain;
Yet surely my 1just reward is with the LORD,
And my 2work with my God.’ ”
5 “And now the LORD says,
Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him,
So that Israel ais 1gathered to Him
(For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD,
And My God shall be My strength),
6 Indeed He says,
‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a alight to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”
7 Thus says the LORD,
The Redeemer of Israel, 1their Holy One,
To Him whom the nation abhors,
To the Servant of rulers:
b“Kings shall see and arise,
Princes also shall worship,
Because of the LORD who is faithful,
The Holy One of Israel;
And He has chosen You.”
8 Thus says the LORD:
“In an aacceptable1 time I have heard You,
And in the day of salvation I have helped You;
I will 2preserve You band give You
As a covenant to the people,
To restore the earth,
To cause them to inherit the desolate 3heritages;
9 That You may say ato the prisoners, ‘Go forth,’
To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
“They shall *feed along the roads,
And their pastures shall be on all desolate heights.
10 They shall neither ahunger nor thirst,
bNeither heat nor sun shall strike them;
For He who has mercy on them cwill lead them,
Even by the springs of water He will guide them.
11 aI will make each of My mountains a road,
And My highways shall be elevated.
12 Surely athese shall come from afar;
Look! Those from the north and the west,
And these from the land of Sinim.”
Be joyful, O earth!
And break out in singing, O mountains!
For the LORD has *comforted His people,
And will have mercy on His afflicted.
God Will Remember Zion
14 aBut Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me,
And my Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Cana a woman forget her nursing child,
1And not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Surely they may forget,
bYet I will not forget you.
16 See, aI have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me.
17 Your 1sons shall make haste;
Your destroyers and those who laid you waste
Shall go away from you.
18 aLift up your eyes, look around and see;
All these gather together and come to you.
As I live,” says the LORD,
“You shall surely clothe yourselves with them all bas an ornament,
And bind them on you as a bride does.
19 “For your waste and desolate places,
And the land of your destruction,
aWill even now be too small for the inhabitants;
And those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 aThe children you will have,
bAfter you have lost the others,
Will say again in your ears,
‘The place is too small for me;
Give me a place where I may dwell.’
21 Then you will say in your heart,
‘Who has begotten these for me,
Since I have lost my children and am desolate,
A captive, and wandering to and fro?
And who has brought these up?
There I was, left alone;
But these, where were they?’ ”
22 aThus says the Lord GOD:
“Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations,
And set up My 1standard for the peoples;
They shall bring your sons in their 2arms,
And your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders;
23 aKings shall be your foster fathers,
And their queens your nursing mothers;
They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth,
And blick up the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the LORD,
cFor they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.”
24 aShall the prey be taken from the mighty,
Or the captives 1of the righteous be delivered?
“Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away,
And the prey of the terrible be delivered;
For I will contend with him who contends with you,
And I will save your children.
26 I will afeed those who oppress you with their own flesh,
And they shall be drunk with their own bblood as with sweet wine.
All flesh cshall know
That I, the LORD, am your Savior,
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
The Servant, Israel’s Hope
1 Thus says the LORD:
“Where is athe certificate of your mother’s divorce,
Whom I have put away?
Or which of My bcreditors is it to whom I have sold you?
For your iniquities cyou have sold yourselves,
And for your transgressions your mother has been put away.
2 Why, when I came, was there no man?
Why, when I called, was there none to answer?
Is My hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem?
Or have I no power to deliver?
Indeed with My arebuke I dry up the sea,
I make the rivers a wilderness;
Their fish stink because there is no water,
And die of thirst.
3 aI clothe the heavens with blackness,
bAnd I make sackcloth their covering.”
The tongue of the learned,
That I should know how to speak
A word in season to him who is bweary.
He awakens Me morning by morning,
He awakens My ear
To hear as the learned.
5 The Lord GOD ahas opened My ear;
And I was not brebellious,
Nor did I turn away.
6 aI gave My back to those who struck Me,
And bMy cheeks to those who plucked out the beard;
I did not hide My face from shame and cspitting.
7 “For the Lord GOD will help Me;
Therefore I will not be disgraced;
Therefore aI have set My face like a flint,
And I know that I will not be ashamed.
8 aHe is near who justifies Me;
Who will contend with Me?
Let us stand together.
Who is 1My adversary?
Let him come near Me.
9 Surely the Lord GOD will help Me;
Who is he who will condemn Me?
aIndeed they will all grow old like a garment;
bThe moth will eat them up.
10 “Who among you fears the LORD?
Who obeys the voice of His Servant?
Who awalks in darkness
And has no light?
bLet him trust in the name of the LORD
And rely upon his God.
11 Look, all you who kindle a fire,
Who encircle yourselves with sparks:
Walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks you have kindled—
aThis you shall have from My hand:
You shall lie down bin torment.
The LORD Comforts Zion
1 “Listen to Me, ayou who 1follow after righteousness,
You who seek the LORD:
Look to the rock from which you were hewn,
And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug.
2 aLook to Abraham your father,
And to Sarah who bore you;
bFor I called him alone,
And cblessed him and increased him.”
3 For the LORD will acomfort* Zion,
He will comfort all her waste places;
He will make her wilderness like Eden,
And her desert blike the garden of the LORD;
Joy and gladness will be found in it,
*Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.
And give ear to Me, O My nation:
aFor *law will proceed from Me,
And I will make My justice rest
bAs a light of the peoples.
5 aMy righteousness is near,
My salvation has gone forth,
bAnd My arms will judge the peoples;
cThe coastlands will *wait upon Me,
And don My arm they will trust.
6 aLift up your eyes to the heavens,
And look on the earth beneath.
For bthe heavens will vanish away like smoke,
cThe earth will grow old like a garment,
And those who dwell in it will die in like manner;
But My salvation will be dforever,
And My righteousness will not be 1abolished.
7 “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness,
You people ain whose heart is My law:
bDo not fear the reproach of men,
Nor be afraid of their insults.
8 For athe moth will eat them up like a garment,
And the worm will eat them like wool;
But My righteousness will be forever,
And My salvation from generation to generation.”
9 aAwake, awake, bput on strength,
O arm of the LORD!
Awake cas in the ancient days,
In the generations of old.
dAre You not the arm that cut eRahab apart,
And wounded the fserpent?
10 Are You not the One who adried up the sea,
The waters of the great deep;
That made the depths of the sea a road
For the redeemed to cross over?
11 So athe ransomed of the LORD shall return,
And come to Zion with *singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness;
Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
12 “I, even I, am He awho comforts you.
Who are you that you should be afraid
bOf a man who will die,
And of the son of a man who will be made clike grass?
13 And ayou forget the LORD your Maker,
bWho stretched out the heavens
And laid the foundations of the earth;
You have feared continually every day
Because of the fury of the oppressor,
When he has prepared to destroy.
cAnd where is the fury of the oppressor?
14 The captive exile hastens, that he may be loosed,
aThat he should not die in the pit,
And that his bread should not fail.
15 But I am the LORD your God,
Who adivided the sea whose waves roared—
The LORD of hosts is His name.
16 And aI have put My words in your mouth;
bI have covered you with the shadow of My hand,
cThat I may 1plant the heavens,
Lay the foundations of the earth,
And say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’ ”
God’s Fury Removed
17 aAwake, awake!
Stand up, O Jerusalem,
You who bhave drunk at the hand of the LORD
The cup of His fury;
You have drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling,
And drained it out.
18 There is no one to guide her
Among all the sons she has brought forth;
Nor is there any who takes her by the hand
Among all the sons she has brought up.
19 aThese two things have come to you;
Who will be sorry for you?—
Desolation and destruction, famine and sword—
bBy whom will I comfort you?
20 aYour sons have fainted,
They lie at the head of all the streets,
Like an antelope in a net;
They are full of the fury of the LORD,
The rebuke of your God.
21 Therefore please hear this, you afflicted,
And drunk abut not with wine.
The LORD and your God,
Who apleads the cause of His people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
The cup of trembling,
The dregs of the cup of My fury;
You shall no longer drink it.
23 aBut I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you,
Who have said to 1you,
‘Lie down, that we may walk over you.’
And you have laid your body like the ground,
And as the street, for those who walk over.”
God Redeems Jerusalem
1 Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion;
Put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city!
For the uncircumcised aand the unclean
Shall no longer come to you.
2 aShake yourself from the dust, arise;
Sit down, O Jerusalem!
bLoose yourself from the bonds of your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion!
3 For thus says the LORD:
a“You have sold yourselves for nothing,
And you shall be redeemed bwithout money.”
4 For thus says the Lord GOD:
“My people went down at first
Then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.
5 Now therefore, what have I here,” says the LORD,
“That My people are taken away for nothing?
Those who rule over them
1Make them wail,” says the LORD,
“And My name is ablasphemed continually every day.
6 Therefore My people shall know My name;
Therefore they shall know in that day
That I am He who speaks:
‘Behold, it is I.’ ”
7 aHow beautiful upon the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who proclaims peace,
Who brings glad tidings of *good things,
Who proclaims salvation,
Who says to Zion,
b“Your God reigns!”
8 Your watchmen shall lift up their voices,
With their voices they shall sing together;
For they shall see eye to eye
When the LORD brings back Zion.
9 Break forth into joy, sing together,
You waste places of Jerusalem!
For the LORD has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 aThe LORD has 1made bare His holy arm
In the eyes of ball the nations;
And all the ends of the earth shall see
The salvation of our God.
11 aDepart! Depart! Go out from there,
Touch no unclean thing;
Go out from the midst of her,
bBe clean,
You who bear the vessels of the LORD.
12 For ayou shall not go out with haste,
Nor go by flight;
bFor the LORD will go before you,
cAnd the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
The Sin-Bearing Servant
13 Behold, aMy Servant shall 1deal prudently;
bHe shall be exalted and 2extolled and be very high.
14 Just as many were astonished at you,
So His avisage1 was marred more than any man,
And His form more than the sons of men;
15 aSo shall He 1sprinkle many nations.
Kings shall shut their mouths at Him;
For bwhat had not been told them they shall see,
And what they had not heard they shall consider.
1 Who ahas believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been *revealed?
2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no 1form or 2comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no 3beauty that we should desire Him.
3 aHe is despised and 1rejected by men,
A Man of 2sorrows and bacquainted with 3grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and cwe did not esteem Him.
4 Surely aHe has borne our 1griefs
And carried our 2sorrows;
Yet we 3esteemed Him stricken,
4Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was awounded1 for our *transgressions,
He was 2bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His bstripes3 we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD 1has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet aHe opened not His mouth;
bHe was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
8 He was ataken from 1prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For bHe was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9 aAnd 1they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any bdeceit in His mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to 1bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul aan offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.
11 1He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His *knowledge aMy *righteous bServant shall cjustify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
12 aTherefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
bAnd He shall divide the 1spoil with the strong,
Because He cpoured out His soul unto death,
And He was dnumbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
A Perpetual Covenant of Peace
1 “Sing, O abarren,You who have not borne!
Break forth into *singing, and cry aloud,
You who have not labored with child!
For more are the children of the desolate
Than the children of the married woman,” says the LORD.
2 “Enlargea the place of your tent,
And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;
Do not spare;
Lengthen your cords,
And strengthen your stakes.
3 For you shall expand to the right and to the left,
And your descendants will ainherit the nations,
And make the desolate cities inhabited.
4 “Doa not fear, for you will not be ashamed;
Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame;
For you will forget the shame of your youth,
And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.
5 aFor your Maker is your husband,
The LORD of hosts is His name;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;
He is called bthe God of the whole earth.
6 For the LORD ahas called you
Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Like a youthful wife when you were refused,”
Says your God.
7 “Fora a mere moment I have forsaken you,
But with great mercies bI will gather you.
8 With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;
aBut with everlasting kindness I will *have mercy on you,”
Says the LORD, your Redeemer.
9 “For this is like the waters of aNoah to Me;
For as I have sworn
That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,
So have I sworn
That I would not be angry with byou, nor rebuke you.
10 For athe mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
bBut My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”
Says the LORD, who has mercy on you.
11 “O you afflicted one,
Tossed with tempest, and not comforted,
Behold, I will lay your stones with acolorful gems,
And lay your foundations with sapphires.
12 I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
Your gates of crystal,
And all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children shall be ataught by the LORD,
And bgreat 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 Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me.
Whoever assembles against you shall afall for your sake.
16 “Behold, I have created the blacksmith
Who blows the coals in the fire,
Who brings forth an 1instrument for his work;
And I have created the 2spoiler to destroy.
17 No weapon formed against you shall aprosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
bAnd their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the LORD.
An Invitation to Abundant Life
1 “Ho! aEveryone who thirsts,Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
bCome, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
2 Why do you 1spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
3 Incline your ear, and acome to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live;
bAnd I will make an everlasting covenant with you—
The csure mercies of David.
4 Indeed I have given him as aa witness to the people,
bA leader and commander for the people.
5 aSurely you shall call a nation you do not know,
bAnd nations who do not know you shall run to you,
Because of the LORD your God,
And the Holy One of Israel;
cFor He has glorified you.”
6 aSeek the LORD while He may be bfound,
Call upon Him while He is near.
7 aLet the 1wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man bhis thoughts;
Let him return to the LORD,
cAnd He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly *pardon.
8 “Fora My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
9 “Fora as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 “For aas the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the *sower
And bread to the eater,
11 aSo shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me 1void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall bprosper in the thing for which I sent it.
12 “Fora you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall bbreak forth into singing before you,
And call the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 aInstead of bthe thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
And it shall be to the LORD cfor a name,
For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
Salvation for the Gentiles
1 Thus says the LORD:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
aFor My salvation is about to come,
And My righteousness to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man who does this,
And the son of man who lays hold on it;
aWho keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3 Do not let athe 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 beunuch say,
“Here I am, a dry tree.”
“To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And hold fast My covenant,
5 Even to them I will give in aMy house
And within My walls a place band 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—
7 Even them I will abring to My holy mountain,
And *make them joyful in My bhouse of prayer.
cTheir burnt offerings and their sacrifices
Will be daccepted on My altar;
For eMy house shall be called a house of prayer ffor all nations.”
8 The Lord GOD, awho gathers the outcasts of Israel, says,
b“Yet I will gather to him
Others besides those who are gathered to him.”
Israel’s Irresponsible Leaders
9 aAll you beasts of the field, come to devour,
All you beasts in the forest.
They are all ignorant;
bThey are all dumb dogs,
They cannot bark;
1Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
11 Yes, they are agreedy1 dogs
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 adrink;
And much more abundant.”
Israel’s Futile Idolatry
1 The 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.
They shall rest in atheir beds,
Each one walking in his uprightness.
aYou sons of the sorceress,
You offspring of the adulterer and the harlot!
4 Whom 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,
5 Inflaming yourselves with gods aunder every green tree,
bSlaying the children in the valleys,
Under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth astones 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 bthese?
7 “Ona a lofty and high mountain
You have set byour bed;
Even there you went up
To offer sacrifice.
8 Also 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 1made* a covenant with them;
aYou have loved their bed,
Where you saw their 2nudity.
9 aYou went to the king with ointment,
And increased your perfumes;
You sent your bmessengers far off,
And even descended to Sheol.
10 You are wearied in the length of your way;
aYet you did not say, ‘There is no hope.’
You have found the life of your hand;
Therefore you were not grieved.
11 “And aof 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 bI have 1held My peace from of old
That you do not fear Me?
12 I will declare your righteousness
And your works,
For they will not profit you.
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
14 And one shall say,
a“Heap it up! Heap it up!
Prepare the way,
Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.”
15 For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, awhose name is *Holy:
b“I dwell in the high and holy place,
cWith him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
dTo revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
16 aFor I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would fail before Me,
And the souls bwhich I have made.
17 For the iniquity of ahis covetousness
I was angry and struck him;
bI hid and was angry,
cAnd he went on 1backsliding in the way of his heart.
18 I 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 athe fruit of the lips:
Peace, peace bto him who is far off and to him who is near,”
Says the LORD,
“And I will heal him.”
20 aBut the wicked are like the troubled sea,
When it cannot rest,
Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
21 “Therea 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.
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 ‘Whya have we *fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?
Why have we bafflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’
“In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And 1exploit all your laborers.
4 aIndeed 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.
5 Is ait a fast that I have chosen,
bA day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And cto 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 aloose the bonds of wickedness,
cTo let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
7 Is it not ato share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the *poor who are 1cast out;
bWhen you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from cyour own flesh?
8 aThen your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
bThe 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 the yoke from your midst,
The 1pointing of the finger, and aspeaking wickedness,
10 If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your 1darkness shall be as the noonday.
11 The 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.
12 Those from among you
aShall 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 1Streets to Dwell In.
13 “If ayou 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,
14 aThen you shall delight yourself in the LORD;
And I will cause you to bride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
cThe mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Separated from God
1 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not ashortened,
That it cannot save;
Nor His ear heavy,
That it cannot hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will anot hear.
3 For ayour hands are defiled with 1blood,
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken lies,
Your tongue has *muttered perversity.
Nor does any plead for truth.
They trust in aempty words and speak lies;
bThey conceive 1evil and bring forth iniquity.
5 They 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.
6 aTheir 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.
7 aTheir feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed binnocent blood;
cTheir thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
Wasting and ddestruction are in their paths.
8 The way of apeace they have not known,
And there is no justice in their ways;
bThey have made themselves crooked paths;
Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.
Sin Confessed
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
Nor does righteousness overtake us;
aWe look for light, but there is darkness!
For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
10 aWe 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.
And amoan sadly like doves;
We look for justice, but there is none;
For salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our atransgressions are multiplied before You,
And our sins testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And as for our iniquities, we know them:
13 In transgressing and lying against the LORD,
And departing from our God,
Speaking oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and uttering afrom the heart words of falsehood.
And righteousness stands afar off;
For truth is fallen in the street,
And equity cannot enter.
And he who departs from evil makes himself a aprey.
The Redeemer of Zion
Then the LORD saw it, and 1it displeased Him
That there was no justice.
16 aHe saw that there was no man,
And bwondered that there was no *intercessor;
cTherefore His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
17 aFor 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.
18 aAccording to their deeds, accordingly He will repay,
Fury to His adversaries,
Recompense to His enemies;
The coastlands He will fully repay.
The name of the LORD from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the enemy comes in blike a flood,
The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.
20 “Thea 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
1 Arise, ashine; For your light has come!
And bthe glory of the LORD is risen upon you.
2 For 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.
3 The aGentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
4 “Lifta up your eyes all around, and see:
They all gather together, bthey come to you;
Your sons shall come from afar,
And your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
5 Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy;
Because athe abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.
6 The multitude of camels shall cover your land,
The dromedaries of Midian and aEphah;
All those from bSheba shall come;
They shall bring cgold and incense,
And they shall proclaim the praises of the LORD.
7 All the flocks of aKedar shall be gathered together to you,
The rams of Nebaioth shall *minister to you;
They shall ascend with bacceptance on My altar,
And cI will glorify the house of My glory.
8 “Who are these who fly like a cloud,
And like doves to their roosts?
9 aSurely the coastlands shall wait for Me;
And the ships of Tarshish will come first,
bTo bring your sons from afar,
cTheir silver and their gold with them,
To the name of the LORD your God,
And to the Holy One of Israel,
dBecause He has glorified you.
10 “Thea sons of foreigners shall build up your walls,
bAnd their kings shall minister to you;
For cin My wrath I struck you,
dBut in My *favor I have had mercy on you.
11 Therefore your gates ashall 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.
12 aFor the nation and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish,
And those nations shall be utterly ruined.
13 “Thea 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 bthe place of My feet glorious.
14 Also the sons of those who afflicted you
Shall come abowing to you,
And all those who despised you shall bfall prostrate at the soles of your feet;
And they shall call you The City of the LORD,
cZion 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.
16 You shall drink the milk of the Gentiles,
aAnd milk the breast of kings;
You shall know that bI, 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.
18 Violence shall no longer be heard in your land,
Neither 1wasting nor destruction within your borders;
But you shall call ayour walls Salvation,
And your gates *Praise.
God the Glory of His People
19 “The asun 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 byour God your glory.
20 aYour 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.
21 aAlso your people shall all be righteous;
bThey shall *inherit the land forever,
cThe branch of My planting,
dThe work of My hands,
That I may be glorified.
22 aA little one shall become a thousand,
And a small one a strong nation.
I, the LORD, will hasten it in its time.”