Isaiah 40 - 55 - Legacy Standard Bible

Isaiah 40 - 55

The Glory of Yahweh Will Be Revealed

“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.

“Speak to the heart of Jerusalem;

And call out to her, that her warfare has been fulfilled,

That her iniquity has been removed,

That she has received from the hand of Yahweh

Double for all her sins.”

A voice is calling,

“Prepare the way for Yahweh in the wilderness;

Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

Let every valley be lifted up,

And every mountain and hill be made low;

And let the rough ground become a plain,

And the rugged terrain a broad valley;

Then the glory of Yahweh will be revealed,

And all flesh will see it together;

For the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”

A voice says, “Call out.”

Then he answered, “What shall I call out?”

All flesh is grass, and all its lovingkindness is like the flower of the field.

The grass withers, the flower fades,

When the breath of Yahweh blows upon it;

Surely the people are grass.

The grass withers, the flower fades,

But the word of our God stands forever.

Get yourself up on a high mountain,

O Zion, bearer of good news,

Raise up your voice powerfully,

O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;

Raise it up, do not fear.

Say to the cities of Judah,

“Behold your God!”

Behold, Lord Yahweh will come with strength,

With His arm ruling for Him.

Behold, His reward is with Him

And His recompense before Him.

Like a shepherd He will shepherd His flock;

In His arm He will gather the lambs

And carry them in His bosom;

He will gently lead the nursing ewes.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,

And encompassed the heavens by the span,

And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure,

And weighed the mountains in a balance

And the hills in a pair of scales?

Who has encompassed the Spirit of Yahweh,

Or as His counselor has informed Him?

With whom did He take counsel and who gave Him understanding?

And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge

And made Him know the way of understanding?

Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,

And are counted as a speck of dust on the scales;

Behold, He lifts up the coastlands like fine dust.

Even Lebanon is not enough to burn,

Nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering.

All the nations are as nothing before Him;

They are counted by Him as non‑existent and utterly formless.

To whom then will you liken God?

Or what likeness will you compare with Him?

As for the graven images, a craftsman casts it,

A goldsmith plates it with gold,

And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.

He who is too impoverished to make such a contribution

Chooses a tree that does not rot;

He seeks out for himself a wise craftsman

To prepare a graven image that will not be shaken.

Do you not know? Have you not heard?

Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?

Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

It is He who inhabits above the circle of the earth,

And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;

It is He who stretches out the heavens like a curtain

And spreads them out like a tent to inhabit.

It is He who reduces rulers to nothing,

Who makes the judges of the earth utterly formless.

Scarcely have they been planted;

Scarcely have they been sown;

Scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,

But He merely blows on them, and they wither,

And the storm carries them away like stubble.

“To whom then will you liken Me

That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes on high

And see who has created these stars,

The One who leads forth their host by number,

He calls them all by name;

Because of the greatness of His vigor and the strength of His power,

Not one of them is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,

“My way is hidden from Yahweh,

And the justice due me passes by my God”?

Do you not know? Have you not heard?

The Everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth,

Does not become weary or tired.

His understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the weary,

And to him who lacks vigor He increases might.

Though youths grow weary and tired,

And choice young men stumble badly,

Yet those who hope in Yahweh

Will gain new power;

They will mount up with wings like eagles;

They will run and not get tired;

They will walk and not become weary.

Do Not Fear, for I Am with You

“Coastlands, listen to Me in silence,

And let the peoples gain new power;

Let them come forward, then let them speak;

Let us draw near together for judgment.

Who has awakened one from the east

Whom He calls in righteousness to His feet?

He gives up nations before him

And has dominion over kings.

He makes them like dust with his sword,

As the wind‑driven chaff with his bow.

He pursues them, passing on in peace,

By a way he had not come with his feet.

Who has worked and done it,

Calling forth the generations from the beginning?

‘I, Yahweh, am the first; and with the last, I am He.’”

The coastlands have seen and are afraid;

The ends of the earth tremble;

They have drawn near and have come.

Each one helps his neighbor

And says to his brother, “Be strong!”

So the craftsman strengthens the smelter,

And he who smooths metal with the hammer strengthens him who beats the anvil,

Saying of the soldering, “It is good”;

And he strengthens it with nails,

So that it will not be shaken.

“But you, Israel, My servant,

Jacob whom I have chosen,

Seed of Abraham My friend,

You whom I have strongly taken hold of from the ends of the earth,

And called from its remotest parts

And said to you, ‘You are My servant,

I have chosen you and not rejected you.

Do not fear, for I am with you;

Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.

I will make you mighty, surely I will help you;

Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;

Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.

You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them,

Those who war with you will be as nothing and non‑existent.

For I am Yahweh your God, who strongly takes hold of your right hand,

Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’

Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel;

I will help you,” declares Yahweh, “and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

Behold, I have made you a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges;

You will thresh the mountains and pulverize them,

And will make the hills like chaff.

You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away,

And the storm will scatter them;

But you will rejoice in Yahweh;

You will boast in the Holy One of Israel.

“The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none,

And their tongue is parched with thirst;

I, Yahweh, will answer them Myself,

As the God of Israel I will not forsake them.

I will open rivers on the bare heights

And springs in the midst of the valleys;

I will make the wilderness a pool of water

And the dry land fountains of water.

I will put the cedar in the wilderness,

The acacia and the myrtle and the olive tree;

I will place the juniper in the desert

Together with the box tree and the cypress,

That they may see and know,

And establish and gain insight as well,

That the hand of Yahweh has done this,

And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

“Bring near your case,” Yahweh says.

“Bring forward your mighty arguments,”

The King of Jacob says.

Let them bring it forth and declare to us what is going to take place;

As for the former events, declare what they were,

That we may establish our heart on them and know their outcome.

Or cause us to hear of what is coming;

Declare the things that are to come afterward,

That we may know that you are gods;

Indeed, do good or evil, that we may anxiously look about us and fear together.

Behold, you are nothing,

And your work is non‑existent;

He who chooses you is an abomination.

“I have awakened one from the north, and he has come;

From the rising of the sun he will call on My name;

And he will come upon officials as upon mortar,

Even as the potter treads clay.”

Who has declared this from the beginning, that we might know?

Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”?

Surely there was no one who declared;

Surely there was no one who caused those words to be heard;

Surely there was no one who heard your words.

“Formerly I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’

And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a messenger of good news.’

But I look, and there is no one,

And there is no counselor among them

Who, if I ask, can respond with a word.

Behold, all of them are false;

Their works are non‑existent;

Their molten images are wind and utter formlessness.

Yahweh’s Chosen Servant

“Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;

My chosen one in whom My soul is well‑pleased.

I have put My Spirit upon Him;

He will bring forth justice to the nations.

He will not cry out or raise His voice,

Nor make His voice heard in the street.

A crushed reed He will not break

And a faintly burning wick He will not extinguish;

He will bring forth justice in truth.

He will not be faint or crushed

Until He has established justice in the earth;

And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”

5 Thus says the God, Yahweh,

Who created the heavens and stretched them out,

Who spread out the earth and its offspring,

Who gives breath to the people on it

And spirit to those who walk in it,

“I am Yahweh, I have called You in righteousness;

I will also take hold of You by the hand and guard You,

And I will give You as a covenant to the people,

As a light to the nations,

To open blind eyes,

To bring out prisoners from the dungeon

And those who inhabit darkness from the prison.

I am Yahweh, that is My name;

I will not give My glory to another,

Nor My praise to graven images.

Behold, the former things have come to pass;

Now I declare new things;

Before they spring forth I cause you to hear them.”

Sing to Yahweh a new song,

Sing His praise from the end of the earth!

You who go down to the sea, as well as its fullness.

You coastlands, and those who inhabit them.

Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voices,

The villages where Kedar inhabits.

Let the inhabitants of Sela sing aloud,

Let them shout for joy from the tops of the mountains.

Let them give glory to Yahweh

And declare His praise in the coastlands.

Yahweh will go forth like a warrior;

He will awaken His zeal like a man of war.

He will make a loud shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry.

He will prevail against His enemies.

Israel’s Blindness and Deafness

“I have kept silent for a long time;

I have kept still and restrained Myself.

Now like a woman in labor I will groan;

I will both gasp and pant.

I will lay waste the mountains and hills

And dry up all their vegetation;

I will make the rivers into coastlands

And dry up the pools of waters.

I will lead the blind by a way they do not know,

In paths they do not know I will guide them.

I will make darkness into light before them

And rugged places into plains.

These are the things I will do,

And I will not forsake them.”

They will be turned back and be utterly put to shame,

Who trust in graven images,

Who say to molten images,

“You are our gods.”

Hear, you deaf!

And look, you blind, that you may see.

Who is blind but My servant,

Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send?

Who is so blind as he that is at peace with Me,

Or so blind as the servant of Yahweh?

You have seen many things, but you do not keep them;

Your ears are open, but none hears.

Yahweh was pleased for His righteousness’ sake

That He make the law great and majestic.

But this is a people plundered and pillaged as spoil;

All of them are trapped in caves,

Or are hidden away in prisons;

They have become a plunder with none to deliver them,

And a spoil, with none to say, “Have them return!”

Who among you will give ear to this?

Who will give heed and hear hereafter?

Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to plunderers?

Was it not Yahweh, against whom we have sinned,

And in whose ways they were not willing to walk,

And whose law they did not obey?

So He poured out on him the heat of His anger

And the fierceness of battle;

And it set him aflame all around,

Yet he did not know it;

And it burned him, but he did not set it upon his heart.

The Redemption of Israel

But now, thus says Yahweh, your Creator, O Jacob,

And He who formed you, O Israel,

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name; you are Mine!

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,

Nor will the flame burn you.

For I am Yahweh your God,

The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I have given Egypt as your ransom,

Ethiopia and Seba in your place.

Since you are precious in My sight,

Since you are honored and I love you,

I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.

Do not fear, for I am with you;

I will bring your seed from the east,

And gather you from the west.

I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’

And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’

Bring My sons from afar

And My daughters from the ends of the earth,

Everyone who is called by My name,

And whom I have created for My glory,

Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

Israel Is Yahweh’s Witness

Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes,

And the deaf, even though they have ears.

All the nations have gathered together

So that the peoples may be assembled.

Who among them can declare this

And make us hear the former things?

Let them present their witnesses that they may be justified,

Or let them hear and say, “It is true.”

“You are My witnesses,” declares Yahweh,

“And My servant whom I have chosen,

So that you may know and believe Me

And understand that I am He.

Before Me there was no god formed,

And there will be none after Me.

I, even I, am Yahweh,

And there is no savior besides Me.

It is I who have declared and saved and caused it to be heard,

And there was no strange god among you;

So you are My witnesses,” declares Yahweh,

“And I am God.

Even from eternity I am He,

And there is none who can deliver out of My hand;

I act and who can reverse it?”

Rivers in the Wasteland

14 Thus says Yahweh your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,

“For your sake I have sent to Babylon,

And will bring down those who fled—all of them,

Even the Chaldeans—into the ships in which they shouted for joy.

I am Yahweh, your Holy One,

The Creator of Israel, your King.”

16 Thus says Yahweh,

Who makes a way through the sea

And a path through the mighty waters,

Who brings forth the chariot and the horse,

The military force and the mighty man;

They will lie down together and not rise again;

They have been extinguished and quenched like a wick:

“Do not remember the former things,

Nor carefully consider things of the past.

Behold, I will do something new;

Now it will spring forth;

Will you not know it?

I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,

Rivers in the wasteland.

The beasts of the field will glorify Me,

The jackals and the ostriches,

Because I have given waters in the wilderness

And rivers in the wasteland,

To give drink to My chosen people.

The people whom I formed for Myself

Will recount My praise.

“Yet you have not called on Me, O Jacob;

But you have become weary of Me, O Israel.

You have not brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings,

Nor have you glorified Me with your sacrifices.

I have not burdened you with offerings,

Nor wearied you with frankincense.

You have not bought Me sweet cane with money,

Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices;

Rather you have burdened Me with your sins;

You have wearied Me with your iniquities.

“I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake,

And I will not remember your sins.

Bring Me to remembrance, let us enter into judgment together;

Recount your cause, that you may be proved right.

Your first father sinned,

And your spokesmen have transgressed against Me.

So I will profane the princes of the sanctuary,

And I will give Jacob to be devoted to destruction and Israel to revilement.

No God Besides Yahweh

“But now hear, O Jacob, My servant,

And Israel, whom I have chosen:

Thus says Yahweh who made you

And formed you from the womb, who will help you,

‘Do not fear, O Jacob My servant,

And you Jeshurun whom I have chosen.

For I will pour out water on the thirsty ground

And streams on the dry land;

I will pour out My Spirit on your seed

And My blessing on your offspring;

And they will spring up among the grass

Like poplars by streams of water.’

This one will say, ‘I am Yahweh’s’;

And this one will call on the name of Jacob;

And this one will write on his hand, ‘Belonging to Yahweh,’

And will name Israel’s name with honor.

6 “Thus says Yahweh, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts:

‘I am the first, and I am the last,

And there is no God besides Me.

Who is like Me? Let him call out and declare it;

And let him tell it to Me in order,

From the time that I established the ancient people.

And let them declare to them the things that are to come

And the events that are going to take place.

Do not be in dread and do not be afraid;

Have I not long since caused it to be heard to you and declared it?

And you are My witnesses.

Is there any God besides Me,

Or is there any other Rock?

I know of none.’”

The Futility of Idolatry

9 Those who form a graven image are all of them futile, and their desirable things are of no profit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame. 10 Who has formed a god or cast a graven image to no profit? 11 Behold, all his companions will be put to shame. The craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them be in dread, let them together be put to shame. 12 The man crafts iron into a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, forming it with hammers and working it with his powerful arm. He also gets hungry and has no power; he drinks no water and becomes weary. 13 Another crafts wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with a stylus. He makes it with planes and outlines it with a compass and makes it like the form of a man, like the glory of man, so that it may sit in a house. 14 In order to cut cedars for himself, he takes a cypress or an oak and raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. 15 Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also kindles a fire to bake bread. He also works to produce 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 this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm; I have seen the fire.” 17 But the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god.” 18 They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they will have no insight. 19 No one causes this to return to his heart, nor is there knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then I make the rest of it into an abomination; I fall down before a block of wood!” 20 He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver his soul, and he cannot say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

Yahweh Forgives and Redeems

“Remember these things, O Jacob,

And Israel, for you are My servant;

I have formed you, you are My servant;

O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me.

I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud

And your sins like a cloud.

Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”

Shout for joy, O heavens, for Yahweh has done it!

Make a loud shout, you lower parts of the earth;

Break forth into a shout of joy, you mountains,

O forest, and every tree in it;

For Yahweh has redeemed Jacob

And in Israel He shows forth His beautiful glory.

24 Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb,

“I, Yahweh, am the maker of all things,

Stretching out the heavens by Myself

And spreading out the earth all alone,

Causing the omens of boasters to be annulled,

And making fools out of diviners,

Causing wise men to turn back,

And making foolishness out of their knowledge,

Confirming the word of His servant—

And the counsel of His messengers He will complete—

And being the One who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’

And of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built.’

And I will raise up her waste places again.

It is I who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Be dried up!’

And I will make your rivers dry.

It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd!

And all My good pleasure he will complete.’

And saying of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’

And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’”

Cyrus, Yahweh’s Anointed

Thus says Yahweh to Cyrus His anointed,

Whom I have taken hold of by his right hand,

To subdue nations before him

And to loose the loins of kings,

To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:

“I will go before you and make the rough places smooth;

I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars.

I will give you the treasures of darkness

And hidden wealth of secret places,

So that you may know that it is I,

Yahweh, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.

For the sake of Jacob My servant,

And Israel My chosen one,

I have also called you by your name;

I have given you a title of honor

Though you have not known Me.

I am Yahweh, and there is no other;

Besides Me there is no God.

I will gird you, though you have not known Me,

That they may know from the rising to the setting of the sun

That there is no one besides Me.

I am Yahweh, and there is no other,

The One forming light and creating darkness,

Producing peace and creating calamity;

I am Yahweh who does all these.

Yahweh the Maker

“Drip down, O heavens, from above,

And let the skies pour down righteousness;

Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit,

And righteousness spring up with it.

I, Yahweh, have created it.

“Woe to the one who contends with his Maker—

An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth!

Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’

Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?

Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’

Or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor pains?’”

11 Thus says Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:

“Ask Me about the things that are to come concerning My sons,

And you shall commit to Me the work of My hands.

It is I who made the earth and created man upon it.

I stretched out the heavens with My hands,

And I commanded all their host.

I have awakened him in righteousness,

And I will make all his ways smooth;

He will build My city and will let My exiles go,

Without any payment or reward,” says Yahweh of hosts.

14 Thus says Yahweh,

“The fruit of the labor of Egypt and the profit of Ethiopia

And the Sabeans, men of stature,

Will come over to you and will be yours;

They will walk behind you; they will come over in chains

And will bow down to you;

They will make supplication to you:

‘Surely, God is with you, and there is none else,

No other God.’”

Truly, You are a God who hides Himself,

O God of Israel, Savior!

They will be put to shame and even dishonored, all of them;

The craftsmen of idols will go away together in dishonor.

Israel has been saved by Yahweh

With an everlasting salvation;

You will not be put to shame or dishonored

To all eternity.

18 For thus says Yahweh, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it; He established it and did not create it a formless place, but formed it to be inhabited),

“I am Yahweh, and there is none else.

I have not spoken in secret,

In some dark land;

I did not say to the seed of Jacob,

‘Seek Me in a formless place’;

I, Yahweh, speak righteousness,

Declaring things that are upright.

“Gather yourselves and come;

Draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations;

They do not know,

Who carry about their graven image of wood

And pray to a god who cannot save.

Declare and draw near with your case;

Indeed, let them consult together.

Who has made this heard from of old?

Who has long since declared it?

Is it not I, Yahweh?

And there is no other God besides Me,

A righteous God and a Savior;

There is none except Me.

Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;

For I am God, and there is no other.

I have sworn by Myself,

The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness

And will not turn back,

That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.

They will say of Me, ‘Only in Yahweh are righteousness and strength.’

Men will come to Him,

And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.

In Yahweh all the seed of Israel

Will be justified and will boast.”

Babylon’s Idols and the True God

Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over;

Their images are on the beasts and the cattle.

The things that you carry are burdensome,

A load for the weary beast.

They stooped over, they have bowed down together;

They could not rescue the load,

But have themselves gone into captivity.

“Hear Me, O house of Jacob,

And all the remnant of the house of Israel,

You who have been burdening Me from birth

And have been carried from the womb;

Even to your old age I will be the same,

And even to your graying years I will bear you!

I have done it, and I will carry you;

And I will bear you, and I will rescue you.

“To whom would you liken Me

And make Me equal and compare Me,

That we would be alike?

Those who lavish gold from the purse

And weigh silver on the scale,

They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;

They fall down, indeed they worship it.

They carry it upon the shoulder and bear it;

They set it in its place, and it stands there.

It does not move from its place.

Though one may cry to it, it cannot answer;

It cannot save him from his distress.

“Remember this, and be assured;

Cause it to return to your heart, you transgressors.

Remember the former things long past,

For I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is no one like Me,

Declaring the end from the beginning,

And from ancient times things which have not been done,

Saying, ‘My counsel will be established,

And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’,

Calling a bird of prey from the east,

The man of My counsel from a far country.

Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.

I have formed it, surely I will do it.

“Hear Me, you stubborn of heart,

Who are far from righteousness.

I bring near My righteousness, it is not far off;

And My salvation will not delay.

And I will grant salvation in Zion,

And My glory for Israel.

Lament for Babylon

“Come down and sit in the dust,

O virgin daughter of Babylon;

Sit on the ground without a throne,

O daughter of the Chaldeans!

For you shall no longer be called tender and delicate.

Take the millstones and grind flour.

Uncover your veil, strip off the skirt,

Uncover the leg, cross the rivers.

Your nakedness will be uncovered;

Your reproach also will be seen;

I will take vengeance and will not spare a man.”

Our Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts is His name,

The Holy One of Israel.

“Sit silently, and go into darkness,

O daughter of the Chaldeans,

For you will no longer be called

The queen of kingdoms.

I was furious with My people;

I profaned My inheritance

And gave them into your hand.

You did not show compassion to them,

On the aged you made your yoke very heavy.

Yet you said, ‘I will be a queen forever.’

These things you did not put on your heart

Nor remember the outcome of them.

“So now, hear this, you sensual one,

Who sits securely,

Who says in your heart,

‘I am, and there is no one besides me.

I will not sit as a widow,

Nor know loss of children.’

But these two things will come on you suddenly in one day:

Loss of children and widowhood.

They will come on you in full measure

In spite of your many sorceries,

In spite of the great might of your spells.

You felt secure in your evil and said,

‘No one sees me,’

Your wisdom and your knowledge have turned you astray;

So you have said in your heart,

‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’

But evil will come on you

Which you will not know how to charm away;

And disaster will fall on you

For which you cannot atone;

And destruction about which you do not know

Will come on you suddenly.

“Stand fast now in your spells

And in your many sorceries

With which you have labored from your youth;

Perhaps you will be able to profit;

Perhaps you may cause trembling.

You are wearied with your many counsels;

Let now the astrologers,

Those who behold visions by the stars,

Those who predict by the new moons,

Stand up and save you from what will come upon you.

Behold, they have become like stubble,

Fire burns them;

They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame;

There will be no coal to warm by

Nor a fire to sit before!

Thus they have become for you, those among whom you have labored,

Who have traded with you from your youth;

Each has wandered in his own way;

There is none to save you.

My Glory I Will Not Give to Another

“Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name Israel

And who came forth from the loins of Judah,

Who swear by the name of Yahweh

And bring to remembrance the God of Israel,

But not in truth or in righteousness.

For they call themselves after the holy city

And are supported by the God of Israel;

Yahweh of hosts is His name.

I declared the former things long ago,

And they went forth from My mouth, and I caused them to be heard.

Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.

Because I know that you are stiff,

And your neck is an iron sinew

And your forehead bronze,

Therefore I declared them to you long ago,

Before they happened I caused them to be heard by you,

Lest you say, ‘My idol has done them,

And my graven image and my molten image have commanded them.’

You have heard; look at all this.

And you, will you not declare it?

I caused you to hear new things from this time,

Even hidden things which you have not known.

They are created now and not long ago;

And before today you have not heard them,

Lest you say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’

Indeed, you have not heard; indeed, you have not known.

Indeed, even from long ago your ear has not been open

Because I knew that you would deal very treacherously;

And you have been called a transgressor from the womb.

For the sake of My name I delay My anger,

And for My praise I restrain it for you,

In order not to cut you off.

Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;

I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act;

For how can My name be profaned?

And My glory I will not give to another.

Yahweh Redeems Jacob

“Hear Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called;

I am He, I am the first, I am also the last.

Also, My hand founded the earth,

And My right hand spread out the heavens;

When I call to them, they stand together.

Assemble, all of you, and hear!

Who among them has declared these things?

Yahweh loves him; he will carry out His good pleasure on Babylon,

And His arm will be against the Chaldeans.

I, even I, have spoken; indeed I have called him,

I have brought him, and He will make his ways successful.

Draw near to Me, hear this:

From the first I have not spoken in secret,

From the time it took place, I was there.

So now Lord Yahweh has sent Me, and His Spirit.”

17 Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,

“I am Yahweh your God, who teaches you to profit,

Who leads you in the way you should go.

If only you had paid attention to My commandments!

Then your peace would have been like a river,

And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

Your seed would have been like the sand,

And the offspring from your loins like its grains;

Their name would never be cut off or destroyed from My presence.”

Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans!

Declare with the sound of joyful shouting, cause this to be heard,

Bring it forth to the end of the earth;

Say, “Yahweh has redeemed His servant Jacob.”

And they did not thirst when He led them through the waste places.

He made the water flow out of the rock for them;

He split the rock, and the water gushed forth.

“There is no peace for the wicked,” says Yahweh.

I Will Give You as a Light of the Nations

Listen to Me, O coastlands,

And pay attention, you peoples from afar.

Yahweh called Me from the womb;

From the body of My mother He made My name to be remembered.

He has set My mouth like a sharp sword;

In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me;

And He has also set Me as a select arrow;

He has hidden Me in His quiver.

He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel,

In Whom I will show forth My beautiful glory.”

But I said, “I have toiled in vain;

I have spent My might for nothing and vanity;

Yet surely the justice due to Me is with Yahweh,

And My reward with My God.”

So now says Yahweh, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,

To return Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him

(For I am glorified in the sight of Yahweh,

And My God is My strength),

He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant

To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to cause the preserved ones of Israel to return;

I will also give You as a light of the nations

So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Thus says Yahweh, the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One,

To the despised One,

To the One abhorred by the nation,

To the Servant of rulers,

“Kings will see and arise,

Princes will also bow down,

Because of Yahweh who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”

8 Thus says Yahweh,

“In an acceptable time I have answered You,

And in a day of salvation I have helped You;

And I will guard You and give You for a covenant of the people,

To establish the land, to make them inherit the desolate inheritance;

Saying to those who are bound, ‘Go forth,’

To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’

Along the roads they will feed,

And their pasture will be on all bare heights.

They will not hunger or thirst,

Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down;

For He who has compassion on them will guide them

And will lead them to springs of water.

I will set all My mountains as a road,

And My highways will be raised up.

Behold, these will come from afar;

And behold, these will come from the north and from the west,

And these from the land of Sinim.”

Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth!

Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains!

For Yahweh has comforted His people

And will have compassion on His afflicted.

Promise to Zion

But Zion said, “Yahweh has forsaken me,

And the Lord has forgotten me.”

“Can a woman forget her infant

And have no compassion on the son of her womb?

Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.

Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;

Your walls are continually before Me.

Your builders hurry;

Your destroyers and devastators

Will depart from you.

Lift up your eyes and look around;

All of them gather together; they come to you.

As I live,” declares Yahweh,

“You will surely put on all of them as jewels and bind them on as a bride.

For your devastated and desolate places and your destroyed land—

Surely now you will be too cramped for the inhabitants,

And those who swallowed you will be far away.

The children of whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears,

‘The place is too cramped for me;

Make room for me that I may live here.’

Then you will say in your heart,

‘Who has borne these for me?

Indeed, I have been bereaved of my children

And am barren, an exile and a wanderer.

And who has reared these?

Behold, I remained alone;

From where did these come?’”

22 Thus says Lord Yahweh,

“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations

And make high My standard to the peoples;

And they will bring your sons in their bosom,

And your daughters will be lifted up on their shoulders.

Kings will be your guardians,

And their princesses your nurses.

They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth

And lick the dust of your feet;

And you will know that I am Yahweh;

Those who hope in Me will not be put to shame.

“Can the prey be taken from the mighty man,

Or the captives of the righteous be granted escape?”

25 Surely, thus says Yahweh,

“Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away,

And the prey of the tyrant will be granted escape;

For I will contend with the one who contends with you,

And I will save your sons.

I will feed those who mistreat you with their own flesh,

And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine;

And all flesh will know that I, Yahweh, am your Savior

And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Yahweh Helps His Servant

Thus says Yahweh,

“Where is the certificate of divorce

By which I have sent your mother away?

Or to which of My creditors did I sell you?

Behold, you were sold for your iniquities,

And for your transgressions your mother was sent away.

Why was there no man when I came?

When I called, why was there none to answer?

Is My hand so short that it cannot ransom?

Or have I no power to deliver?

Behold, I dry up the sea with My rebuke;

I make the rivers a wilderness;

Their fish stink for lack of water

And die of thirst.

I clothe the heavens with blackness

And make sackcloth their covering.”

Lord Yahweh has given Me the tongue of disciples,

That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word.

He awakens Me morning by morning;

He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

Lord Yahweh has opened My ear;

And I did not rebel

Nor did I turn back.

I gave My back to those who strike Me,

And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;

I did not hide My face from dishonor and spitting.

Even now Lord Yahweh helps Me,

Therefore, I am not dishonored;

Therefore, I have set My face like flint,

And I know that I will not be ashamed.

He who vindicates Me is near;

Who will contend with Me?

Let us stand up to each other;

Who has a judgment against Me?

Let him approach Me.

Behold, Lord Yahweh helps Me;

Who is he who condemns Me?

Behold, they will all wear out like a garment;

The moth will eat them.

Who is among you that fears Yahweh,

That listens to the voice of His Servant,

That walks in darkness and has no light?

Let him trust in the name of Yahweh and rely on his God.

Behold, all you who kindle a fire,

Who gird yourselves with firebrands,

Walk in the light of your fire

And among the brands you have set ablaze.

This you will have from My hand:

You will lie down in torment.

Yahweh’s Righteousness Is Forever

“Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness,

Who seek Yahweh:

Look to the rock from which you were hewn

And to the quarry from which you were dug.

Look to Abraham your father

And to Sarah who brought you forth through labor pains;

When he was but one I called him,

Then I blessed him and multiplied him.”

Indeed, Yahweh will comfort Zion;

He will comfort all her waste places.

And her wilderness He will make like Eden,

And her desert like the garden of Yahweh;

Joy and gladness will be found in her,

Thanksgiving and sound of a melody.

“Pay attention to Me, O My people,

And give ear to Me, O My nation;

For a law will go forth from Me,

And I will set My justice for a light of the peoples.

My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth,

And My arms will judge the peoples;

The coastlands will hope in Me,

And for My arm they will wait expectantly.

Lift up your eyes to the sky,

Then look to the earth beneath;

For the sky will vanish like smoke,

And the earth will wear out like a garment,

And its inhabitants will die in like manner;

But My salvation will be forever,

And My righteousness will not be dismayed.

Listen to Me, you who know righteousness,

A people in whose heart is My law;

Do not fear the reproach of man,

Nor be dismayed at their revilings.

For the moth will eat them like a garment,

And the grub will eat them like wool.

But My righteousness will be forever,

And My salvation to all generations.”

Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Yahweh;

Awake as in the days of old, the generations of long ago.

Was it not You who chopped Rahab in pieces,

Who pierced the dragon?

Was it not You who dried up the sea,

The waters of the great deep,

Who made the depths of the sea a pathway

For the redeemed to cross over?

So the ransomed of Yahweh will return

And come with joyful shouting to Zion,

And everlasting gladness will be on their heads.

They will obtain joy and gladness,

And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

“I, even I, am He who comforts you.

Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies

And of the son of man who is made like grass,

That you have forgotten Yahweh your Maker,

Who stretched out the heavens

And laid the foundations of the earth,

That you tremble in dread continually all day long because of the wrath of the one who brings distress,

As he makes ready to bring ruin?

But where is the wrath of the one who brings distress?

14 The one in chains will soon be set free and will not die in the pit, nor will his bread be lacking. 15 For I am Yahweh your God, who stirs up the sea, and its waves roar—Yahweh of hosts is His name. 16 I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’” 17

Awaken yourself! Awaken yourself! Arise, O Jerusalem,

You who have drunk from the hand of Yahweh the cup of His wrath;

The chalice of reeling you have drained to the dregs.

There is none to guide her among all the sons she has borne,

Nor is there one to take hold of her by the hand among all the sons she has reared.

These two things have befallen you;

Who will console you?

The devastation and destruction, famine and sword;

How shall I comfort you?

Your sons have fainted;

They lie helpless at the head of every street,

Like an antelope in a net,

Full of the wrath of Yahweh,

The rebuke of your God.

Therefore, now, listen to this, you afflicted,

Who are drunk, but not with wine:

Thus says your Lord, Yahweh, even your God

Who contends for His people,

“Behold, I have taken out of your hand the cup of reeling,

The chalice of My wrath;

You will never drink it again.

I will set it into the hand of those who cause you grief,

Who have said to you, ‘Lie down that we may walk over you.’

You have even set your back down like the ground

And like the street for those who walk over it.”

Hope for Captive Zion

Awake, awake,

Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion;

Clothe yourself in your glorious garments,

O Jerusalem, the holy city;

For the uncircumcised and the unclean

Will no longer come into you.

Shake yourself from the dust, rise up,

O captive Jerusalem;

Loose yourself from the chains around your neck,

O captive daughter of Zion.

3 For thus says Yahweh, “You were sold for nothing, and you will be redeemed without money.” 4 For thus says Lord Yahweh, “My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there; then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. 5 So now, what do I have here,” declares Yahweh, “since My people have been taken away for nothing?” Yahweh declares, “Those who rule over them howl, and My name is continually blasphemed all day long. 6 Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore in that day I am the one who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’” 7

How lovely on the mountains

Are the feet of him who proclaims good news,

Who announces peace

And proclaims good news of good things,

Who announces salvation,

And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

The voice of Your watchmen! They lift up their voices;

They shout joyfully together;

For they will see with their own eyes

When Yahweh returns to Zion.

Break forth, shout joyfully together,

You waste places of Jerusalem;

For Yahweh has comforted His people;

He has redeemed Jerusalem.

Yahweh has bared His holy arm

In the sight of all the nations,

That all the ends of the earth may see

The salvation of our God.

Depart, depart, go out from there,

Touch nothing unclean;

Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves,

You who carry the vessels of Yahweh.

But you will not go out in haste,

Nor will you go as those who flee;

For Yahweh will go before you,

And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

The Exalted Servant

Behold, My Servant will prosper;

He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.

Just as many were appalled at you, My people,

So His appearance was marred more than any man

And His form more than the sons of men.

Thus He will sprinkle many nations,

Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him;

For what had not been told them they will see,

And what they had not heard they will understand.

The Suffering Servant

Who has believed our report?

And to whom has the arm of Yahweh been revealed?

For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,

And like a root out of parched ground;

He has no stately form or majesty

That we should look upon Him,

Nor appearance that we should desire Him.

He was despised and forsaken of men,

A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;

And like one from whom men hide their face

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Surely our griefs He Himself bore,

And our sorrows He carried;

Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten of God, and afflicted.

But He was pierced through for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

The chastening for our peace fell upon Him,

And by His wounds we are healed.

All of us like sheep have gone astray,

Each of us has turned to his own way;

But Yahweh has caused the iniquity of us all

To fall on Him.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He did not open His mouth;

Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,

And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,

So He did not open His mouth.

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,

That for the transgression of my people, striking was due to Him?

So His grave was assigned with wicked men,

Yet He was with a rich man in His death,

Because He had done no violence,

Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

But Yahweh was pleased

To crush Him, putting Him to grief;

If You would place His soul as a guilt offering,

He will see His seed,

He will prolong His days,

And the good pleasure of Yahweh will succeed in His hand.

As a result of the anguish of His soul,

He will see it and be satisfied;

By His knowledge the Righteous One,

My Servant, will justify the many,

As He will bear their iniquities.

Therefore, I will divide for Him a portion with the many,

And He will divide the spoil with the strong;

Because He poured out His soul to death,

And was numbered with the transgressors;

Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,

And interceded for the transgressors.

The Inheritance of the Slaves of Yahweh

“Shout for joy, O barren woman, who has not given birth;

Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor;

For more numerous are the sons of the desolate one

Than the sons of the married woman,” says Yahweh.

“Enlarge the place of your tent;

Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not hold back;

Lengthen your cords

And strengthen your pegs.

For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left.

And your seed will possess nations

And will resettle the desolate cities.

“Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame;

And do not feel dishonored, for you will not be humiliated;

But you will forget the shame of your virginity,

And the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.

For your husband is your Maker,

Whose name is Yahweh of hosts;

And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,

Who is called the God of all the earth.

For Yahweh has called you,

Like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,

Even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,”

Says your God.

“For a brief moment I forsook you,

But with great compassion I will gather you.

In a flood of fury

I hid My face from you for a moment,

But with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you,”

Says Yahweh your Redeemer.

“For this is like the days of Noah to Me,

When I swore that the waters of Noah

Would not overflow the earth again;

So I have sworn that I will not be furious with you

Nor will I rebuke you.

For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,

But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,

And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,”

Says Yahweh who has compassion on you.

“O afflicted one, storm‑tossed, and not comforted,

Behold, I will lay your stones in antimony,

And your foundations I will set in sapphires.

Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies,

And your gates of crystal,

And your entire wall of precious stones.

All your sons will be taught of Yahweh;

And the peace of your sons will be great.

In righteousness you will be established;

You will be far from oppression, for you will not fear,

And from terror, for it will not come near you.

If anyone fiercely attacks you it will not be from Me.

Whoever attacks you will fall because of you.

Behold, I Myself have created the craftsman who blows the fire of coals

And brings out a weapon for its work;

And I have created the bringer of ruin to wreak destruction.

No weapon that is formed against you will succeed;

And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.

This is the inheritance of the slaves of Yahweh,

And their righteousness is from Me,” declares Yahweh.

Seek Yahweh While He May Be Found

“Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters;

And you who have no money come, buy and eat.

Come, buy wine and milk

Without money and without cost.

Why do you spend money for what is not bread,

And your wages for what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,

And delight your soul in richness.

Incline your ear and come to Me.

Listen, that your soul may live;

And I will cut an everlasting covenant with you,

According to the faithful lovingkindnesses of David.

Behold, I have given him as a witness to the peoples,

A ruler and commander for the peoples.

Behold, you will call a nation you do not know,

And a nation which knows you not will run to you,

Because of Yahweh your God, even the Holy One of Israel;

For He has adorned you with beautiful glory.”

Seek Yahweh while He may be found;

Call upon Him while He is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way

And the unrighteous man his thoughts;

And let him return to Yahweh,

And He will have compassion on him,

And to our God,

For He will abundantly pardon.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,” declares Yahweh.

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways

And My thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,

And do not return there without watering the earth

And making it bear and sprout,

And giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;

It will not return to Me empty,

Without accomplishing what pleases Me,

And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

For you will go out with gladness

And be led forth with peace;

The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,

And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up,

And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up,

And it will be to Yahweh for His renown,

For an everlasting sign which will not be cut off.”