Isaiah 1

1

The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzzi'ah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezeki'ah, kings of Judah.

2

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: "Sons have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.

3

The ox knows its owner, and the ass its master's crib; but Israel does not know, my people does not understand."

4

Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, sons who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.

5

Why will you still be smitten, that you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

6

From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and bleeding wounds; they are not pressed out, or bound up, or softened with oil.

7

Your country lies desolate, your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence aliens devour your land; it is desolate, as overthrown by aliens.

8

And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.

9

If the LORD of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomor'rah.

10

Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomor'rah!

11

"What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of he-goats.

12

"When you come to appear before me, who requires of you this trampling of my courts?

13

Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath and the calling of assemblies--I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.

14

Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them.

15

When you spread forth your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.

16

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil,

17

learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.

18

"Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

19

If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;

20

But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

21

How the faithful city has become a harlot, she that was full of justice! Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.

22

Your silver has become dross, your wine mixed with water.

23

Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Every one loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not defend the fatherless, and the widow's cause does not come to them.

24

Therefore the Lord says, the LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: "Ah, I will vent my wrath on my enemies, and avenge myself on my foes.

25

I will turn my hand against you and will smelt away your dross as with lye and remove all your alloy.

26

And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city."

27

Zion shall be redeemed by justice, and those in her who repent, by righteousness.

28

But rebels and sinners shall be destroyed together, and those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed.

29

For you shall be ashamed of the oaks in which you delighted; and you shall blush for the gardens which you have chosen.

30

For you shall be like an oak whose leaf withers, and like a garden without water.

31

And the strong shall become tow, and his work a spark, and both of them shall burn together, with none to quench them.

Isaiah 2

1

The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2

It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it,

3

and many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

4

He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

5

O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD.

6

For thou hast rejected thy people, the house of Jacob, because they are full of diviners from the east and of soothsayers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with foreigners.

7

Their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures; their land is filled with horses, and there is no end to their chariots.

8

Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made.

9

So man is humbled, and men are brought low--forgive them not!

10

Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust from before the terror of the LORD, and from the glory of his majesty.

11

The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the pride of men shall be humbled; and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.

12

For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up and high;

13

against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up; and against all the oaks of Bashan;

14

against all the high mountains, and against all the lofty hills;

15

against every high tower, and against every fortified wall;

16

against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft.

17

And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the pride of men shall be brought low; and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.

18

And the idols shall utterly pass away.

19

And men shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the glory of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.

20

In that day men will cast forth their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats,

21

to enter the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the glory of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.

22

Turn away from man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?

Isaiah 3

1

For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah stay and staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water;

2

the mighty man and the soldier, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder,

3

the captain of fifty and the man of rank, the counselor and the skilful magician and the expert in charms.

4

And I will make boys their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

5

And the people will oppress one another, every man his fellow and every man his neighbor; the youth will be insolent to the elder, and the base fellow to the honorable.

6

When a man takes hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying: "You have a mantle; you shall be our leader, and this heap of ruins shall be under your rule";

7

in that day he will speak out, saying: "I will not be a healer; in my house there is neither bread nor mantle; you shall not make me leader of the people."

8

For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen; because their speech and their deeds are against the LORD, defying his glorious presence.

9

Their partiality witnesses against them; they proclaim their sin like Sodom, they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil upon themselves.

10

Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.

11

Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have done shall be done to him.

12

My people--children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, your leaders mislead you, and confuse the course of your paths.

13

The LORD has taken his place to contend, he stands to judge his people.

14

The LORD enters into judgment with the elders and princes of his people: "It is you who have devoured the vineyard, the spoil of the poor is in your houses.

15

What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor?" says the Lord GOD of hosts.

16

The LORD said: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet;

17

the Lord will smite with a scab the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will lay bare their secret parts.

18

In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands, and the crescents;

19

the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarfs;

20

the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets;

21

the signet rings and nose rings;

22

the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags;

23

the garments of gauze, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.

24

Instead of perfume there will be rottenness; and instead of a girdle, a rope; and instead of well-set hair, baldness; and instead of a rich robe, a girding of sackcloth; instead of beauty, shame.

25

Your men shall fall by the sword and your mighty men in battle.

26

And her gates shall lament and mourn; ravaged, she shall sit upon the ground.

Isaiah 4

1

And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, "We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach."

2

In that day the branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and glory of the survivors of Israel.

3

And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, every one who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem,

4

when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning.

5

Then the LORD will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy and a pavilion.

6

It will be for a shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.

Isaiah 5

1

Let me sing for my beloved a love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.

2

He digged it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.

3

And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard.

4

What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?

5

And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.

6

I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.

7

For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, a cry!

8

Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land.

9

The LORD of hosts has sworn in my hearing: "Surely many houses shall be desolate, large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.

10

For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah."

11

Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening till wine inflames them!

12

They have lyre and harp, timbrel and flute and wine at their feasts; but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD, or see the work of his hands.

13

Therefore my people go into exile for want of knowledge; their honored men are dying of hunger, and their multitude is parched with thirst.

14

Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth beyond measure, and the nobility of Jerusalem and her multitude go down, her throng and he who exults in her.

15

Man is bowed down, and men are brought low, and the eyes of the haughty are humbled.

16

But the LORD of hosts is exalted in justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.

17

Then shall the lambs graze as in their pasture, fatlings and kids shall feed among the ruins.

18

Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes,

19

who say: "Let him make haste, let him speed his work that we may see it; let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!"

20

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

21

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!

22

Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink,

23

who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right!

24

Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom go up like dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

25

Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people, and he stretched out his hand against them and smote them, and the mountains quaked; and their corpses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away and his hand is stretched out still.

26

He will raise a signal for a nation afar off, and whistle for it from the ends of the earth; and lo, swiftly, speedily it comes!

27

None is weary, none stumbles, none slumbers or sleeps, not a waistcloth is loose, not a sandal-thong broken;

28

their arrows are sharp, all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs seem like flint, and their wheels like the whirlwind.

29

Their roaring is like a lion, like young lions they roar; they growl and seize their prey, they carry it off, and none can rescue.

30

They will growl over it on that day, like the roaring of the sea. And if one look to the land, behold, darkness and distress; and the light is darkened by its clouds.

Isaiah 6

1

In the year that King Uzzi'ah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple.

2

Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

3

And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory."

4

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

5

And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"

6

Then flew one of the seraphim to me, having in his hand a burning coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar.

7

And he touched my mouth, and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin forgiven."

8

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."

9

And he said, "Go, and say to this people: 'Hear and hear, but do not understand; see and see, but do not perceive.'

10

Make the heart of this people fat, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."

11

Then I said, "How long, O Lord?" And he said: "Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without men, and the land is utterly desolate,

12

and the LORD removes men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.

13

And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains standing when it is felled." The holy seed is its stump.

Isaiah 7

1

In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzzi'ah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remali'ah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but they could not conquer it.

2

When the house of David was told, "Syria is in league with E'phraim," his heart and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.

3

And the LORD said to Isaiah, "Go forth to meet Ahaz, you and She'ar-jash'ub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Fuller's Field,

4

and say to him, 'Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remali'ah.

5

Because Syria, with E'phraim and the son of Remali'ah, has devised evil against you, saying,

6

"Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son of Ta'be-el as king in the midst of it,"

7

thus says the Lord GOD: It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass.

8

For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. (Within sixty-five years E'phraim will be broken to pieces so that it will no longer be a people.)

9

And the head of E'phraim is Sama'ria, and the head of Sama'ria is the son of Remali'ah. If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established.'"

10

Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz,

11

"Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven."

12

But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test."

13

And he said, "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also?

14

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Imman'u-el.

15

He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.

16

For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.

17

The LORD will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father's house such days as have not come since the day that E'phraim departed from Judah--the king of Assyria."

18

In that day the LORD will whistle for the fly which is at the sources of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee which is in the land of Assyria.

19

And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures.

20

In that day the Lord will shave with a razor which is hired beyond the River--with the king of Assyria--the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.

21

In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep;

22

and because of the abundance of milk which they give, he will eat curds; for every one that is left in the land will eat curds and honey.

23

In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels of silver, will become briers and thorns.

24

With bow and arrows men will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns;

25

and as for all the hills which used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear of briers and thorns; but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.

Isaiah 8

1

Then the LORD said to me, "Take a large tablet and write upon it in common characters, 'Belonging to Ma'her-shal'al-hash-baz.'"

2

And I got reliable witnesses, Uri'ah the priest and Zechari'ah the son of Jeberechi'ah, to attest for me.

3

And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said to me, "Call his name Ma'her-shal'al-hash-baz;

4

for before the child knows how to cry 'My father' or 'My mother,' the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Sama'ria will be carried away before the king of Assyria."

5

The LORD spoke to me again:

6

"Because this people have refused the waters of Shilo'ah that flow gently, and melt in fear before Rezin and the son of Remali'ah;

7

therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory; and it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks;

8

and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck; and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Imman'u-el."

9

Be broken, you peoples, and be dismayed; give ear, all you far countries; gird yourselves and be dismayed; gird yourselves and be dismayed.

10

Take counsel together, but it will come to nought; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.

11

For the LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying:

12

"Do not call conspiracy all that this people call conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread.

13

But the LORD of hosts, him you shall regard as holy; let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

14

And he will become a sanctuary, and a stone of offense, and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

15

And many shall stumble thereon; they shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken."

16

Bind up the testimony, seal the teaching among my disciples.

17

I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.

18

Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.

19

And when they say to you, "Consult the mediums and the wizards who chirp and mutter," should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?

20

To the teaching and to the testimony! Surely for this word which they speak there is no dawn.

21

They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry; and when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will curse their king and their God, and turn their faces upward;

22

and they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be thrust into thick darkness.

Isaiah 9

1

But there will be no gloom for her that was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zeb'ulun and the land of Naph'tali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

2

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.

3

Thou hast multiplied the nation, thou hast increased its joy; they rejoice before thee as with joy at the harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

4

For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, thou hast broken as on the day of Mid'ian.

5

For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.

6

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

7

Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and for evermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

8

The Lord has sent a word against Jacob, and it will light upon Israel;

9

and all the people will know, E'phraim and the inhabitants of Sama'ria, who say in pride and in arrogance of heart:

10

"The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stones; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place."

11

So the LORD raises adversaries against them, and stirs up their enemies.

12

The Syrians on the east and the Philistines on the west devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away and his hand is stretched out still.

13

The people did not turn to him who smote them, nor seek the LORD of hosts.

14

So the LORD cut off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed in one day--

15

the elder and honored man is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail;

16

for those who lead this people lead them astray, and those who are led by them are swallowed up.

17

Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men, and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows; for every one is godless and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. For all this his anger is not turned away and his hand is stretched out still.

18

For wickedness burns like a fire, it consumes briers and thorns; it kindles the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke.

19

Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts the land is burned, and the people are like fuel for the fire; no man spares his brother.

20

They snatch on the right, but are still hungry, and they devour on the left, but are not satisfied; each devours his neighbor's flesh,

21

Manas'seh E'phraim, and E'phraim Manas'seh, and together they are against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away and his hand is stretched out still.

Isaiah 10

1

Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression,

2

to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!

3

What will you do on the day of punishment, in the storm which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth?

4

Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away and his hand is stretched out still.

5

Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger, the staff of my fury!

6

Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him, to take spoil and seize plunder, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

7

But he does not so intend, and his mind does not so think; but it is in his mind to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few;

8

for he says: "Are not my commanders all kings?

9

Is not Calno like Car'chemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Sama'ria like Damascus?

10

As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols whose graven images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Sama'ria,

11

shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols as I have done to Sama'ria and her images?"

12

When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem he will punish the arrogant boasting of the king of Assyria and his haughty pride.

13

For he says: "By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding; I have removed the boundaries of peoples, and have plundered their treasures; like a bull I have brought down those who sat on thrones.

14

My hand has found like a nest the wealth of the peoples; and as men gather eggs that have been forsaken so I have gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved a wing, or opened the mouth, or chirped."

15

Shall the axe vaunt itself over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it? As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!

16

Therefore the Lord, the LORD of hosts, will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors, and under his glory a burning will be kindled, like the burning of fire.

17

The light of Israel will become a fire, and his Holy One a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and briers in one day.

18

The glory of his forest and of his fruitful land the LORD will destroy, both soul and body, and it will be as when a sick man wastes away.

19

The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few that a child can write them down.

20

In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean upon him that smote them, but will lean upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

21

A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.

22

For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness.

23

For the Lord, the LORD of hosts, will make a full end, as decreed, in the midst of all the earth.

24

Therefore thus says the Lord, the LORD of hosts: "O my people, who dwell in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrians when they smite with the rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did.

25

For in a very little while my indignation will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction.

26

And the LORD of hosts will wield against them a scourge, as when he smote Mid'ian at the rock of Oreb; and his rod will be over the sea, and he will lift it as he did in Egypt.

27

And in that day his burden will depart from your shoulder, and his yoke will be destroyed from your neck." He has gone up from Rimmon,

28

he has come to Ai'ath; he has passed through Migron, at Michmash he stores his baggage;

29

they have crossed over the pass, at Geba they lodge for the night; Ramah trembles, Gib'e-ah of Saul has fled.

30

Cry aloud, O daughter of Gallim! Hearken, O La'ishah! Answer her, O An'athoth!

31

Madme'nah is in flight, the inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety.

32

This very day he will halt at Nob, he will shake his fist at the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

33

Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts will lop the boughs with terrifying power; the great in height will be hewn down, and the lofty will be brought low.

34

He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an axe, and Lebanon with its majestic trees will fall.

Isaiah 11

1

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

2

And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

3

And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;

4

but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.

5

Righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.

6

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.

7

The cow and the bear shall feed; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

8

The sucking child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.

9

They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

10

In that day the root of Jesse shall stand as an ensign to the peoples; him shall the nations seek, and his dwellings shall be glorious.

11

In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant which is left of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Ethiopia, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.

12

He will raise an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

13

The jealousy of E'phraim shall depart, and those who harass Judah shall be cut off; E'phraim shall not be jealous of Judah, and Judah shall not harass E'phraim.

14

But they shall swoop down upon the shoulder of the Philistines in the west, and together they shall plunder the people of the east. They shall put forth their hand against Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites shall obey them.

15

And the LORD will utterly destroy the tongue of the sea of Egypt; and will wave his hand over the River with his scorching wind, and smite it into seven channels that men may cross dryshod.

16

And there will be a highway from Assyria for the remnant which is left of his people, as there was for Israel when they came up from the land of Egypt.

Isaiah 12

1

You will say in that day: "I will give thanks to thee, O LORD, for though thou wast angry with me, thy anger turned away, and thou didst comfort me.

2

"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation."

3

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

4

And you will say in that day: "Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name; make known his deeds among the nations, proclaim that his name is exalted.

5

"Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth.

6

Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel."

Isaiah 13

1

The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.

2

On a bare hill raise a signal, cry aloud to them; wave the hand for them to enter the gates of the nobles.

3

I myself have commanded my consecrated ones, have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger, my proudly exulting ones.

4

Hark, a tumult on the mountains as of a great multitude! Hark, an uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathering together! The LORD of hosts is mustering a host for battle.

5

They come from a distant land, from the end of the heavens, the LORD and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole earth.

6

Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come!

7

Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every man's heart will melt,

8

and they will be dismayed. Pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in travail. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame.

9

Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the earth a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.

10

For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising and the moon will not shed its light.

11

I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant, and lay low the haughtiness of the ruthless.

12

I will make men more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir.

13

Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger.

14

And like a hunted gazelle, or like sheep with none to gather them, every man will turn to his own people, and every man will flee to his own land.

15

Whoever is found will be thrust through, and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.

16

Their infants will be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished.

17

Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold.

18

Their bows will slaughter the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children.

19

And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pride of the Chalde'ans, will be like Sodom and Gomor'rah when God overthrew them.

20

It will never be inhabited or dwelt in for all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there, no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.

21

But wild beasts will lie down there, and its houses will be full of howling creatures; there ostriches will dwell, and there satyrs will dance.

22

Hyenas will cry in its towers, and jackals in the pleasant palaces; its time is close at hand and its days will not be prolonged.

Isaiah 14

1

The LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and aliens will join them and will cleave to the house of Jacob.

2

And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the LORD's land as male and female slaves; they will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them.

3

When the LORD has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve,

4

you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: "How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury ceased!

5

The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers,

6

that smote the peoples in wrath with unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution.

7

The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing.

8

The cypresses rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, 'Since you were laid low, no hewer comes up against us.'

9

Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come, it rouses the shades to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations.

10

All of them will speak and say to you: 'You too have become as weak as we! You have become like us!'

11

Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are the bed beneath you, and worms are your covering.

12

"How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!

13

You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far north;

14

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High.'

15

But you are brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the Pit.

16

Those who see you will stare at you, and ponder over you: 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,

17

who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?'

18

All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb;

19

but you are cast out, away from your sepulchre, like a loathed untimely birth, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the Pit, like a dead body trodden under foot.

20

You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people. "May the descendants of evildoers nevermore be named!

21

Prepare slaughter for his sons because of the guilt of their fathers, lest they rise and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities."

22

"I will rise up against them," says the LORD of hosts, "and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, offspring and posterity, says the LORD.

23

And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction, says the LORD of hosts."

24

The LORD of hosts has sworn: "As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand,

25

that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains trample him under foot; and his yoke shall depart from them, and his burden from their shoulder."

26

This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.

27

For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?

28

In the year that King Ahaz died came this oracle:

29

"Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod which smote you is broken, for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying serpent.

30

And the first-born of the poor will feed, and the needy lie down in safety; but I will kill your root with famine, and your remnant I will slay.

31

Wail, O gate; cry, O city; melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you! For smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks."

32

What will one answer the messengers of the nation? "The LORD has founded Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge."

Isaiah 15

1

An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar is laid waste in a night Moab is undone; because Kir is laid waste in a night Moab is undone.

2

The daughter of Dibon has gone up to the high places to weep; over Nebo and over Med'eba Moab wails. On every head is baldness, every beard is shorn;

3

in the streets they gird on sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares every one wails and melts in tears.

4

Heshbon and Ele-a'leh cry out, their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.

5

My heart cries out for Moab; his fugitives flee to Zo'ar, to Eg'lath-shelish'iyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horona'im they raise a cry of destruction;

6

the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the new growth fails, the verdure is no more.

7

Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.

8

For a cry has gone round the land of Moab; the wailing reaches to Egla'im, the wailing reaches to Beer-e'lim.

9

For the waters of Dibon are full of blood; yet I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land.

Isaiah 16

1

They have sent lambs to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.

2

Like fluttering birds, like scattered nestlings, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.

3

"Give counsel, grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; hide the outcasts, betray not the fugitive;

4

let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a refuge to them from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples under foot has vanished from the land,

5

then a throne will be established in steadfast love and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness."

6

We have heard of the pride of Moab, how proud he was; of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence--his boasts are false.

7

Therefore let Moab wail, let every one wail for Moab. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin-cakes of Kir-har'eseth.

8

For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea.

9

Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Ele-a'leh; for upon your fruit and your harvest the battle shout has fallen.

10

And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field; and in the vineyards no songs are sung, no shouts are raised; no treader treads out wine in the presses; the vintage shout is hushed.

11

Therefore my soul moans like a lyre for Moab, and my heart for Kir-he'res.

12

And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself upon the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail.

13

This is the word which the LORD spoke concerning Moab in the past.

14

But now the LORD says, "In three years, like the years of a hireling, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who survive will be very few and feeble."

Isaiah 17

1

An oracle concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city, and will become a heap of ruins.

2

Her cities will be deserted for ever; they will be for flocks, which will lie down, and none will make them afraid.

3

The fortress will disappear from E'phraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Syria will be like the glory of the children of Israel, says the LORD of hosts.

4

And in that day the glory of Jacob will be brought low, and the fat of his flesh will grow lean.

5

And it shall be as when the reaper gathers standing grain and his arm harvests the ears, and as when one gleans the ears of grain in the Valley of Reph'aim.

6

Gleanings will be left in it, as when an olive tree is beaten--two or three berries in the top of the highest bough, four or five on the branches of a fruit tree, says the LORD God of Israel.

7

In that day men will regard their Maker, and their eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel;

8

they will not have regard for the altars, the work of their hands, and they will not look to what their own fingers have made, either the Ashe'rim or the altars of incense.

9

In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the Hivites and the Amorites, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation.

10

For you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge; therefore, though you plant pleasant plants and set out slips of an alien god,

11

though you make them grow on the day that you plant them, and make them blossom in the morning that you sow; yet the harvest will flee away in a day of grief and incurable pain.

12

Ah, the thunder of many peoples, they thunder like the thundering of the sea! Ah, the roar of nations, they roar like the roaring of mighty waters!

13

The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind and whirling dust before the storm.

14

At evening time, behold, terror! Before morning, they are no more! This is the portion of those who despoil us, and the lot of those who plunder us.

Isaiah 18

1

Ah, land of whirring wings which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia;

2

which sends ambassadors by the Nile, in vessels of papyrus upon the waters! Go, you swift messengers, to a nation, tall and smooth, to a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide.

3

All you inhabitants of the world, you who dwell on the earth, when a signal is raised on the mountains, look! When a trumpet is blown, hear!

4

For thus the LORD said to me: "I will quietly look from my dwelling like clear heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."

5

For before the harvest, when the blossom is over, and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he will cut off the shoots with pruning hooks, and the spreading branches he will hew away.

6

They shall all of them be left to the birds of prey of the mountains and to the beasts of the earth. And the birds of prey will summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth will winter upon them.

7

At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD of hosts from a people tall and smooth, from a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide, to Mount Zion, the place of the name of the LORD of hosts.

Isaiah 19

1

An oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.

2

And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and they will fight, every man against his brother and every man against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom;

3

and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out, and I will confound their plans; and they will consult the idols and the sorcerers, and the mediums and the wizards;

4

and I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a hard master; and a fierce king will rule over them, says the Lord, the LORD of hosts.

5

And the waters of the Nile will be dried up, and the river will be parched and dry;

6

and its canals will become foul, and the branches of Egypt's Nile will diminish and dry up, reeds and rushes will rot away.

7

There will be bare places by the Nile, on the brink of the Nile, and all that is sown by the Nile will dry up, be driven away, and be no more.

8

The fishermen will mourn and lament, all who cast hook in the Nile; and they will languish who spread nets upon the water.

9

The workers in combed flax will be in despair, and the weavers of white cotton.

10

Those who are the pillars of the land will be crushed, and all who work for hire will be grieved.

11

The princes of Zo'an are utterly foolish; the wise counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel. How can you say to Pharaoh, "I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings"?

12

Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you and make known what the LORD of hosts has purposed against Egypt.

13

The princes of Zo'an have become fools, and the princes of Memphis are deluded; those who are the cornerstones of her tribes have led Egypt astray.

14

The LORD has mingled within her a spirit of confusion; and they have made Egypt stagger in all her doings as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.

15

And there will be nothing for Egypt which head or tail, palm branch or reed, may do.

16

In that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with fear before the hand which the LORD of hosts shakes over them.

17

And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians; every one to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the purpose which the LORD of hosts has purposed against them.

18

In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt which speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of hosts. One of these will be called the City of the Sun.

19

In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border.

20

It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; when they cry to the LORD because of oppressors he will send them a savior, and will defend and deliver them.

21

And the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians; and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day and worship with sacrifice and burnt offering, and they will make vows to the LORD and perform them.

22

And the LORD will smite Egypt, smiting and healing, and they will return to the LORD, and he will heed their supplications and heal them.

23

In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

24

In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth,

25

whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my heritage."

Isaiah 20

1

In the year that the commander in chief, who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought against it and took it, --

2

at that time the LORD had spoken by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, "Go, and loose the sackcloth from your loins and take off your shoes from your feet," and he had done so, walking naked and barefoot--

3

the LORD said, "As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Ethiopia,

4

so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians captives and the Ethiopians exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.

5

Then they shall be dismayed and confounded because of Ethiopia their hope and of Egypt their boast.

6

And the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, 'Behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?'"

Isaiah 21

1

The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on, it comes from the desert, from a terrible land.

2

A stern vision is told to me; the plunderer plunders, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, O Elam, lay siege, O Media; all the sighing she has caused I bring to an end.

3

Therefore my loins are filled with anguish; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in travail; I am bowed down so that I cannot hear, I am dismayed so that I cannot see.

4

My mind reels, horror has appalled me; the twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling.

5

They prepare the table, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink. Arise, O princes, oil the shield!

6

For thus the Lord said to me: "Go, set a watchman, let him announce what he sees.

7

When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, riders on asses, riders on camels, let him listen diligently, very diligently."

8

Then he who saw cried: "Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord, continually by day, and at my post I am stationed whole nights.

9

And, behold, here come riders, horsemen in pairs!" And he answered, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the images of her gods he has shattered to the ground."

10

O my threshed and winnowed one, what I have heard from the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, I announce to you.

11

The oracle concerning Dumah. One is calling to me from Se'ir, "Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?"

12

The watchman says: "Morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; come back again."

13

The oracle concerning Arabia. In the thickets in Arabia you will lodge, O caravans of De'danites.

14

To the thirsty bring water, meet the fugitive with bread, O inhabitants of the land of Tema.

15

For they have fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow, and from the press of battle.

16

For thus the Lord said to me, "Within a year, according to the years of a hireling, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end;

17

and the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of Kedar will be few; for the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken."

Isaiah 22

1

The oracle concerning the valley of vision. What do you mean that you have gone up, all of you, to the housetops,

2

you who are full of shoutings, tumultuous city, exultant town? Your slain are not slain with the sword or dead in battle.

3

All your rulers have fled together, without the bow they were captured. All of you who were found were captured, though they had fled far away.

4

Therefore I said: "Look away from me, let me weep bitter tears; do not labor to comfort me for the destruction of the daughter of my people."

5

For the Lord GOD of hosts has a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the valley of vision, a battering down of walls and a shouting to the mountains.

6

And Elam bore the quiver with chariots and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield.

7

Your choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen took their stand at the gates.

8

He has taken away the covering of Judah. In that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest,

9

and you saw that the breaches of the city of David were many, and you collected the waters of the lower pool,

10

and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall.

11

You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or have regard for him who planned it long ago.

12

In that day the Lord GOD of hosts called to weeping and mourning, to baldness and girding with sackcloth;

13

and behold, joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine. "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."

14

The LORD of hosts has revealed himself in my ears: "Surely this iniquity will not be forgiven you till you die," says the Lord GOD of hosts.

15

Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, "Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him:

16

What have you to do here and whom have you here, that you have hewn here a tomb for yourself, you who hew a tomb on the height, and carve a habitation for yourself in the rock?

17

Behold, the LORD will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. He will seize firm hold on you,

18

and whirl you round and round, and throw you like a ball into a wide land; there you shall die, and there shall be your splendid chariots, you shame of your master's house.

19

I will thrust you from your office, and you will be cast down from your station.

20

In that day I will call my servant Eli'akim the son of Hilki'ah,

21

and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your girdle on him, and will commit your authority to his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.

22

And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

23

And I will fasten him like a peg in a sure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father's house.

24

And they will hang on him the whole weight of his father's house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons.

25

In that day, says the LORD of hosts, the peg that was fastened in a sure place will give way; and it will be cut down and fall, and the burden that was upon it will be cut off, for the LORD has spoken."

Isaiah 23

1

The oracle concerning Tyre. Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or haven! From the land of Cyprus it is revealed to them.

2

Be still, O inhabitants of the coast, O merchants of Sidon; your messengers passed over the sea

3

and were on many waters; your revenue was the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile; you were the merchant of the nations.

4

Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying: "I have neither travailed nor given birth, I have neither reared young men nor brought up virgins."

5

When the report comes to Egypt, they will be in anguish over the report about Tyre.

6

Pass over to Tarshish, wail, O inhabitants of the coast!

7

Is this your exultant city whose origin is from days of old, whose feet carried her to settle afar?

8

Who has purposed this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth?

9

The LORD of hosts has purposed it, to defile the pride of all glory, to dishonor all the honored of the earth.

10

Overflow your land like the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish; there is no restraint any more.

11

He has stretched out his hand over the sea, he has shaken the kingdoms; the LORD has given command concerning Canaan to destroy its strongholds.

12

And he said: "You will no more exult, O oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon; arise, pass over to Cyprus, even there you will have no rest."

13

Behold the land of the Chalde'ans! This is the people; it was not Assyria. They destined Tyre for wild beasts. They erected their siegetowers, they razed her palaces, they made her a ruin.

14

Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your stronghold is laid waste.

15

In that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot:

16

"Take a harp, go about the city, O forgotten harlot! Make sweet melody, sing many songs, that you may be remembered."

17

At the end of seventy years, the LORD will visit Tyre, and she will return to her hire, and will play the harlot with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.

18

Her merchandise and her hire will be dedicated to the LORD; it will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the LORD.

Isaiah 24

1

Behold, the LORD will lay waste the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.

2

And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the slave, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor.

3

The earth shall be utterly laid waste and utterly despoiled; for the LORD has spoken this word.

4

The earth mourns and withers, the world languishes and withers; the heavens languish together with the earth.

5

The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.

6

Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left.

7

The wine mourns, the vine languishes, all the merry-hearted sigh.

8

The mirth of the timbrels is stilled, the noise of the jubilant has ceased, the mirth of the lyre is stilled.

9

No more do they drink wine with singing; strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.

10

The city of chaos is broken down, every house is shut up so that none can enter.

11

There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine; all joy has reached its eventide; the gladness of the earth is banished.

12

Desolation is left in the city, the gates are battered into ruins.

13

For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, as at the gleaning when the vintage is done.

14

They lift up their voices, they sing for joy; over the majesty of the LORD they shout from the west.

15

Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD; in the coastlands of the sea, to the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.

16

From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise, of glory to the Righteous One. But I say, "I pine away, I pine away. Woe is me! For the treacherous deal treacherously, the treacherous deal very treacherously."

17

Terror, and the pit, and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!

18

He who flees at the sound of the terror shall fall into the pit; and he who climbs out of the pit shall be caught in the snare. For the windows of heaven are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble.

19

The earth is utterly broken, the earth is rent asunder, the earth is violently shaken.

20

The earth staggers like a drunken man, it sways like a hut; its transgression lies heavy upon it, and it falls, and will not rise again.

21

On that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth.

22

They will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit; they will be shut up in a prison, and after many days they will be punished.

23

Then the moon will be confounded, and the sun ashamed; for the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and before his elders he will manifest his glory.

Isaiah 25

1

O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.

2

For thou hast made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin; the palace of aliens is a city no more, it will never be rebuilt.

3

Therefore strong peoples will glorify thee; cities of ruthless nations will fear thee.

4

For thou hast been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat; for the blast of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,

5

like heat in a dry place. Thou dost subdue the noise of the aliens; as heat by the shade of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.

6

On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wine on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wine on the lees well refined.

7

And he will destroy on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations.

8

He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken.

9

It will be said on that day, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation."

10

For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain, and Moab shall be trodden down in his place, as straw is trodden down in a dung-pit.

11

And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim; but the LORD will lay low his pride together with the skill of his hands.

12

And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down, lay low, and cast to the ground, even to the dust.

Isaiah 26

1

In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: "We have a strong city; he sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks.

2

Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps faith may enter in.

3

Thou dost keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusts in thee.

4

Trust in the LORD for ever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.

5

For he has brought low the inhabitants of the height, the lofty city. He lays it low, lays it low to the ground, casts it to the dust.

6

The foot tramples it, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy."

7

The way of the righteous is level; thou dost make smooth the path of the righteous.

8

In the path of thy judgments, O LORD, we wait for thee; thy memorial name is the desire of our soul.

9

My soul yearns for thee in the night, my spirit within me earnestly seeks thee. For when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

10

If favor is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he deals perversely and does not see the majesty of the LORD.

11

O LORD, thy hand is lifted up, but they see it not. Let them see thy zeal for thy people, and be ashamed. Let the fire for thy adversaries consume them.

12

O LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us, thou hast wrought for us all our works.

13

O LORD our God, other lords besides thee have ruled over us, but thy name alone we acknowledge.

14

They are dead, they will not live; they are shades, they will not arise; to that end thou hast visited them with destruction and wiped out all remembrance of them.

15

But thou hast increased the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation; thou art glorified; thou hast enlarged all the borders of the land.

16

O LORD, in distress they sought thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.

17

Like a woman with child, who writhes and cries out in her pangs, when she is near her time, so were we because of thee, O LORD;

18

we were with child, we writhed, we have as it were brought forth wind. We have wrought no deliverance in the earth, and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.

19

Thy dead shall live, their bodies shall rise. O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For thy dew is a dew of light, and on the land of the shades thou wilt let it fall.

20

Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the wrath is past.

21

For behold, the LORD is coming forth out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, and the earth will disclose the blood shed upon her, and will no more cover her slain.

Isaiah 27

1

In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.

2

In that day: "A pleasant vineyard, sing of it!

3

I, the LORD, am its keeper; every moment I water it. Lest any one harm it, I guard it night and day;

4

I have no wrath. Would that I had thorns and briers to battle! I would set out against them, I would burn them up together.

5

Or let them lay hold of my protection, let them make peace with me, let them make peace with me."

6

In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots, and fill the whole world with fruit.

7

Has he smitten them as he smote those who smote them? Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain?

8

Measure by measure, by exile thou didst contend with them; he removed them with his fierce blast in the day of the east wind.

9

Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be expiated, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: when he makes all the stones of the altars like chalkstones crushed to pieces, no Ashe'rim or incense altars will remain standing.

10

For the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness; there the calf grazes, there he lies down, and strips its branches.

11

When its boughs are dry, they are broken; women come and make a fire of them. For this is a people without discernment; therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them, he that formed them will show them no favor.

12

In that day from the river Euphra'tes to the Brook of Egypt the LORD will thresh out the grain, and you will be gathered one by one, O people of Israel.

13

And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

Isaiah 28

1

Woe to the proud crown of the drunkards of E'phraim, and to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine!

2

Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong; like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest, like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters, he will cast down to the earth with violence.

3

The proud crown of the drunkards of E'phraim will be trodden under foot;

4

and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley, will be like a first-ripe fig before the summer: when a man sees it, he eats it up as soon as it is in his hand.

5

In that day the LORD of hosts will be a crown of glory, and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people;

6

and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.

7

These also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are confused with wine, they stagger with strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in giving judgment.

8

For all tables are full of vomit, no place is without filthiness.

9

"Whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from the milk, those taken from the breast?

10

For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little."

11

Nay, but by men of strange lips and with an alien tongue the LORD will speak to this people,

12

to whom he has said, "This is rest; give rest to the weary; and this is repose"; yet they would not hear.

13

Therefore the word of the LORD will be to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little; that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

14

Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers, who rule this people in Jerusalem!

15

Because you have said, "We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have an agreement; when the overwhelming scourge passes through it will not come to us; for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter";

16

therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am laying in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: 'He who believes will not be in haste.'

17

And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plummet; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter."

18

Then your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand; when the overwhelming scourge passes through you will be beaten down by it.

19

As often as it passes through it will take you; for morning by morning it will pass through, by day and by night; and it will be sheer terror to understand the message.

20

For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on it, and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in it.

21

For the LORD will rise up as on Mount Pera'zim, he will be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon; to do his deed--strange is his deed! and to work his work--alien is his work!

22

Now therefore do not scoff, lest your bonds be made strong; for I have heard a decree of destruction from the Lord GOD of hosts upon the whole land.

23

Give ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.

24

Does he who plows for sowing plow continually? does he continually open and harrow his ground?

25

When he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter dill, sow cummin, and put in wheat in rows and barley in its proper place, and spelt as the border?

26

For he is instructed aright; his God teaches him.

27

Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cummin; but dill is beaten out with a stick, and cummin with a rod.

28

Does one crush bread grain? No, he does not thresh it for ever; when he drives his cart wheel over it with his horses, he does not crush it.

29

This also comes from the LORD of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in wisdom.

Isaiah 29

1

Ho Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! Add year to year; let the feasts run their round.

2

Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be moaning and lamentation, and she shall be to me like an Ariel.

3

And I will encamp against you round about, and will besiege you with towers and I will raise siegeworks against you.

4

Then deep from the earth you shall speak, from low in the dust your words shall come; your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of a ghost, and your speech shall whisper out of the dust.

5

But the multitude of your foes shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the ruthless like passing chaff. And in an instant, suddenly,

6

you will be visited by the LORD of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire.

7

And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, all that fight against her and her stronghold and distress her, shall be like a dream, a vision of the night.

8

As when a hungry man dreams he is eating and awakes with his hunger not satisfied, or as when a thirsty man dreams he is drinking and awakes faint, with his thirst not quenched, so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion.

9

Stupefy yourselves and be in a stupor, blind yourselves and be blind! Be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not with strong drink!

10

For the LORD has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes, the prophets, and covered your heads, the seers.

11

And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot, for it is sealed."

12

And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot read."

13

And the Lord said: "Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men learned by rote;

14

therefore, behold, I will again do marvelous things with this people, wonderful and marvelous; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hid."

15

Woe to those who hide deep from the LORD their counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, "Who sees us? Who knows us?"

16

You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay; that the thing made should say of its maker, "He did not make me"; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?

17

Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?

18

In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.

19

The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.

20

For the ruthless shall come to nought and the scoffer cease, and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off,

21

who by a word make a man out to be an offender, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right.

22

Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: "Jacob shall no more be ashamed, no more shall his face grow pale.

23

For when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in his midst, they will sanctify my name; they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.

24

And those who err in spirit will come to understanding, and those who murmur will accept instruction."

Isaiah 30

1

"Woe to the rebellious children," says the LORD, "who carry out a plan, but not mine; and who make a league, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin;

2

who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking for my counsel, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh, and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!

3

Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame, and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation.

4

For though his officials are at Zo'an and his envoys reach Ha'nes,

5

every one comes to shame through a people that cannot profit them, that brings neither help nor profit, but shame and disgrace."

6

An oracle on the beasts of the Negeb. Through a land of trouble and anguish, from where come the lioness and the lion, the viper and the flying serpent, they carry their riches on the backs of asses, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people that cannot profit them.

7

For Egypt's help is worthless and empty, therefore I have called her "Rahab who sits still."

8

And now, go, write it before them on a tablet, and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come as a witness for ever.

9

For they are a rebellious people, lying sons, sons who will not hear the instruction of the LORD;

10

who say to the seers, "See not"; and to the prophets, "Prophesy not to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions,

11

leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more of the Holy One of Israel."

12

Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, "Because you despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and rely on them;

13

therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a break in a high wall, bulging out, and about to collapse, whose crash comes suddenly, in an instant;

14

and its breaking is like that of a potter's vessel which is smashed so ruthlessly that among its fragments not a sherd is found with which to take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern."

15

For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength." And you would not,

16

but you said, "No! We will speed upon horses," therefore you shall speed away; and, "We will ride upon swift steeds," therefore your pursuers shall be swift.

17

A thousand shall flee at the threat of one, at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill.

18

Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you; therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.

19

Yea, O people in Zion who dwell at Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you.

20

And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.

21

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.

22

Then you will defile your silver-covered graven images and your gold-plated molten images. You will scatter them as unclean things; you will say to them, "Begone!"

23

And he will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and grain, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. In that day your cattle will graze in large pastures;

24

and the oxen and the asses that till the ground will eat salted provender, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork.

25

And upon every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water, in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.

26

Moreover the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day when the LORD binds up the hurt of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.

27

Behold, the name of the LORD comes from far, burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke; his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue is like a devouring fire;

28

his breath is like an overflowing stream that reaches up to the neck; to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction, and to place on the jaws of the peoples a bridle that leads astray.

29

You shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel.

30

And the LORD will cause his majestic voice to be heard and the descending blow of his arm to be seen, in furious anger and a flame of devouring fire, with a cloudburst and tempest and hailstones.

31

The Assyrians will be terror-stricken at the voice of the LORD, when he smites with his rod.

32

And every stroke of the staff of punishment which the LORD lays upon them will be to the sound of timbrels and lyres; battling with brandished arm he will fight with them.

33

For a burning place has long been prepared; yea, for the king it is made ready, its pyre made deep and wide, with fire and wood in abundance; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, kindles it.

Isaiah 31

1

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the LORD!

2

And yet he is wise and brings disaster, he does not call back his words, but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the helpers of those who work iniquity.

3

The Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD stretches out his hand, the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall, and they will all perish together.

4

For thus the LORD said to me, As a lion or a young lion growls over his prey, and when a band of shepherds is called forth against him is not terrified by their shouting or daunted at their noise, so the LORD of hosts will come down to fight upon Mount Zion and upon its hill.

5

Like birds hovering, so the LORD of hosts will protect Jerusalem; he will protect and deliver it, he will spare and rescue it.

6

Turn to him from whom you have deeply revolted, O people of Israel.

7

For in that day every one shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you.

8

"And the Assyrian shall fall by a sword, not of man; and a sword, not of man, shall devour him; and he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be put to forced labor.

9

His rock shall pass away in terror, and his officers desert the standard in panic," says the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

Isaiah 32

1

Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice.

2

Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a covert from the tempest, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.

3

Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will hearken.

4

The mind of the rash will have good judgment, and the tongue of the stammerers will speak readily and distinctly.

5

The fool will no more be called noble, nor the knave said to be honorable.

6

For the fool speaks folly, and his mind plots iniquity: to practice ungodliness, to utter error concerning the LORD, to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied, and to deprive the thirsty of drink.

7

The knaveries of the knave are evil; he devises wicked devices to ruin the poor with lying words, even when the plea of the needy is right.

8

But he who is noble devises noble things, and by noble things he stands.

9

Rise up, you women who are at ease, hear my voice; you complacent daughters, give ear to my speech.

10

In little more than a year you will shudder, you complacent women; for the vintage will fail, the fruit harvest will not come.

11

Tremble, you women who are at ease, shudder, you complacent ones; strip, and make yourselves bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins.

12

Beat upon your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine,

13

for the soil of my people growing up in thorns and briers; yea, for all the joyous houses in the joyful city.

14

For the palace will be forsaken, the populous city deserted; the hill and the watchtower will become dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;

15

until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.

16

Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field.

17

And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust for ever.

18

My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.

19

And the forest will utterly go down, and the city will be utterly laid low.

20

Happy are you who sow beside all waters, who let the feet of the ox and the ass range free.

Isaiah 33

1

Woe to you, destroyer, who yourself have not been destroyed; you treacherous one, with whom none has dealt treacherously! When you have ceased to destroy, you will be destroyed; and when you have made an end of dealing treacherously, you will be dealt with treacherously.

2

O LORD, be gracious to us; we wait for thee. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble.

3

At the thunderous noise peoples flee, at the lifting up of thyself nations are scattered;

4

and spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers; as locusts leap, men leap upon it.

5

The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness;

6

and he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is his treasure.

7

Behold, the valiant ones cry without; the envoys of peace weep bitterly.

8

The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceases. Covenants are broken, witnesses are despised, there is no regard for man.

9

The land mourns and languishes; Lebanon is confounded and withers away; Sharon is like a desert; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.

10

"Now I will arise," says the LORD, "now I will lift myself up; now I will be exalted.

11

You conceive chaff, you bring forth stubble; your breath is a fire that will consume you.

12

And the peoples will be as if burned to lime, like thorns cut down, that are burned in the fire."

13

Hear, you who are far off, what I have done; and you who are near, acknowledge my might.

14

The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless: "Who among us can dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?"

15

He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking upon evil,

16

he will dwell on the heights; his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks; his bread will be given him, his water will be sure.

17

Your eyes will see the king in his beauty; they will behold a land that stretches afar.

18

Your mind will muse on the terror: "Where is he who counted, where is he who weighed the tribute? Where is he who counted the towers?"

19

You will see no more the insolent people, the people of an obscure speech which you cannot comprehend, stammering in a tongue which you cannot understand.

20

Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts! Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet habitation, an immovable tent, whose stakes will never be plucked up, nor will any of its cords be broken.

21

But there the LORD in majesty will be for us a place of broad rivers and streams, where no galley with oars can go, nor stately ship can pass.

22

For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our ruler, the LORD is our king; he will save us.

23

Your tackle hangs loose; it cannot hold the mast firm in its place, or keep the sail spread out. Then prey and spoil in abundance will be divided; even the lame will take the prey.

24

And no inhabitant will say, "I am sick"; the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.

Isaiah 34

1

Draw near, O nations, to hear, and hearken, O peoples! Let the earth listen, and all that fills it; the world, and all that comes from it.

2

For the LORD is enraged against all the nations, and furious against all their host, he has doomed them, has given them over for slaughter.

3

Their slain shall be cast out, and the stench of their corpses shall rise; the mountains shall flow with their blood.

4

All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree.

5

For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom, upon the people I have doomed.

6

The LORD has a sword; it is sated with blood, it is gorged with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

7

Wild oxen shall fall with them, and young steers with the mighty bulls. Their land shall be soaked with blood, and their soil made rich with fat.

8

For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

9

And the streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch, and her soil into brimstone; her land shall become burning pitch.

10

Night and day it shall not be quenched; its smoke shall go up for ever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.

11

But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it, the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. He shall stretch the line of confusion over it, and the plummet of chaos over its nobles.

12

They shall name it No Kingdom There, and all its princes shall be nothing.

13

Thorns shall grow over its strongholds, nettles and thistles in its fortresses. It shall be the haunt of jackals, an abode for ostriches.

14

And wild beasts shall meet with hyenas, the satyr shall cry to his fellow; yea, there shall the night hag alight, and find for herself a resting place.

15

There shall the owl nest and lay and hatch and gather her young in her shadow; yea, there shall the kites be gathered, each one with her mate.

16

Seek and read from the book of the LORD: Not one of these shall be missing; none shall be without her mate. For the mouth of the LORD has commanded, and his Spirit has gathered them.

17

He has cast the lot for them, his hand has portioned it out to them with the line; they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation they shall dwell in it.

Isaiah 35

1

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus

2

it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God.

3

Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.

4

Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you."

5

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

6

then shall the lame man leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;

7

the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

8

And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not pass over it, and fools shall not err therein.

9

No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there.

10

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Isaiah 36

1

In the fourteenth year of King Hezeki'ah, Sennach'erib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them.

2

And the king of Assyria sent the Rab'shakeh from Lachish to King Hezeki'ah at Jerusalem, with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Fuller's Field.

3

And there came out to him Eli'akim the son of Hilki'ah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Jo'ah the son of Asaph, the recorder.

4

And the Rab'shakeh said to them, "Say to Hezeki'ah, 'Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this confidence of yours?

5

Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? On whom do you now rely, that you have rebelled against me?

6

Behold, you are relying on Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him.

7

But if you say to me, "We rely on the LORD our God," is it not he whose high places and altars Hezeki'ah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, "You shall worship before this altar"?

8

Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders upon them.

9

How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master's servants, when you rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?

10

Moreover, is it without the LORD that I have come up against this land to destroy it? The LORD said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.'"

11

Then Eli'akim, Shebna, and Jo'ah said to the Rab'shakeh, "Pray, speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall."

12

But the Rab'shakeh said, "Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?"

13

Then the Rab'shakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: "Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!

14

Thus says the king: 'Do not let Hezeki'ah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you.

15

Do not let Hezeki'ah make you rely on the LORD by 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 Hezeki'ah; for thus says the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me and come out to me; then every one of you will eat of his own vine, and every one of his own fig tree, and every one of you will drink the water of his own cistern;

17

until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

18

Beware lest Hezeki'ah mislead you by saying, "The LORD will deliver us." Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?

19

Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharva'im? Have they delivered Sama'ria out of my hand?

20

Who among all the gods of these countries have delivered their countries out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?'"

21

But they were silent and answered him not a word, for the king's command was, "Do not answer him."

22

Then Eli'akim the son of Hilki'ah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Jo'ah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezeki'ah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of the Rab'shakeh.

Isaiah 37

1

When King Hezeki'ah heard it, he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD.

2

And he sent Eli'akim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, clothed with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz.

3

They said to him, "Thus says Hezeki'ah, 'This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth.

4

It may be that the LORD your God heard the words of the Rab'shakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock 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

When the servants of King Hezeki'ah came to Isaiah,

6

Isaiah said to them, "Say to your master, 'Thus says the LORD: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me.

7

Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor, and return to his own land; and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.'"

8

The Rab'shakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah; for he had heard that the king had left Lachish.

9

Now the king heard concerning Tirha'kah king of Ethiopia, "He has set out to fight against you." And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezeki'ah, saying,

10

"Thus shall you speak to Hezeki'ah king of Judah: 'Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.

11

Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, destroying them utterly. And shall you be delivered?

12

Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations which my fathers destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Tel-assar?

13

Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharva'im, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?'"

14

Hezeki'ah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezeki'ah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.

15

And Hezeki'ah prayed to the LORD:

16

"O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, who art enthroned above the cherubim, thou art the God, thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.

17

Incline thy ear, O LORD, and hear; open thy eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennach'erib, which he has sent to mock the living God.

18

Of a truth, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands,

19

and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone; therefore they were destroyed.

20

So now, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou alone art the LORD."

21

Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezeki'ah, saying, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennach'erib king of Assyria,

22

this is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him: 'She despises you, she scorns you--the virgin daughter of Zion; she wags her head behind you--the daughter of Jerusalem.

23

'Whom have you mocked and reviled? Against whom have you raised your voice and haughtily lifted your eyes? Against the Holy One of Israel!

24

By your servants you have mocked the Lord, and you have said, With my many chariots I have gone up the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon; I felled its tallest cedars, its choicest cypresses; I came to its remotest height, its densest forest.

25

I dug wells and drank waters, and I dried up with the sole of my foot all the streams of Egypt.

26

'Have you not heard that I determined it long ago? I planned from days of old what now I bring to pass, that you should make fortified cities crash into heaps of ruins,

27

while their inhabitants, shorn of strength, are dismayed and confounded, and have become like plants of the field and like tender grass, like grass on the housetops, blighted before it is grown.

28

'I know your sitting down and your going out and coming in, and your raging against me.

29

Because you have raged against me and your arrogance has come to my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will turn you back on the way by which you came.'

30

"And this shall be the sign for you: this year eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs of the same; then in the third year sow and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.

31

And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward;

32

for out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

33

"Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city, or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield, or cast up a siege mound against it.

34

By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, says the LORD.

35

For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David."

36

And the angel of the LORD went forth, and slew a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.

37

Then Sennach'erib king of Assyria departed, and went home and dwelt at Nin'eveh.

38

And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adram'melech and Share'zer, his sons, slew him with the sword, and escaped into the land of Ar'arat. And E'sar-had'don his son reigned in his stead.

Isaiah 38

1

In those days Hezeki'ah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, "Thus says the LORD: Set your house in order; for you shall die, you shall not recover."

2

Then Hezeki'ah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the LORD,

3

and said, "Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in thy sight." And Hezeki'ah wept bitterly.

4

Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah:

5

"Go and say to Hezeki'ah, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.

6

I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and defend this city.

7

"This is the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he has promised:

8

Behold, I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the dial of Ahaz turn back ten steps." So the sun turned back on the dial the ten steps by which it had declined.

9

A writing of Hezeki'ah king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:

10

I said, In the noontide of my days I must depart; I am consigned to the gates of Sheol for the rest of my years.

11

I said, I shall not see the LORD in the land of the living; I shall look upon man no more among the inhabitants of the world.

12

My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me like a shepherd's tent; like a weaver I have rolled up my life; he cuts me off from the loom; from day to night thou dost bring me to an end;

13

I cry for help until morning; like a lion he breaks all my bones; from day to night thou dost bring me to an end.

14

Like a swallow or a crane I clamor, I moan like a dove. My eyes are weary with looking upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; be thou my security!

15

But what can I say? For he has spoken to me, and he himself has done it. All my sleep has fled because of the bitterness of my soul.

16

O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these is the life of my spirit. Oh, restore me to health and make me live!

17

Lo, it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but thou hast held back my life from the pit of destruction, for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.

18

For Sheol cannot thank thee, death cannot praise thee; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for thy faithfulness.

19

The living, the living, he thanks thee, as I do this day; the father makes known to the children thy faithfulness.

20

The LORD will save me, and we will sing to stringed instruments all the days of our life, at the house of the LORD.

21

Now Isaiah had said, "Let them take a cake of figs, and apply it to the boil, that he may recover."

22

Hezeki'ah also had said, "What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?"

Isaiah 39

1

At that time Mer'odach-bal'adan the son of Bal'adan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezeki'ah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered.

2

And Hezeki'ah welcomed them; and he showed them his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezeki'ah did not show them.

3

Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezeki'ah, and said to him, "What did these men say? And whence did they come to you?" Hezeki'ah said, "They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon."

4

He said, "What have they seen in your house?" Hezeki'ah answered, "They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them."

5

Then Isaiah said to Hezeki'ah, "Hear the word of the LORD of hosts:

6

Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left, says the LORD.

7

And some of your own sons, who are born to you, shall be taken away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."

8

Then said Hezeki'ah to Isaiah, "The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good." For he thought, "There will be peace and security in my days."

Isaiah 40

1

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

2

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.

3

A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4

Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.

5

And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

6

A voice says, "Cry!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.

7

The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people is grass.

8

The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand for ever.

9

Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"

10

Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.

11

He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms, he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

12

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?

13

Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or as his counselor has instructed him?

14

Whom did he consult for his enlightenment, and who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?

15

Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the isles like fine dust.

16

Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.

17

All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

18

To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?

19

The idol! a workman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts for it silver chains.

20

He who is impoverished chooses for an offering wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skilful craftsman to set up an image that will not move.

21

Have 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 stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;

23

who brings princes to nought, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.

24

Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

25

To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.

26

Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing.

27

Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, "My way is hid from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God"?

28

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary, his understanding is unsearchable.

29

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

30

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;

31

but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 41

1

Listen to me in silence, O coastlands; let the peoples renew their strength; let them approach, then let them speak; let us together draw near for judgment.

2

Who stirred up one from the east whom victory meets at every step? He gives up nations before him, so that he tramples kings under foot; he makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow.

3

He pursues them and passes on safely, by paths his feet have not trod.

4

Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am He.

5

The coastlands have seen and are afraid, the ends of the earth tremble; they have drawn near and come.

6

Every one helps his neighbor, and says to his brother, "Take courage!"

7

The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, "It is good"; and they fasten it with nails so that it cannot be moved.

8

But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend;

9

you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, "You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off";

10

fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

11

Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish.

12

You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all.

13

For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, "Fear not, I will help you."

14

Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I will help you, says the LORD; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

15

Behold, I will make of you a threshing sledge, new, sharp, and having teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and you shall make the hills like chaff;

16

You shall winnow them and the wind shall carry them away, and the tempest shall scatter them. And you shall rejoice in the LORD; in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.

17

When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the LORD will answer them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

18

I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

19

I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive; I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine together;

20

that men may see and know, may consider and understand together, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.

21

Set forth your case, says the LORD; bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.

22

Let them bring them, and tell us what is to happen. Tell us the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, that we may know their outcome; or declare to us the things to come.

23

Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods; do good, or do harm, that we may be dismayed and terrified.

24

Behold, you are nothing, and your work is nought; an abomination is he who chooses you.

25

I stirred up one from the north, and he has come, from the rising of the sun, and he shall call on my name; he shall trample on rulers as on mortar, as the potter treads clay.

26

Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know, and beforetime, that we might say, "He is right"? There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed, none who heard your words.

27

I first have declared it to Zion, and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good tidings.

28

But when I look there is no one; among these there is no counselor who, when I ask, gives an answer.

29

Behold, they are all a delusion; their works are nothing; their molten images are empty wind.

Isaiah 42

1

Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him, he will bring forth justice to the nations.

2

He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street;

3

a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.

4

He will not fail or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.

5

Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it:

6

"I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations,

7

to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

8

I am the LORD, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to graven images.

9

Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them."

10

Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the end of the earth! Let the sea roar and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants.

11

Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits; let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy, 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 goes forth like a mighty man, like a man of war he stirs up his fury; he cries out, he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foes.

14

For a long time I have held my peace, I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in travail, I will gasp and pant.

15

I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbage; I will turn the rivers into islands, and dry up the pools.

16

And I will lead the blind in a way that they know not, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I will do, and I will not forsake them.

17

They shall be turned back and utterly put to shame, who trust in graven images, who say to molten images, "You are our gods."

18

Hear, you deaf; and look, you blind, that you may see!

19

Who is blind but my servant, or deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is blind as my dedicated one, or blind as the servant of the LORD?

20

He sees many things, but does not observe them; his ears are open, but he does not hear.

21

The LORD was pleased, for his righteousness' sake, to magnify his law and make it glorious.

22

But this is a people robbed and plundered, they are all of them trapped in holes and hidden in prisons; they have become a prey with none to rescue, a spoil with none to say, "Restore!"

23

Who among you will give ear to this, will attend and listen for the time to come?

24

Who gave up Jacob to the spoiler, and Israel to the robbers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned, in whose ways they would not walk, and whose law they would not obey?

25

So he poured upon him the heat of his anger and the might of battle; it set him on fire round about, but he did not understand; it burned him, but he did not take it to heart.

Isaiah 43

1

But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

2

When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

3

For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.

4

Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.

5

Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you;

6

I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth,

7

every one who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."

8

Bring forth the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears!

9

Let all the nations gather together, and let the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this, and show us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses to justify them, and let them hear and say, It is true.

10

"You are my witnesses," says the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am He. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.

11

I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior.

12

I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses," says the LORD.

13

"I am God, and also henceforth I am He; there is none who can deliver from my hand; I work and who can hinder it?"

14

Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "For your sake I will send to Babylon and break down all the bars, and the shouting of the Chalde'ans will be turned to lamentations.

15

I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King."

16

Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters,

17

who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:

18

"Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.

19

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

20

The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people,

21

the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.

22

"Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob; but you have been weary of me, O Israel!

23

You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings, or honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, or wearied you with frankincense.

24

You have not bought me sweet cane with money, or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins, you have wearied me with your iniquities.

25

"I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

26

Put me in remembrance, let us argue together; set forth your case, that you may be proved right.

27

Your first father sinned, and your mediators transgressed against me.

28

Therefore I profaned the princes of the sanctuary, I delivered Jacob to utter destruction and Israel to reviling.

Isaiah 44

1

"But now hear, O Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen!

2

Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshu'run whom I have chosen.

3

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your descendants, and my blessing on your offspring.

4

They shall spring up like grass amid waters, like willows by flowing streams.

5

This one will say, 'I am the LORD's,' another will call himself by the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, 'The LORD's,' and surname himself by the name of Israel."

6

Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.

7

Who is like me? Let him proclaim it, let him declare and set it forth before me. Who has announced from of old the things to come? Let them tell us what is yet to be.

8

Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any."

9

All who make idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit; their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame.

10

Who fashions a god or casts an image, that is profitable for nothing?

11

Behold, all his fellows shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are but men; let them all assemble, let them stand forth, they shall be terrified, they shall be put to shame together.

12

The ironsmith fashions it and works it over the coals; he shapes it with hammers, and forges it with his strong arm; he becomes hungry and his strength fails, he drinks no water and is faint.

13

The carpenter stretches a line, he marks it out with a pencil; he fashions it with planes, and marks it with a compass; he shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house.

14

He cuts down cedars; or he chooses a holm tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest; he plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it.

15

Then it becomes fuel for a man; he takes a part of it and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread; also he makes a god and worships it, he makes it a graven image and falls down before it.

16

Half of it he burns in the fire; over the half he eats flesh, he roasts meat and is satisfied; also he warms himself and says, "Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!"

17

And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol; and falls down to it and worships it; he prays to it and says, "Deliver me, for thou art my god!"

18

They know not, nor do they discern; for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their minds, so that they cannot understand.

19

No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, "Half of it I burned in the fire, I also baked bread on its coals, I roasted flesh and have eaten; and shall I make the residue of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?"

20

He feeds on ashes; a deluded mind has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, "Is there not a lie in my right hand?"

21

Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you, you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.

22

I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.

23

Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it; shout, O depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and will be glorified in Israel.

24

Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: "I am the LORD, who made all things, who stretched out the heavens alone, who spread out the earth--Who was with me? --

25

who frustrates the omens of liars, and makes fools of diviners; who turns wise men back, and makes their knowledge foolish;

26

who confirms the word of his servant, and performs the counsel of his messengers; who says of Jerusalem, 'She shall be inhabited,' and of the cities of Judah, 'They shall be built, and I will raise up their ruins';

27

who says to the deep, 'Be dry, I will dry up your rivers';

28

who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfil all my purpose'; saying of Jerusalem, 'She shall be built,' and of the temple, 'Your foundation shall be laid.'"

Isaiah 45

1

Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and ungird the loins of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed:

2

"I will go before you and level the mountains, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut asunder the bars of iron,

3

I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.

4

For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I surname you, though you do not know me.

5

I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I gird you, though you do not know me,

6

that men may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.

7

I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe, I am the LORD, who do all these things.

8

"Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation may sprout forth, and let it cause righteousness to spring up also; I the LORD have created it.

9

"Woe to him who strives with his Maker, an earthen vessel with the potter! Does the clay say to him who fashions it, 'What are you making'? or 'Your work has no handles'?

10

Woe to him who says to a father, 'What are you begetting?' or to a woman, 'With what are you in travail?'"

11

Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: "Will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands?

12

I made the earth, and created man upon it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host.

13

I have aroused him in righteousness, and I will make straight all his ways; he shall build my city and set my exiles free, not for price or reward," says the LORD of hosts.

14

Thus says the LORD: "The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabe'ans, men of stature, shall come over to you and be yours, they shall follow you; they shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will make supplication to you, saying: 'God is with you only, and there is no other, no god besides him.'"

15

Truly, thou art a God who hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Savior.

16

All of them are put to shame and confounded, the makers of idols go in confusion together.

17

But Israel is saved by the LORD with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity.

18

For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it a chaos, he formed it to be inhabited!): "I am the LORD, and there is no other.

19

I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, 'Seek me in chaos.' I the LORD speak the truth, I declare what is right.

20

"Assemble yourselves and come, draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.

21

Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me.

22

"Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

23

By myself I have sworn, from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness a word that shall not return: 'To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.'

24

"Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed, all who were incensed against him.

25

In the LORD all the offspring of Israel shall triumph and glory."

Isaiah 46

1

Bel bows down, Nebo stoops, their idols are on beasts and cattle; these things you carry are loaded as burdens on weary beasts.

2

They stoop, they bow down together, they cannot save the burden, but themselves go into captivity.

3

"Hearken to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from your birth, carried from the womb;

4

even to your old age I am He, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.

5

"To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike?

6

Those who lavish gold from the purse, and weigh out silver in the scales, hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; then they fall down and worship!

7

They lift it upon their shoulders, they carry it, they set it in its place, and it stands there; it cannot move from its place. If one cries to it, it does not answer or save him from his trouble.

8

"Remember this and consider, recall it to mind, you transgressors,

9

remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me,

10

declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,'

11

calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.

12

"Hearken to me, you stubborn of heart, you who are far from deliverance:

13

I bring near my deliverance, it is not far off, and my salvation will not tarry; I will put salvation in Zion, for Israel my glory."

Isaiah 47

1

Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chalde'ans! For you shall no more be called tender and delicate.

2

Take the millstones and grind meal, put off your veil, strip off your robe, uncover your legs, pass through the rivers.

3

Your nakedness shall be uncovered, and your shame shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will spare no man.

4

Our Redeemer--the LORD of hosts is his name--is the Holy One of Israel.

5

Sit in silence, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chalde'ans; for you shall no more be called the mistress of kingdoms.

6

I was angry with my people, I profaned my heritage; I gave them into your hand, you showed them no mercy; on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy.

7

You said, "I shall be mistress for ever," so that you did not lay these things to heart or remember their end.

8

Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, "I am, and there is no one besides me; I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children":

9

These two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day; the loss of children and widowhood shall come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the great power of your enchantments.

10

You felt secure in your wickedness, you said, "No one sees me"; your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, "I am, and there is no one besides me."

11

But evil shall come upon you, for which you cannot atone; disaster shall fall upon you, which you will not be able to expiate; and ruin shall come on you suddenly, of which you know nothing.

12

Stand fast in your enchantments and your many sorceries, with which you have labored from your youth; perhaps you may be able to succeed, perhaps you may inspire terror.

13

You are wearied with your many counsels; let them stand forth and save you, those who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, who at the new moons predict what shall befall you.

14

Behold, they are like stubble, the fire consumes them; they cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. No coal for warming oneself is this, no fire to sit before!

15

Such to you are those with whom you have labored, who have trafficked with you from your youth; they wander about each in his own direction; there is no one to save you.

Isaiah 48

1

Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who came forth from the loins of Judah; who swear by the name of the LORD, and confess the God of Israel, but not in truth or right.

2

For they call themselves after the holy city, and stay themselves on the God of Israel; the LORD of hosts is his name.

3

"The former things I declared of old, they went forth from my mouth and I made them known; then suddenly I did them and they came to pass.

4

Because I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass,

5

I declared them to you from of old, before they came to pass I announced them to you, lest you should say, 'My idol did them, my graven image and my molten image commanded them.'

6

"You have heard; now see all this; and will you not declare it? From this time forth I make you hear new things, hidden things which you have not known.

7

They are created now, not long ago; before today you have never heard of them, lest you should say, 'Behold, I knew them.'

8

You have never heard, you have never known, from of old your ear has not been opened. For I knew that you would deal very treacherously, and that from birth you were called a rebel.

9

"For my name's sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off.

10

Behold, I have refined you, but not like silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.

11

For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.

12

"Hearken to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am He, I am the first, and I am the last.

13

My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together.

14

"Assemble, all of you, and hear! Who among them has declared these things? The LORD loves him; he shall perform his purpose on Babylon, and his arm shall be against the Chalde'ans.

15

I, even I, have spoken and called him, I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.

16

Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been 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 to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.

18

O that you had hearkened to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;

19

your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me."

20

Go forth from Babylon, flee from Chalde'a, declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it, send it forth to the end of the earth; say, "The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob!"

21

They thirsted not when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock; he cleft the rock and the water gushed out.

22

"There is no peace," says the LORD, "for the wicked."

Isaiah 49

1

Listen to me, O coastlands, and hearken, you peoples from afar. The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name.

2

He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away.

3

And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified."

4

But I said, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the LORD, and my recompense 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, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength--

6

he says: "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."

7

Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations, the servant of rulers: "Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."

8

Thus says the LORD: "In a time of favor I have answered you, in a day of salvation I have helped you; I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages;

9

saying to the prisoners, 'Come forth,' to those who are in darkness, 'Appear.' They shall feed along the ways, on all bare heights shall be their pasture;

10

they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall smite them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them.

11

And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be raised up.

12

Lo, these shall come from afar, and lo, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Syene."

13

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his afflicted.

14

But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me."

15

"Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.

16

Behold, I have graven you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

17

Your builders outstrip your destroyers, and those who laid you waste go forth from you.

18

Lift up your eyes round about and see; they all gather, they come to you. As I live, says the LORD, you shall put them all on as an ornament, you shall bind them on as a bride does.

19

"Surely your waste and your desolate places and your devastated land--surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants, and those who swallowed you up will be far away.

20

The children born in the time of your bereavement will yet say in your ears: 'The place is too narrow for me; make room for me to dwell in.'

21

Then you will say in your heart: 'Who has borne me these? I was bereaved and barren, exiled and put away, but who has brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; whence then have these come?'"

22

Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and raise my signal to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.

23

Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame."

24

Can the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?

25

Surely, thus says the LORD: "Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.

26

I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine. Then all flesh shall know that I am the LORD your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."

Isaiah 50

1

Thus says the LORD: "Where is your mother's bill of divorce, with which I put her away? Or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities you were sold, and for your transgressions your mother was put away.

2

Why, when I came, was there no man? When I called, was there no one to answer? Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a desert; their fish stink for lack of water, and die of thirst.

3

I clothe the heavens with blackness, and make sackcloth their covering."

4

The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him that is weary. Morning by morning he wakens, he wakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.

5

The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I turned not backward.

6

I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

7

For the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been confounded; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame;

8

he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me.

9

Behold, the Lord GOD helps me; who will declare me guilty? Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up.

10

Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant, who walks in darkness and has no light, yet trusts in the name of the LORD and relies upon his God?

11

Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who set brands alight! Walk by the light of your fire, and by the brands which you have kindled! This shall you have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment.

Isaiah 51

1

"Hearken to me, you who pursue deliverance, you who seek the LORD; look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were digged.

2

Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for when he was but one I called him, and I blessed him and made him many.

3

For the LORD will comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places, and will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song.

4

"Listen to me, my people, and give ear to me, my nation; for a law will go forth from me, and my justice for a light to the peoples.

5

My deliverance draws near speedily, my salvation has gone forth, and my arms will rule the peoples; the coastlands wait for me, and for my arm they hope.

6

Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die like gnats; but my salvation will be for ever, and my deliverance will never be ended.

7

"Hearken to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear not the reproach of men, and be not dismayed at their revilings.

8

For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool; but my deliverance will be for ever, and my salvation to all generations."

9

Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago. Was it not thou that didst cut Rahab in pieces, that didst pierce the dragon?

10

Was it not thou that didst dry up the sea, the waters of the great deep; that didst make the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?

11

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

12

"I, I am he that comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass,

13

and have forgotten the LORD, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, and fear continually all the day because of the fury of the oppressor, when he sets himself to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor?

14

He who is bowed down shall speedily be released; he shall not die and go down to the Pit, neither shall his bread fail.

15

For I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar--the LORD of hosts is his name.

16

And I have put my words in your mouth, and hid you in the shadow of my hand, stretching out the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, 'You are my people.'"

17

Rouse yourself, rouse yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl of staggering.

18

There is none to guide her among all the sons she has borne; there is none to take her by the hand among all the sons she has brought up.

19

These two things have befallen you--who will condole with you? --devastation and destruction, famine and sword; who will comfort you?

20

Your sons have fainted, they lie at the head of every street like an antelope in a net; they are full of the wrath of the LORD, the rebuke of your God.

21

Therefore hear this, you who are afflicted, who are drunk, but not with wine:

22

Thus says your Lord, the LORD, your God who pleads the cause of his people: "Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more;

23

and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors, who have said to you, 'Bow down, that we may pass over'; and you have made your back like the ground and like the street for them to pass over."

Isaiah 52

1

Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean.

2

Shake yourself from the dust, arise, O captive Jerusalem; loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.

3

For thus says the LORD: "You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.

4

For thus says the Lord GOD: My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing.

5

Now therefore what have I here, says the LORD, seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail, says the LORD, and continually all the day my name is despised.

6

Therefore my people shall know my name; therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here am I."

7

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who publishes peace, who brings good tidings of good, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns."

8

Hark, your watchmen lift up their voice, together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the LORD to Zion.

9

Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem; for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.

10

The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

11

Depart, depart, go out thence, touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her, purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the LORD.

12

For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

13

Behold, my servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high.

14

As many were astonished at him--his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the sons of men--

15

so shall he startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them they shall see, and that which they have not heard they shall understand.

Isaiah 53

1

Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

2

For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.

3

He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

5

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed.

6

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.

8

By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?

9

And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10

Yet it was the will of the LORD to bruise him; he has put him to grief; when he makes himself an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand;

11

he shall see the fruit of the travail of his soul and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous; and he shall bear their iniquities.

12

Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah 54

1

"Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in travail! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her that is married, says the LORD.

2

Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; hold not back, lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.

3

For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, and your descendants will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities.

4

"Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be put to shame; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.

5

For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.

6

For the LORD has called you like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God.

7

For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will gather you.

8

In overflowing wrath for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you, says the LORD, your Redeemer.

9

"For this is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you and will not rebuke you.

10

For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

11

"O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires.

12

I will make your pinnacles of agate, your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall of precious stones.

13

All your sons shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the prosperity of your sons.

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

If any one stirs up strife, it is not from me; whoever stirs up strife with you shall fall because of you.

16

Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals, and produces a weapon for its purpose. I have also created the ravager to destroy;

17

no weapon that is fashioned against you shall prosper, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, says the LORD."

Isaiah 55

1

"Ho, every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

2

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Hearken diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in fatness.

3

Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

4

Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples.

5

Behold, you shall call nations that you know not, and nations that knew you not shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.

6

"Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near;

7

let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

8

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD.

9

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10

"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return not thither but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

11

so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

12

"For you shall go out in joy, and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

13

Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the LORD for a memorial, for an everlasting sign which shall not be cut off."

Isaiah 56

1

Thus says the LORD: "Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed.

2

Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the sabbath, not profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil."

3

Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely separate me from his people"; and let not the eunuch say, "Behold, I am a dry tree."

4

For thus says the LORD: "To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant,

5

I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which shall not be cut off.

6

"And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, every one who keeps the sabbath, and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant--

7

these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.

8

Thus says the Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered."

9

All you beasts of the field, come to devour--all you beasts in the forest.

10

His watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.

11

The dogs have a mighty appetite; they never have enough. The shepherds also have no understanding; they have all turned to their own way, each to his own gain, one and all.

12

"Come," they say, "let us get wine, let us fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow will be like this day, great beyond measure."

Isaiah 57

1

The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from calamity,

2

he enters into peace; they rest in their beds who walk in their uprightness.

3

But you, draw near hither, sons of the sorceress, offspring of the adulterer and the harlot.

4

Of whom are you making sport? Against whom do you open your mouth wide and put out your tongue? Are you not children of transgression, the offspring of deceit,

5

you who burn with lust among the oaks, under every green tree; who slay your children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?

6

Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion; they, they, are your lot; to them you have poured out a drink offering, you have brought a cereal offering. Shall I be appeased for these things?

7

Upon a high and lofty mountain you have set your bed, and thither you went up to offer sacrifice.

8

Behind the door and the doorpost you have set up your symbol; for, deserting me, you have uncovered your bed, you have gone up to it, you have made it wide; and you have made a bargain for yourself with them, you have loved their bed, you have looked on nakedness.

9

You journeyed to Molech with oil and multiplied your perfumes; you sent your envoys far off, and sent down even to Sheol.

10

You were wearied with the length of your way, but you did not say, "It is hopeless"; you found new life for your strength, and so you were not faint.

11

Whom did you dread and fear, so that you lied, and did not remember me, did not give me a thought? Have I not held my peace, even for a long time, and so you do not fear me?

12

I will tell of your righteousness and your doings, but they will not help you.

13

When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you! The wind will carry them off, a breath will take them away. But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain.

14

And it shall be said, "Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people's way."

15

For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

16

For I will not contend for ever, nor will I always be angry; for from me proceeds the spirit, and I have made the breath of life.

17

Because of the iniquity of his covetousness I was angry, I smote him, I hid my face and was angry; but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.

18

I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and requite him with comfort, creating for his mourners the fruit of the lips.

19

Peace, peace, to the far and to the near, says the LORD; and I will heal him.

20

But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot rest, and its waters toss up mire and dirt.

21

There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked."

Isaiah 58

1

"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins.

2

Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments, they delight to draw near to God.

3

'Why have we fasted, and thou seest it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and thou takest no knowledge of it?' Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers.

4

Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high.

5

Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the LORD?

6

"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?

7

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

8

Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

9

Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, Here I am. "If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

10

if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.

11

And the LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your desire with good things, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

12

And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in.

13

"If you turn back your foot from the sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;

14

then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Isaiah 59

1

Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;

2

but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you so that he does not hear.

3

For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue mutters wickedness.

4

No one enters suit justly, no one goes to law honestly; they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies, they conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity.

5

They hatch adders' eggs, they weave the spider's web; he who eats their eggs dies, and from one which is crushed a viper is hatched.

6

Their webs will not serve as clothing; men will not cover themselves with what they make. Their works are works of iniquity, and deeds of violence are in their hands.

7

Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity, desolation and destruction are in their highways.

8

The way of peace they know not, and there is no justice in their paths; they have made their roads crooked, no one who goes in them knows peace.

9

Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we look for light, and behold, darkness, and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.

10

We grope for the wall like the blind, we grope like those who have no eyes; we stumble at noon as in the twilight, among those in full vigor we are like dead men.

11

We all growl like bears, we moan and moan like doves; we look for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us.

12

For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities:

13

transgressing, and denying the LORD, and turning away from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.

14

Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth has fallen in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter.

15

Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice.

16

He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intervene; then his own arm brought him victory, and his righteousness upheld him.

17

He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in fury as a mantle.

18

According to their deeds, so will he repay, wrath to his adversaries, requital to his enemies; to the coastlands he will render requital.

19

So they shall fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come like a rushing stream, which the wind of the LORD drives.

20

"And he will come to Zion as Redeemer, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression, says the LORD.

21

"And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the LORD: my spirit which is upon you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your children, or out of the mouth of your children's children, says the LORD, from this time forth and for evermore."

Isaiah 60

1

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

2

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.

3

And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

4

Lift up your eyes round about, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be carried in the arms.

5

Then you shall see and be radiant, your heart shall thrill and rejoice; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

6

A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Mid'ian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the LORD.

7

All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you, the rams of Nebai'oth shall minister to you; they shall come up with acceptance on my altar, and I will glorify my glorious house.

8

Who are these that fly like a cloud, and like doves to their windows?

9

For the coastlands shall wait for me, the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your sons from far, their silver and gold with them, for the name of the LORD your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has glorified you.

10

Foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you; for in my wrath I smote you, but in my favor I have had mercy on you.

11

Your gates shall be open continually; day and night they shall not be shut; that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, with their kings led in procession.

12

For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; those nations shall be utterly laid waste.

13

The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the cypress, the plane, and the pine, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.

14

The sons of those who oppressed you shall come bending low to you; and all who despised you shall bow down at your feet; they shall call you the City of the LORD, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

15

Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, with no one passing through, I will make you majestic for ever, a joy from age to age.

16

You shall suck the milk of nations, you shall suck the breast of kings; and you shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

17

Instead of bronze I will bring gold, and instead of iron I will bring silver; instead of wood, bronze, instead of stones, iron. I will make your overseers peace and your taskmasters righteousness.

18

Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.

19

The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you by night; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.

20

Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.

21

Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land for ever, the shoot of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.

22

The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation; I am the LORD; in its time I will hasten it.

Isaiah 61

1

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

2

to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;

3

to grant to those who mourn in Zion--to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.

4

They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.

5

Aliens shall stand and feed your flocks, foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;

6

but you shall be called the priests of the LORD, men shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their riches you shall glory.

7

Instead of your shame you shall have a double portion, instead of dishonor you shall rejoice in your lot; therefore in your land you shall possess a double portion; yours shall be everlasting joy.

8

For I the LORD love justice, I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

9

Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are a people whom the LORD has blessed.

10

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

11

For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

Isaiah 62

1

For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her vindication goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch.

2

The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name which the mouth of the LORD will give.

3

You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

4

You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My delight is in her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married.

5

For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

6

Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the LORD in remembrance, take no rest,

7

and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth.

8

The LORD has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: "I will not again give your grain to be food for your enemies, and foreigners shall not drink your wine for which you have labored;

9

but those who garner it shall eat it and praise the LORD, and those who gather it shall drink it in the courts of my sanctuary."

10

Go through, go through the gates, prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway, clear it of stones, lift up an ensign over the peoples.

11

Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, "Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him."

12

And they shall be called The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD; and you shall be called Sought out, a city not forsaken.

Isaiah 63

1

Who is this that comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he that is glorious in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? "It is I, announcing vindication, mighty to save."

2

Why is thy apparel red, and thy garments like his that treads in the wine press?

3

"I have trodden the wine press alone, and from the peoples no one was with me; I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my raiment.

4

For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption has come.

5

I looked, but there was no one to help; I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold; so my own arm brought me victory, and my wrath upheld me.

6

I trod down the peoples in my anger, I made them drunk in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth."

7

I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel which he has granted them according to his mercy, according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

8

For he said, Surely they are my people, sons who will not deal falsely; and he became their Savior.

9

In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

10

But they rebelled and grieved his holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.

11

Then he remembered the days of old, of Moses his servant. Where is he who brought up out of the sea the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put in the midst of them his holy Spirit,

12

who caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to make for himself an everlasting name,

13

who led them through the depths? Like a horse in the desert, they did not stumble.

14

Like cattle that go down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. So thou didst lead thy people, to make for thyself a glorious name.

15

Look down from heaven and see, from thy holy and glorious habitation. Where are thy zeal and thy might? The yearning of thy heart and thy compassion are withheld from me.

16

For thou art our Father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us; thou, O LORD, art our Father, our Redeemer from of old is thy name.

17

O LORD, why dost thou make us err from thy ways and harden our heart, so that we fear thee not? Return for the sake of thy servants, the tribes of thy heritage.

18

Thy holy people possessed thy sanctuary a little while; our adversaries have trodden it down.

19

We have become like those over whom thou hast never ruled, like those who are not called by thy name.

Isaiah 64

1

O that thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at thy presence--

2

as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil--to make thy name known to thy adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at thy presence!

3

When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains quaked at thy presence.

4

From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides thee, who works for those who wait for him.

5

Thou meetest him that joyfully works righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways. Behold, thou wast angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?

6

We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

7

There is no one that calls upon thy name, that bestirs himself to take hold of thee; for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast delivered us into the hand of our iniquities.

8

Yet, O LORD, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou art our potter; we are all the work of thy hand.

9

Be not exceedingly angry, O LORD, and remember not iniquity for ever. Behold, consider, we are all thy people.

10

Thy holy cities have become a wilderness, Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.

11

Our holy and beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, has been burned by fire, and all our pleasant places have become ruins.

12

Wilt thou restrain thyself at these things, O LORD? Wilt thou keep silent, and afflict us sorely?

Isaiah 65

1

I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, "Here am I, here am I," to a nation that did not call on my name.

2

I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices;

3

a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and burning incense upon bricks;

4

who sit in tombs, and spend the night in secret places; who eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;

5

who say, "Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am set apart from you." These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day.

6

Behold, it is written before me: "I will not keep silent, but I will repay, yea, I will repay into their bosom

7

their iniquities and their fathers' iniquities together, says the LORD; because they burned incense upon the mountains and reviled me upon the hills, I will measure into their bosom payment for their former doings."

8

Thus says the LORD: "As the wine is found in the cluster, and they say, 'Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,' so I will do for my servants' sake, and not destroy them all.

9

I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah inheritors of my mountains; my chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.

10

Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, for my people who have sought me.

11

But you who forsake the LORD, who forget my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny;

12

I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter; because, when I called, you did not answer, when I spoke, you did not listen, but you did what was evil in my eyes, and chose what I did not delight in."

13

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame;

14

behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart, but you shall cry out for pain of heart, and shall wail for anguish of spirit.

15

You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse, and the Lord GOD will slay you; but his servants he will call by a different name.

16

So that he who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth, and he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten and are hid from my eyes.

17

"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.

18

But be glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

19

I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress.

20

No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.

21

They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

22

They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

23

They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD, and their children with them.

24

Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear.

25

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, says the LORD."

Isaiah 66

1

Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool; what is the house which you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?

2

All these things my hand has made, and so all these things are mine, says the LORD. But this is the man to whom I will look, he that is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.

3

"He who slaughters an ox is like him who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, like him who breaks a dog's neck; he who presents a cereal offering, like him who offers swine's blood; he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like him who blesses an idol. These have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations;

4

I also will choose affliction for them, and bring their fears upon them; because, when I called, no one answered, when I spoke they did not listen; but they did what was evil in my eyes, and chose that in which I did not delight."

5

Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble at his word: "Your brethren who hate you and cast you out for my name's sake have said, 'Let the LORD be glorified, that we may see your joy'; but it is they who shall be put to shame.

6

"Hark, an uproar from the city! A voice from the temple! The voice of the LORD, rendering recompense to his enemies!

7

"Before she was in labor she gave birth; before her pain came upon her she was delivered of a son.

8

Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment? For as soon as Zion was in labor she brought forth her sons.

9

Shall I bring to the birth and not cause to bring forth? says the LORD; shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb? says your God.

10

"Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her;

11

that you may suck and be satisfied with her consoling breasts; that you may drink deeply with delight from the abundance of her glory."

12

For thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will extend prosperity to her like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall suck, you shall be carried upon her hip, and dandled upon her knees.

13

As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

14

You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bones shall flourish like the grass; and it shall be known that the hand of the LORD is with his servants, and his indignation is against his enemies.

15

"For behold, the LORD will come in fire, and his chariots like the stormwind, to render his anger in fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.

16

For by fire will the LORD execute judgment, and by his sword, upon all flesh; and those slain by the LORD shall be many.

17

"Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating swine's flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, says the LORD.

18

"For I know their works and their thoughts, and I am coming to gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and shall see my glory,

19

and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Put, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations.

20

And they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as an offering to the LORD, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the LORD, just as the Israelites bring their cereal offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD.

21

And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the LORD.

22

"For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before me, says the LORD; so shall your descendants and your name remain.

23

From new moon to new moon, and from sabbath to sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, says the LORD.

24

"And they shall go forth and look on the dead bodies of the men that have rebelled against me; for their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh."