Category: Isaiah

1 Let the islands be silent before me, and let the nations take new strength. Let them draw near, and then speak. Let us apply for judgment together.

2 Who has raised up a just man from the east, and has called him to follow him? He will place the nations under his gaze, and he will rule over kings. He will cause them to be like dust before his sword, like chaff driven by the wind before his bow.

3 He will pursue them. He will pass by in peace. No trace will appear after his feet.

4 Who has worked and accomplished these things, calling to the generations from the beginning? “It is I, the Lord! I am the first and the last.”

5 The islands saw it and were afraid. The ends of the earth were stupefied. They drew near and arrived.

6 Each one will help his neighbor and will say to his brother, “Be strengthened.”

7 The coppersmith striking with the mallet encouraged him who was forging at that time, saying, “It is ready for soldering.” And he strengthened it with nails, so that it would not be moved.

8 But you, O Israel, are my servant, O Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of my friend Abraham.

9 For his sake, I have taken you from the ends of the earth, and I have called you from its distant places. And I said to you: “You are my servant. I have chosen you, and I have not cast you aside.”

10 Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not turn away, for I am your God. I have strengthened you, and I have assisted you, and the right hand of my just one has upheld you.

11 Behold, all who fight against you shall be confounded and ashamed. They will be as if they did not exist, and the men who contradict you will perish.

12 You will seek them, and you will not find them. The men who rebel against you will be as if they did not exist. And the men who make war against you will be like something that has been consumed.

13 For I am the Lord your God. I take you by your hand, and I say to you: Do not be afraid. I have helped you.

14 Fear not, O worm of Jacob, you who are dead within Israel. I have helped you, says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

15 I have established you like a new threshing cart, having serrated blades. You will thresh the mountains and crush them. And you will turn the hills into chaff.

16 You will winnow them, and the wind will blow them away, and the whirlwind will scatter them. And you shall exult in the Lord; you shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

17 The indigent and the poor are seeking water, but there is none. Their tongue has been dried up by thirst. I, the Lord, will heed them. I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.

18 I will open rivers in the high hills, and fountains in the midst of the plains. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the impassable land into streams of water.

19 I will plant the cedar in a deserted place, with the thorn, and the myrtle, and the olive tree. In the desert, I will plant the pine, and the elm, and the box tree together,

20 so that they may see and know, acknowledge and understand, together, that the hand of the Lord has accomplished this, and that the Holy One of Israel has created it.

21 Bring your case forward, says the Lord. Bring it here, if you have anything to allege, says the King of Jacob.

22 Let them approach and announce to us the things that will occur. Announce to us the things that were before. And we will apply our heart to them, and we will know their end. And so, reveal to us the things that will occur.

23 Announce the things that will occur in the future, and we will know that you are gods. Likewise, accomplish good or evil, if you are able, and let us speak of it and see it together.

24 Behold, you exist out of nothing, and your work is from what does not exist; he who has chosen you is an abomination.

25 I have raised up one from the north, and he will arrive from the rising of the sun. He will call upon my name, and he will reduce magistrates to mud, like a potter working with clay.

26 Who has announced this from its rising, so that we may know it, or from its beginning, so that we may say, “You are just.” There is no one who either announces, or predicts, or hears your words.

27 The first one will say to Zion: “Behold, they are here,” and to Jerusalem, “I will present an evangelist.”

28 And I saw, and there was no one among any of them to consult, or who, when I asked, could answer a word.

29 Behold, they are all unjust, and their works are empty. Their idols are wind and emptiness.

1 Behold my servant, I will uphold him, my elect, with him my soul is well-pleased. I have sent my Spirit upon him. He will offer judgment to the nations.

2 He will not cry out, and he will not show favoritism to anyone; neither will his voice be heard abroad.

3 The bruised reed he will not break, and the smoldering wick he will not extinguish. He will lead forth judgment unto truth.

4 He will not be saddened or troubled, until he establishes judgment on earth. And the islands will await his law.

5 Thus says the Lord God, who created the heavens and expanded it, who formed the earth and all that springs from it, who gives breath to the people in it, and spirit to those walking on it.

6 I, the Lord, have called you in justice, and I have taken your hand and preserved you. And I have presented you as a covenant of the people, as a light to the Gentiles,

7 so that you may open the eyes of the blind, and lead out the prisoner from confinement and those sitting in darkness from the house of incarceration.

8 I am the Lord; this is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to graven things.

9 The things that were first, behold, they have arrived. And I also announce what is new. Before these things arise, I will cause you to hear about them.

10 Sing to the Lord a new canticle, sing his praise from the ends of the earth, you who descend into the sea and all its fullness, the islands and their inhabitants.

11 Let the desert and its cities be lifted up. Kedar will dwell in houses. O inhabitants of the rock, give praise! They will cry out from the top of the mountains.

12 They will give glory to the Lord, and they will announce his praise to the islands.

13 The Lord will go forth like a strong man; like a man of battle, he will stir up zeal. He will shout and cry out. He will prevail against his enemies.

14 I have always been quiet; I have been silent; I have been patient. I will speak like a woman giving birth. I will destroy and consume, all at once.

15 I will desolate the mountains and the hills, and I will wither all their grass. And I will turn rivers into islands, and I will dry up the pools of water.

16 And I will lead the blind along a way which they do not know. And I will cause them to walk along paths with which they were unfamiliar. I will turn darkness into light before them, and crooked into straight. These things I have done for them. For I have not abandoned them.

17 They have been converted again. Let those who trust in graven idols be greatly confounded, for they say to a molten thing, “You are our god.”

18 You who are deaf, hear! You who are blind, turn your gaze and see!

19 Who is blind, except my servant? Who is deaf, except the one to whom I have sent my messengers? Who is blind, except the one who has been sold? And who is blind, except the servant of the Lord?

20 You who see many things, will you not keep them? You who have open ears, will you not listen?

21 And the Lord was willing to sanctify him, and to magnify the law, and to exalt him.

22 But this same people has robbed and laid waste. All their youth are a snare, and they have been hidden in houses of confinement. They have become victims; there is no one who may rescue them. They have been plundered; there is no one who may say, “Restore.”

23 Who is there among you who will hear this, who will listen closely and heed this in the future?

24 Who has handed over Jacob into plunder, and Israel into devastation? It is not the Lord himself, against whom we have sinned? And they were not willing to walk in his ways, and they have not listened to his law.

25 And so, he poured out over him the indignation of his fury and a strong battle. And he burned him all around, and he did not realize it. And he set him on fire, and he did not understand it.

1 And now thus says the Lord who created you, O Jacob, and who formed you, O Israel: Do not be afraid. For I have redeemed you, and I have called you by your name. You are mine.

2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and the rivers will not cover you. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and the flames will not scorch you.

3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. I have presented Egypt as your atonement, Ethiopia and Seba on your behalf.

4 Since then, you have become honorable in my eyes, and glorious. I have loved you, and I will present men on behalf of you, and people on behalf of your life.

5 Fear not, for I am with you. I will lead your offspring from the East, and I will gather you from the West.

6 I will say to the North, “Release him,” and to the South, “Do not turn him away.” Bring my sons from far away, and my daughters from the ends of the earth.

7 And each one who calls upon my name, I have created for my glory. I have formed him, and I have made him.

8 Lead forth the people who are blind and have eyes, who are deaf and have ears.

9 All the nations have been assembled together, and the tribes have been collected. Who among you will announce this, and who will cause us to listen to the things that are first? Let them present their witnesses. Let them act justly, and listen, and say: “It is true.”

10 You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and you are my servant, whom I have chosen, so that you may know, and may believe in me, and so that you may understand that I am the same. Before me, there was no god formed, and after me there will be none.

11 I am. I am the Lord. And there is no savior apart from me.

12 I have announced, and I have saved. I have caused it to be heard. And there was no stranger among you. You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and I am God.

13 And from the beginning, I am the same. And there is no one who can rescue from my hand. I act, and who can turn it aside?

14 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake, I sent to Babylon, and tore down all their bars, with the Chaldeans who glory in their ships.

15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.

16 Thus says the Lord, who gave you a way through the sea and a path through the torrent of waters,

17 who led out the chariot and the horse, the column of robust troops. They went to sleep together, and they will not arise. They have been crushed like flax, and they have been extinguished.

18 You need not call to mind the past, nor consider the things of antiquity.

19 Behold, I am accomplishing new things. And presently, they will spring forth. With certainty, you will know them. I will make a way in the desert, and rivers in an impassible place.

20 The wild beasts of the field will glorify me, with the serpents and the ostriches. For I have brought waters to the desert, rivers to inaccessible places, in order to give drink to my people, to my elect.

21 This is the people whom I have formed for myself. They will speak my praise.

22 But you have not called upon me, O Jacob, nor have you struggled for me, O Israel.

23 You have not offered me the ram of your holocaust, and you have not glorified me with your victims. I have not burdened you with oblations, nor have I wearied you with incense.

24 You have bought me no sweet cane with money, and you have not inebriated me with the fat of your victims. Yet truly, you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities.

25 I am. I am the very One who wipes away your iniquities for my own sake. And I will not remember your sins.

26 Call me to mind, and let us go to judgment together. If you have anything to justify yourself, explain it.

27 Your first father sinned, and your interpreters have betrayed me.

28 And so, I have defiled the holy leaders. I have handed over Jacob to slaughter, and Israel to calumny.

1 And now, listen, Jacob, my servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen.

2 Thus says the Lord, who made and formed you, your Helper from the womb: Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant and my most righteous, whom I have chosen.

3 For I will pour out waters upon the thirsty ground, and rivers upon the dry land. I will pour out my Spirit upon your offspring, and my benediction upon your stock.

4 And they will spring up among the plants, like willows beside running waters.

5 This one will say, “I am the Lord’s,” and that one will call himself by the name of Jacob, and yet another will write with his hand, “For the Lord,” and he will take the name Israel.

6 Thus says the Lord, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the Lord of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last, and there is no God apart from me.

7 Who is like me? Let him call out and announce it. And let him explain to me the order of things, since it is I who appointed the ancient people. The things of the near and the distant future, let him announce them.

8 Do not be afraid, and do not be disturbed. From the time when I caused you to listen, I also announced it. You are my witnesses. Is there another God beside me, also a Maker, whom I have not known?

9 All of those who create idols are nothing, and their most beloved things will not benefit them. These are their witnesses, for they do not see, and they do not understand, so that they might be confounded.

10 Who has formed a god or cast a molten image, which is useful for nothing?

11 Behold, all those who partake in this will be confounded. For these makers are men. They will all assemble together. They will stand and be terrified. And they will be confounded together.

12 The maker of iron has wrought with his file. With coals and hammers, he has formed it, and he has wrought with the strength of his arm. He will hunger and grow faint. He will not drink water, and he will become weary.

13 The maker of wood has extended his ruler. He has formed it with a plane. He has made it with corners, and he has smoothed its curves. And he has made the image of a man, a seemingly beautiful man, dwelling in a house.

14 He has cut down cedars; he has taken the evergreen oak, and the oak that stood among the trees of the forest. He has planted the pine tree, which the rain has nourished.

15 And it is used by men for fuel. He took from it and warmed himself. And he set it on fire and baked bread. But from the remainder, he made a god, and he adored it. He made an idol, and he bowed down before it.

16 Part of it, he burned with fire, and with part of it, he cooked meat; he boiled food and was filled. And he was warmed, and so he said: “Ah, I am warm. I have gazed at the fire.”

17 But from its remainder, he made a god and a graven image for himself. He bowed down before it, and he adored it, and he prayed to it, saying: “Free me! For you are my god.”

18 They have neither known nor understood. For their eyes are obscured, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart.

19 They do not consider in their mind, nor do they know, nor do they think to say: “I have burned part of it in the fire, and I have baked bread upon its coals. I have cooked flesh and I have eaten. And from its remainder, should I make an idol? Should I fall prostrate before the trunk of a tree?”

20 Part of it is ashes. His foolish heart adores it. And he will not liberate his soul, and he will not say, “Perhaps there is a lie in my right hand.”

21 Remember these things, O Jacob, O Israel. For you are my servant. I have formed you. You are my servant, Israel. Do not forget me.

22 I have wiped away your iniquities like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to me, because I have redeemed you.

23 Give praise, O heavens! For the Lord has shown mercy. Shout with joy, O ends of the earth! Let the mountains resound with praise, with the forest and all its trees. For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and Israel will be glorified.

24 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and your Maker from the womb: I am the Lord, who makes all things, who alone extends the heavens, who makes the earth firm. And there is no one with me.

25 I make the signs of the diviners useless, and I turn the seers to madness. I turn the wise backwards, and make their knowledge into foolishness.

26 I lift up the word of my servant, and I fulfill the counsel of my messengers. I say to Jerusalem, “You shall be inhabited,” and to the cities of Judah, “You shall be rebuilt,” and I will lift up its deserts.

27 I say to the depths, “Be desolate,” and, “I will dry up your rivers.”

28 I say to Cyrus, “You are my shepherd, and you will accomplish all that I will.” I say to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,” and to the Temple, “Your foundations shall be laid.”

1 Thus says the Lord to my anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I hold, so that I may subjugate the nations before his face, and I may turn the backs of kings, and I may open the doors before him, and so that the gates will not be shut.

2 I will go before you. And I will humble the glorious ones of the earth. I will shatter the gates of brass, and I will break apart the bars of iron.

3 And I will give you hidden treasures and the knowledge of secret things, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls your name.

4 For the sake of Jacob, my servant, and Israel, my elect, I have even called you by your name. I have taken you up, and you have not known me.

5 I am the Lord, and there is no one else. There is no god beside me. I girded you, and you have not known me.

6 So may those who are from the rising of the sun, and those who are from its setting, know that there is no one beside me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.

7 I form the light and create the darkness. I make peace and create disaster. I, the Lord, do all these things.

8 Send down dew from above, O heavens, and let the clouds rain down upon the just! Let the earth open and spring forth a savior! And let justice rise up at once! I, the Lord, have created him.

9 Woe to him who contradicts his Maker, a mere shard from an earthen vessel! Should the clay say to the potter, “What are you making?” or, “Your work is not made by your hands?”

10 Woe to him who says to his father, “Why did you conceive?” or to a woman, “Why did you give birth?”

11 Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, his Maker: Would you question me about the future, concerning my sons, and command me concerning the work of my hands?

12 I made the earth, and I created man upon it. My hand stretched out the heavens, and I have commanded all their hosts.

13 I have raised him up unto justice, and I will direct all his ways. He himself will build my city and release my captives, but not for ransom or gifts, says the Lord, the God of hosts.

14 Thus says the Lord: The labor of Egypt, and the business dealings of Ethiopia, and of the Sabeans, men of stature, will pass to you and will be yours. They will walk behind you. They will travel, bound in irons. And they will adore you and petition you: “In you alone is God, and there is no God apart from you.

15 Truly, you are a hidden God, the God of Israel, the Savior.”

16 They have all been confounded and should be ashamed! These fabricators of errors have departed together into confusion!

17 Israel is saved in the Lord by an eternal salvation. You will not be confounded, and you will not be ashamed, even forever and ever.

18 For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens, God himself who formed the earth and made it, the very Molder of it. He did not create it to no purpose. He formed it so that it would be inhabited. I am the Lord, and there is no other.

19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth. I have not said to the offspring of Jacob, “Seek me in vain.” I am the Lord, who speaks justice, who announces what is right.

20 Assemble yourselves, and approach, and draw near together, you who have been saved among the Gentiles. They lack knowledge, who lift up the wood of their sculpture, and who petition a god unable to save.

21 Announce it, and approach, and consult together. Who has caused this to be heard from the beginning, and who has foretold it from that time? Is it not I, the Lord? And is there some other god beside me? I am a just God who saves, and there is no one except me.

22 All ends of the earth, be converted to me, and you will be saved. For I am God, and there is no other.

23 I have sworn by myself. The Word of justice will proceed from my mouth, and it will not turn back.

24 For every knee shall bend to me, and every tongue shall swear it.

25 Therefore, he will say, “In the Lord are my justices and my dominion.” They will go to him. And all who fight against him will be confounded.

26 In the Lord, all the offspring of Israel will be justified and praised.

1 Bel has been broken. Nebo has been crushed. Their idols have been placed upon beasts and cattle, your grievous heavy burdens, even unto exhaustion.

2 They have been melted down, or have been smashed together. They were not able to save the one who carried them, and their life will go into captivity.

3 Listen to me, house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who are carried in my bosom, who were born from my womb.

4 Even to your old age, I am the same. And even with your grey hairs, I will carry you. I have made you, and I will sustain you. I will carry you, and I will save you.

5 To whom would you likened me, or equate me, or compare me, or consider me to be similar?

6 You take gold from a bag, and you weigh silver on a scale, so as to hire a goldsmith to make a god. And they fall prostrate and adore.

7 They carry him on their shoulders, supporting him, and they set him in his place. And he will stand still and will not move from his place. But even when they will cry out to him, he will not hear. He will not save them from tribulation.

8 Remember this, and be confounded. Return, you transgressors, to the heart.

9 Remember the past ages. For I am God, and there is no other god. There is no one like me.

10 From the beginning, I announce the last things, and from the start, the things that have not yet been done, saying: My plan will stand firm, and my entire will shall be done.

11 I call a bird from the east, and from a far away land, the man of my will. And I have spoken it, and I will carry it out. I have created, and I will act.

12 Hear me, you who are hard of heart, who are far from justice!

13 I have brought my justice near. It will not be far away, and my salvation will not be delayed. I will grant salvation in Zion, and my glory in Israel.

1 Descend, sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon! Sit on the ground. There is no throne for the daughter of the Chaldeans. For you shall no longer be called delicate and tender.

2 Take a millstone and grind meal. Uncover your shame, bare your shoulder, reveal your legs, cross the streams.

3 Your disgrace will be revealed, and your shame will be seen. I will seize vengeance, and no man will withstand me.

4 Our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.

5 Sit in silence, and enter into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no longer be called the noblewoman of kingdoms.

6 I was angry with my people. I have polluted my inheritance, and I have given them into your hand. You have not shown mercy to them. You have greatly increased the burden of your yoke upon the elders.

7 And you have said: “I will be a noblewoman forever.” You have not set these things upon your heart, and you have not remembered your end.

8 And now, hear these things, you who are delicate and have confidence, who say in your heart: “I am, and there is no one greater than me. I will not sit as a widow, and I will not know barrenness.”

9 These two things will suddenly overwhelm you in one day: barrenness and widowhood. All things shall overwhelm you, because of the multitude of your sorceries and because of the great cruelty of your enchantments.

10 And you have trusted in your malice, and you have said: “There is no one who sees me.” Your wisdom and your knowledge, these have deceived you. And you have said in your heart: “I am, and beside me there is no other.”

11 Evil will overwhelm you, and you will not notice its rising. And calamity will fall violently over you, and you will not be able to avert it. You will suddenly be overwhelmed by a misery such as you have never known.

12 Stand with your incantations, and with the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have labored from your youth, as if somehow it might benefit you, or as if it were able to make you stronger.

13 You have failed in the multitude of your plans! Let the seers stand and save you, those who were contemplating the stars, and figuring the months, so that from these they might announce to you the things to come.

14 Behold, they have become like stubble. Fire has consumed them. They will not free themselves from the power of the flames. These are not coals by which they may be warmed, nor is this a fire which they may sit beside.

15 So have all these things, in which you have labored, become to you. Your merchants from your youth, each one has erred in his own way. There is no one who can save you.

1 Listen to these things, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, and who went forth from the waters of Judah. You swear by the name of the Lord and you call to mind the God of Israel, but not in truth, and not in justice.

2 For they have been called from the holy city, and they have been founded upon the God of Israel. The Lord of hosts is his name.

3 From that time, I announced the former things. They went forth from my mouth, and I have caused them to be heard. I wrought these things suddenly, and they were fulfilled.

4 For I knew that you are stubborn, and that your neck is like an iron sinew, and that your forehead is like brass.

5 From that time, I foretold to you. Before these things happened, I revealed them to you, lest you say: “My idols have accomplished these things, and my graven and molten images have commanded them.”

6 See all the things that you have heard. But were you the ones who announced them? From that time, I caused you to hear about new things, and you do not know how these were preserved.

7 They are created now, and not in that time. And even before today, you did not hear of them; otherwise, you might say, “Behold, I knew them.”

8 You have neither heard, nor known, nor were your ears open in that time. For I knew that you would transgress greatly, and so I called you a transgressor from the womb.

9 For the sake of my name, I will take the face of my fury far away. And for the sake of my praise, I will bridle you, lest you perish.

10 Behold, I have refined you, but not like silver. I have chosen you for the furnace of poverty.

11 For my sake, for my own sake, I will do it, so that I may not be blasphemed. For I will not give my glory to another.

12 Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel whom I call. I am the same, I am the first, and I am the last.

13 Also, my hand has founded the earth, and my right hand has measured the heavens. I will call them, and they will stand together.

14 Gather together, all of you, and listen. Who among them has announced these things? The Lord has loved him; he will do his will with Babylon, and his arm is upon the Chaldeans.

15 I am, I have spoken, and I have called him. I have led him forward, and his way has been straight.

16 Draw near to me, and listen to this. From the beginning, I have not spoken in secret. From the time before it happened, I was there. And now, the Lord God has sent me, and his Spirit.

17 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord, your God, who teaches you beneficial things, who guides you in the way that you walk.

18 If only you had paid attention to my commandments! Your peace would have been like a river, and your justice would have been like the waves of the sea,

19 and your offspring would have been like the sand, and the stock from your loins would have been like its stones. His name would not have passed away, nor would it have been worn away before my face.

20 Depart from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! Announce it with a voice of exultation. Cause it to be heard, and carry it even to the ends of the earth. Say: “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.”

21 They did not thirst in the desert, when he led them out. He produced water from the rock for them. For he split the rock, and the waters flowed out.

22 “There is no peace for the impious,” says the Lord.

1 Pay attention, you islands, and listen closely, you far away peoples. The Lord has called me from the womb; from the womb of my mother, he has been mindful of my name.

2 And he has appointed my mouth as a sharp sword. In the shadow of his hand, he has protected me. And he has appointed me as an elect arrow. In his quiver, he has hidden me.

3 And he has said to me: “You are my servant, Israel. For in you, I will glory.”

4 And I said: “I have labored toward emptiness. I have consumed my strength without purpose and in vain. Therefore, my judgment is with the Lord, and my work is with my God.”

5 And now, says the Lord, who formed me from the womb as his servant, so that I may bring back Jacob to him, for Israel will not be gathered together, but I have been glorified in the eyes of the Lord and my God has become my strength,

6 and so he has said: “It is a small thing that you should be my servant so as to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and so as to convert the dregs of Israel. Behold, I have offered you as a light for the Gentiles, so that you may be my salvation, even to the furthest regions of the earth.”

7 Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to a contemptible soul, to an abominable nation, to the servant of lords: The kings will see, and the princes will rise up, and they will adore, because of the Lord. For he is faithful, and he is the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.

8 Thus says the Lord: In a pleasing time, I have heeded you, and in the day of salvation, I have assisted you. And I have preserved you, and I have presented you as a covenant of the people, so that you would lift up the earth, and possess the scattered inheritances,

9 so that you would say to those who are bound, “Go forth!” and to those who are in darkness, “Be released!” They will pasture along the roads, and their pastures will be in every open place.

10 They will not hunger or thirst, nor will the heat of the sun beat down upon them. For the one who takes pity on them will rule them, and he will give them to drink from fountains of waters.

11 And I will make all my mountains into a road, and my paths will be exalted.

12 Behold, some will come from far away, and behold, others from the north and from the sea, and still others from the land of the south.

13 Give praise, O heavens! And exult, O earth! Let the mountains give praise with jubilation! For the Lord has consoled his people, and he will take pity on his poor ones.

14 And Zion said: “The Lord has abandoned me, and the Lord has forgotten me.”

15 Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to take pity on the child of her womb? But even if she would forget, still I shall never forget you.

16 Behold, I have engraved you on my hands. Your walls are always before my eyes.

17 Your builders have arrived. Those who would tear you down and destroy you, they will depart from you.

18 Lift up your eyes all around, and see: all these have been gathered together; they have come to you. As I live, says the Lord, you shall be clothed with all these things, as if with an ornament. And like a bride, you shall wrap these things all around you.

19 For your deserts, and your solitary places, and the land of your ruination will now be too narrow, because of all the inhabitants. And those who devoured you will be chased far away.

20 Even the children of your barrenness will say in your ears: “This place is too narrow for me. Make me a spacious place in which to dwell.”

21 And you will say in your heart: “Who has conceived them? I was barren and unable to give birth. I was taken away and held captive. And so, who has raised them? I was destitute and alone. And so, where have they been?”

22 Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles, and I will exalt my sign before the peoples. And they will carry your sons in their arms, and they will bear your daughters on their shoulders.

23 And kings will be your caretakers, and queens will be your nursemaids. They will reverence you with their face to the ground, and they will lick the dust at your feet. And you will know that I am the Lord. For those who hope in him will not be confounded.

24 Can prey be taken from the strong? Or is anything taken captive by the powerful able to be saved?

25 For thus says the Lord: Certainly, even the captives will be taken away from the strong, even what has been taken by the powerful will be saved. And truly, I will judge those who have judged you, and I will save your children.

26 And I will feed your enemies their own flesh. And they will be inebriated with their own blood, as with new wine. And all flesh will know that I am the Lord, who saves you, and your Redeemer, the Strong One of Jacob.

1 Thus says the Lord: What is this bill of divorce for your mother, by which I have dismissed her? Or who is my creditor, to whom I have sold you? Behold, you were sold by your iniquities, and I have dismissed your mother for your wickedness.

2 For I arrived, and there was no man. I called out, and there was no one who would hear. Has my hand been shortened and become small, so that I am unable to redeem? Or is there no power in me to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke, I will make the sea into a desert. I will turn rivers into dry land. The fish will rot for lack of water and will die of thirst.

3 I will clothe the heavens in darkness, and I will make sackcloth their covering.

4 The Lord has given me a learned tongue, so that I would know how to uphold with a word, one who has weakened. He rises in the morning, he rises to my ear in the morning, so that I may heed him like a teacher.

5 The Lord God has opened my ear. And I do not contradict him. I have not turned back.

6 I have given my body to those who strike me, and my cheeks to those who plucked them. I have not averted my face from those who rebuked me and who spit on me.

7 The Lord God is my helper. Therefore, I have not been confounded. Therefore, I have set my face like a very hard rock, and I know that I will not be confounded.

8 He who justifies me is near. Who will speak against me? Let us stand together. Who is my adversary? Let him approach me.

9 Behold, the Lord God is my helper. Who is the one who would condemn me? Behold, they will all be worn away like a garment; the moth will devour them.

10 Who is there among you who fears the Lord? Who hears the voice of his servant? Who has walked in darkness, and there is no light in him? Let him hope in the name of the Lord, and let him lean upon his God.

11 Behold, all you who kindle a fire, wrapped in flames: walk in the light of your fire and in the flames that you have kindled. This has been done to you by my hand. You will sleep in anguish.