ISAIAH
|
Chapter
|
||||||||||
|
Chapter
|
||||||||||
|
Chapter
|
||||||||||
|
Chapter
|
||||||||||
|
Chapter
|
||||||||||
|
Chapter |
||||||||||
|
Chapter |
|
|
|
|
§ Against an unthinking people
°1 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz foretold concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. °2 Listen, O heavens! Give heed, O earth! for the Lord speaks: “I raised children, I brought them up, but they have risen against me. °3 The ox knows its master and the ass its owner’s manger, but Israel does not know me, my people do not understand. °4 A sinful nation, a people weighed down with iniquity, a wicked race, perverted children! They have turned away from Yahweh and despised the Holy One of Israel. °5 Shall I strike you again and again? People always rebelling, your whole head is diseased and your heart also afflicted. °6 From the soles of your feet to the top of your head – all is wounds and bruises, sores uncleaned and unbound, not eased with soothing ointment. °7 Your country lies desolate, your cities razed by fire. Aliens have devoured the harvest before your very eyes, and you were left in ruins. °8 The Daughter of Zion is left like a shanty in a vineyard, like a hut in a melon field, like a hamleted town. °9 Had not Yahweh of hosts left us a small remnant, we would resemble Sodom, we would be like Gomorrah. °10 Hear the warning of Yahweh, rulers of Sodom. Listen to the word of God, people of Gomorrah.” °11 “What do I care,” says Yahweh “for your endless sacrifices? I am fed up with your burnt offerings, and the fat of your bulls. The blood of fatlings, and lambs and he-goats I abhor. °12 When you come before me and trample on my courts, who asked you to visit me? °13 I am fed up with your oblations. I grow sick with your incense. Your New Moons, Sabbaths and meetings, evil with holy assemblies, I can no longer bear. °14 I hate your New Moons and appointed feasts they burden me. °15 When you stretch out your hands I will close my eyes; the more you pray, the more I refuse to listen, for your hands are bloody. °16 Wash and make yourselves clean. Remove from my sight the evil of your deeds. Put an end to your wickedness °17 and learn to do good. Seek justice and keep in line the abusers; give the fatherless their rights and defend the widow.” °18 “Come,” says the Lord, “let us reason together. Though your sins be like scarlet, they will be white as snow; though they be as crimson red, they will be white as wool. °19 If you will obey me, you will eat the goods of the earth; °20 but if you resist and rebel, the sword will eat you instead.” Truly the Lord has spoken. § You became a harlot
°21 Zion, the faithful city, has become a harlot! She who abounded in justice, in whom righteousness lodged, has become a hideout of murderers! °22 Your silver has turned to dross, your best wine thinned with water. °23 Your rulers are tyrants, partners of thieves. They love a bribe and look around for gifts. No one protects the orphan, or listens to the claim of the widow. °24 This is why the Lord speaks, Yahweh Sabaoth, the Mighty One of Israel: “I will subdue my foes and exact payment from my enemies. °25 I will turn my hand against you, I will smelt away your dross and remove your impurities. °26 I will restore your judges, I will give back your counselors, as it was in the beginning. Then you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.” °27 The deliverance of Zion will be like a judgment there will be a remnant: the just ones. °28 But rebels and sinners alike will be destroyed, and those who desert the Lord will likewise perish. °29 Yes, you will be ashamed of your sacred
oaks which have given
you delight; you
will blush for your gardens which
you have chosen. °30 You will be like an oak, the
leaves of which wither, and
like a garden which
runs out of water. °31 The strongman will be as tinder and
all his work a spark: both
will burn together and
no one will quench the fire. § God promises lasting peace
°1 The vision of Isaiah, son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem. °2 In the last days, the mountain of Yahweh’s house shall be set over the highest mountains and shall tower over the hills. °3 All the nations shall stream to it, saying, “Come, let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and we may walk in his paths. For the Teaching comes from Zion, and from Jerusalem the word of Yahweh. °4 He will rule over the nations and settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not raise sword against nation; they will train for war no more. °5 O nation of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!” § Hide in the dust°6 You have forsaken your people, the land of Jacob, for it was full of diviners. They turned into soothsayers like the Philistines, and clasped hands with pagans. °7 Their land is full of silver and gold, there is no end to their treasures. Their land is full of horses, there is no end to their chariots. °8 Their land is full of idols, and they bow down before the work of their hands, before the things their fingers have made. °9 Man will be humbled and the mortal fallen, forgive them not! °10 Get behind the rocks, hide in the dust, for fear of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty! °11 The haughty looks of man will be humbled; the pride of mortal will be brought low. Yahweh alone will be exalted on that day. °12 Yahweh will stand up on that day against all the proud and arrogant, against all that is high or great, °13 against all the cedars of Lebanon and all the oaks of Bashan, °14 against all the lofty mountains, and all the soaring hills, °15 against every high tower and fortified walls, °16 against all the ships of Tarshish and their luxurious load. °17 The arrogance of man will be humbled; the pride of mortal will be brought low. Yahweh alone will be exalted on that day, °18 and all the idols will pass away. °19 People will flee into the hollows of the rocks, into the caverns of the earth, from the terror of Yahweh, from the splendor of his majesty, when he arises to terrify the earth. °20 On that day, they will throw to the moles and to the bats their idols of silver and gold, which they made for themselves to worship. °21 They will flee into the caverns of the rocks, into the crevices of the crags, from the terror of the Lord, from the splendor of his Majesty, when he arises to terrify the earth. °22 Rely not on man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. What is he worth? ¤3 °1 See how the Lord, Yahweh
Sabaoth, takes
away provisions and supplies from
Judah and Jerusalem – °2 the hero and the soldier, the
judge and the prophet, the
diviner and the elder, °3 the captain and the man of rank, the
counselor, the wise man, the craftsman,
and the enchanter. °4 I will make striplings their princes and
raw lads their rulers. °5 People will oppress each other – every
neighbor his neighbor; the
young will bully the old and
the base will insult the honorable. °6 When that day comes, a
man will take hold of his brother in
the house of his father and
say, “You have clothes, so
be our leader and
rule over this heap of ruins.” °7 But he will cry out in protest: “I
cannot undertake to remedy all this, when
in my own house there
is neither food nor clothing; do
not make me leader of the people.” °8 See how Jerusalem crumbles and
Judah falls, for
in word and deed they
have defied the Lord, and
insulted his glorious presence. § Alas for
the wicked!
°9 The look on their faces denounces them: they do not hide their sin; instead, they parade it, like Sodom: Woe to them! They bring about their own downfall! °10 Say, “Fortunate are the righteous, they will eat of the fruit of their deeds.” °11 But woe to the wicked: the evil that their hands have done shall be done to them! °12 O my people, plundered by your rulers, enslaved by your creditors! O my people, your leaders deceive you and lead you astray. °13 Yahweh takes his place in court and stands to try his people. °14 Yahweh calls to judgment the elders and the princes: “You have devoured my vineyard. The spoil of the poor is in your houses. °15 What right have you to crush the people and to grind down the poor?” declares Yahweh Sabaoth. § How haughty
are these women!
°16 Yahweh says, “Haughty are the women of Zion, walking with their heads held high, with mincing steps, flirting with their eyes, ornaments tinkling on their ankles.” °17 But Yahweh will cover with scabs the heads of Zion’s women and make their scalps bald. °18 On that day the Lord will take away the ankle ornaments, the headbands and the crescents, °19 the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves, °20 the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume bottles and the amulets, °21 the signet rings and nose rings, °22 the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags, °23 the garments, the turbans, and the veils. °24 Instead of fragrance, there will be stench; instead of girdle, rope; instead of well-set hair, baldness; instead of jeweled gown, sackcloth; and instead of beauty, shame. °25 Your men will fall by the sword; your
heroes, in battle. °26 The city gates will lament and mourn as
Zion, ravaged, sits on the ground. °1 On that day, seven women will fight over one man. “We
will eat our own food,” they will say, “we will wear our own clothing, only
let us be called by your name and take away our disgrace.” § A remnant saved on Mount Zion°2 On that day theShootof Yahweh will be beautiful and glorious; and theFruitof the earth will be honor and splendor for the survivors of Israel. °3 Those who are left in Zion and remain in Jerusalem will be called holy all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem, °4 when Yahweh washes away the filth of the women of Zion and purges Jerusalem of the bloodstains in its midst with the blast of searing judgment, the blast of fire. °5 Then will Yahweh create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over its assemblies a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of fire by night. For the Glory of the Lord will be a canopy and a pavilion for all, °6 a shade from the scorching heat by day, a refuge from the storm and rain. § The song of the vineyard¤5 °1 Let me sing for my beloved the love song of my beloved about his vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. °2 He dug it up, cleared the stones, and planted the choicest vines. He built there a watchtower and hewed out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only wild grapes. °3 Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. °4 What more was there to do that I have not done for my vineyard? Good grapes was the yield I expected, why did it yield only sour grapes? °5 Now I will let you know what I am going to do with my vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be burned; I will break down its wall and it will be trampled on. °6 I will make it a wasteland, I will neither prune nor hoe it, and briers and thorns will grow there. I command the clouds, as well, not to send rain on it. °7 The vineyard of Yahweh Sabaoth is the people of Israel, and the people of Judah are his pleasant vine. He looked for justice, but found bloodshed; He looked for righteousness but heard cries of distress. § Woe to you rich!°8 Woe to you who join house to house, who add field to field! So no room will remain, with you alone in the land? °9 Yahweh Sabaoth has sworn in my hearing: “Many houses will remain in ruins, beautiful mansions without occupants. °10 Ten acres of vineyard will yield only a barrel of wine; ten bushels of seed, only a bushel of grain.” °11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning to run after strong drink, and tarry late in the evening till they are inflamed with wine. °12 They have lyres and harps, timbrels and flutes, and wine at their banquets; but they have no thought for the deeds of the Lord, nor do they see his plans. °13 Thus my people will go into exile for want of understanding, their dignitaries dying of hunger, their masses parched with thirst. °14 Therefore the grave has enlarged its
throat and
opened its mouth to the full; it
swallows the upper crust of Zion, their
throngs and their revelry. °15 Man shall be humbled and
the mortal fallen, and
the eyes of the haughty cast down. °16 But Yahweh Sabaoth will be exalted when
he comes in judgment; the
sentences of the holy God will
reveal his holiness. (°17 Then will the lambs graze as at pasture, fatlings
and kids will browse among the ruins.) °18 Woe to those who haul their wrongs with
cords of deceit, to
those who pull a cart of sins, °19 to those who say, “Let God hurry, let
him speed up his work so
that we may see it. Let
the plans of the Holy One of Israel draw
near and come true, which
we are eager to learn about!” °20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good
evil, who
change darkness for light and
light for darkness, who
give bitter for sweet and
sweet for bittter. °21 Woe to those who are wise in their own
eyes and
take themselves for sages. °22 Woe to those who are champions in mixing
drinks and
valiant at drinking bouts, °23 but acquit the guilty for a bribe and
deprive the innocent of his right. °24 Therefore, as the tongues of fire lick up
stubble, as
dry grass sinks down in the flames, so
their roots will rot, and
their flowers be blown away like dust, for
they have rejected the law of Yahweh Sabaoth and
scorned the word of the Holy One of Israel. °25 Therefore the Lord, his
wrath burning against his people, raises
his hand against them and
strikes them down. The
mountains quake: the
corpses litter the streets. Yet
for all this his anger does not subside, his
hand is still raised, poised to strike. °26 He gives a signal to nations afar, he
whistles to them from the ends of the earth; speedily
and swiftly they come. °27 None of them is weary, none stumbles none
slumbers or sleeps; not
a waist belt is loosened, not
a sandal-thong broken. °28 Their arrows are sharp, all
their bows are strong: their
horses’ hoofs seem like flint, their
chariot wheels like the whirlwind. °29 They roar like young lions; they
growl as they seize their prey, no
one to rescue it as they carry it off. °30 On that day they will roar over these
people like
the roaring of the sea. Just
look at the land – darkness
and distress, the
light flickering out in shadows, darkened
finally by the clouds. § The call of
Isaiah
°1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; the train of his robe filled the Temple. °2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: two to cover the face, two to cover the feet, and two to fly with. °3 They were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh Sabaoth. All the earth is filled with his Glory!” °4 At the sound of their voices the foundations of the threshold shook and the Temple was filled with smoke. °5 I said, “Poor me! I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips, and yet I have seen the King, Yahweh Sabaoth.” °6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me; in his hands was a live coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar. °7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin is forgiven.” °8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” I answered, “Here I am. Send me!” °9 He said, “Go and tell this people: ‘Much as you hear, you will not understand; much as you see, you do not perceive.’ °10 Let their hearts be hardened, make their ears deaf and their eyes blind; what a misfortune for them, should they hear and see! Yet if they understood and came back to me I would heal them.” °11 Then I said, “For how long, O Lord?” And he answered, “Until towns have been laid waste and left without inhabitant; until the houses are deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, °12 until Yahweh has sent away the people and the fields are left deserted. °13 Even though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned. Yet there a stump will remain like that of a fallen oak; this stump is a holy seed.” § First warning to Ahaz°1 When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king
of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, laid
siege to Jerusalem but they were unable to capture it. °2 When the news reached the house of David, “Aram’s
troops are encamped in Ephraim,” the heart of the king and the hearts of the
people trembled as the trees of the forest tremble before the wind. °3 Yahweh then said to Isaiah: “Go with your sonA-Remnant-Will-Return,and meet Ahaz at
the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman’s
Field. °4 Say to him, Stay
calm and fear not; do not lose courage before these two stumps of smoldering
firebrands – the fierce anger of Rezin the Aramean and the blazing fury of
the son of Remaliah. You know that °5 Aram,
Ephraim and Remaliah’s son have plotted against Judah, saying: °6 Let us invade and scare it, let us seize it and put
the son of Tabeel king over it. °7 But the Lord Yahweh says: It
shall not be so, it
shall not come to pass. °8 a For Damascus is only the head of Aram and
Rezin the lord of Damascus. °9 a Samaria is only the head of Ephraim and
Remaliah’s son is only the lord of Samaria. °8 b Within fifty-six years, Ephraim
will be shattered and
will no longer be a people. °9 b But if you do not stand firm in faith, you,
too, will not stand at all.” § The Virgin is with child°10 Once again Yahweh addressed Ahaz, °11 “Ask for a sign from Yahweh your God, let it come either from the deepest depths or from the heights of heaven.” °12 But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask, I will not put Yahweh to the test.” °13 Then Isaiah said, “Now listen, descendants of David. Have you not been satisfied trying the patience of people, that you also try the patience of my God? °14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The Virginis with child and bears a son and calls his nameImmanuel.°15 He will live on curds and honey by the time he learns to refuse evil and choose good. °16 For before the child knows how to reject evil and cherish virtue, the land of the two kings that you abhor will be deserted. °17 Yahweh will bring a time much worse than any since Ephraim broke away from Judah. °18 On that day Yahweh will whistle for
flies from the farthest streams of Egypt and
for bees from the land of Assyria. °19 They will come and settle in
the steep ravines, in
the clefts of the rocks, on
all the bushes, and
on every pasture. °20 On that day, with
a razor hired from beyond the river (with
the king of Assyria), Yahweh
will shave the head and
the hair of the legs and
the beard as well. °21 On that day a man will raise a
heifer and a couple of sheep, °22 and from the abundance of milk those
who survive in the land will
feed on curds and honey. °23 On that day every place planted
with a thousand vines worth
a thousand silver shekels will
be covered with briers and thorns. °24 Men will go there armed
with bows and arrows, for
the whole country will
be covered with briers and thorns. °25 No one will dare come to
all the hills which used to be cultivated with hoe, for
fear of briers and thorns. There,
cattle will be let loose and
sheep left to graze. § The waters of Shiloah gently flowing
°1 The Lord said to me, “Take a large cylindrical seal
and write on it in ordinary characters:Quick
to plunder–Booty is Close.°2 Do this before Uriah the priest and
Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah my reliable witness.” °3 I went to my wife; she conceived and gave birth to a
son. Then Yahweh said to me, “Call himQuick
to plunder–Booty is Close,for this is Yahweh’s word: °4 Before the child knows how to say “father” or
“mother”, the wealth of Damascus and the booty of Samaria will be carried off
by the king of Assyria.” °5 Again Yahweh spoke to me: °6 “Because
this people refuses the gently flowing waters of Shiloah, and cowers in fear before
Rezin and the son of Remaliah, °7 therefore the Lord will bring against
them the waters of the River, deep and mighty – the king of Assyria with all
his pomp. It
will rise over all its channels and
overflow all its banks; °8 it will sweep on to Judah, it
will overflow and pass on, reaching
up to the neck. It
will spread its wings over the whole breadth of your land, O Immanuel! °9 Know it, O you nations. Hear,
O you distant lands; gird
yourselves for war and be dismayed! °10 Devise a plan and it will be thwarted, make
a resolve and it will not stand, for
God-is-with-us. § Yahweh, a
hidden God
°11 Thus Yahweh spoke to me when his hand grasped me and he warned me not to walk in the way of these people: °12 “Do not speak of conspiracy whenever these people dread conspiracy; do not fear what they fear nor be in dread. °13 Only Yahweh Sabaoth must you hold in veneration, only him must you fear, only him must you dread. °14 He will be a sanctuary and at the same time a stumbling-stone, the rock that brings down, for both houses of Israel. He will be like trap and snare for the people of Jerusalem. °15 Many of them will stumble, many will fall and be broken, be trapped and captured.” °16 Yahweh added: “Bind this testimony and seal it in the midst of my disciples.” °17 So I will wait for Yahweh who hides his face from the people of Jacob. I will hope in him. °18 Here am I and the children he has given me. We are signs and portents in Israel from Yahweh Sabaoth, who dwells on Mount Zion. °19 Should people tell you to consult mediums and
spiritists who whisper and mutter, you must say to them: “A people, of
course, must consult its gods! On behalf of the living, will you consult the
dead?” °20 This is what is said through the law and revelations:
this word will not fade away. °21 Distressed and famished, they
will roam the land. In
their hunger they will fume and
curse their God and their king. They
will look upward, °22 and then look towards the earth, but
they will only find distress and darkness, and
frightening gloom. °23 Yet, where there was but anguish,
darkness will disappear. He
has just afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the
future he will confer glory
on the way of the sea, on the land beyond the Jordan – the pagans’ Galilee. §To us a child is born
¤9 °1 The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light. A light has dawned on those who live in the land of the shadow of death. °2 You have enlarged the nation; you have increased their joy. They rejoice before you, as people rejoice at harvest time as they rejoice in dividing the spoil. °3 For the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressors, you have broken it as on the day of Midian. °4 Every warrior’s boot that tramped in war, every cloak rolled in blood, will be thrown out for burning, will serve as fuel for the fire. °5 For a child is born to us, a son is given us; the royal ornament is laid upon his shoulder, and his name is proclaimed: “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” °6 To the increase of his powerful rule in peace, there will be no end. Vast will be his dominion, he will reign on David’s throne and over all his kingdom, to establish and uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time onward and forever. The zealous love of Yahweh Sabaoth will do this. § Threats against Israel
°7 The Lord has sent a word against Jacob: the sentence
fell upon Israel. °8 The people of Samaria and Ephraim saw it, but they
said in pride and arrogance of heart: °9 “The
bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with hewn stones; the sycamores
have been cut down, but in their place we will plant cedars.” °10 Therefore, Yahweh raises foes against them and stirs
up their adversaries: °11 from the east, Arameans, from the west,
Philistines – with open mouth they devour Israel. Yet
for all this his anger does not subside, his hand is poised to strike. °12 For the people have not come back to him who has
smitten them; they have not sought Yahweh Sabaoth. °13 Therefore, Yahweh has cut off from Israel both head
and tail, palm branch and reed in a single day. °14 The
elders and prominent men are the head, the tail is the prophet of lies. °15 The guides of these people mislead them, the leaders
have lost their way. °16 The Lord, therefore, does not spare their
young men nor have compassion on their orphans and widows. For everyone has
become evil and ungodly; every mouth speaks folly. Yet
for all this his anger does not subside, his hand is poised to strike. °17 Their wickedness has become like a fire which
consumes both thorn and brier; it rages, sets thickets ablaze, and all of
them vanish like smoke. °18 By the wrath of Yahweh Sabaoth the land is set
aflame, and the people are burned like fuel for fire because no one spared
another. °19 Snatching left and right, they still go hungry and
they remain unfilled: each one devours his neighbor’s flesh. °20 Manasseh devours Ephraim, Ephraim devours Manasseh;
and against Judah together they march. Yet
for all this his anger does not subside, his hand is poised to strike. § Legal injustice¤10 °1 Woe to those who enact unjust laws and issue oppressive decrees! °2 Woe to those who rob the poor of their rights and deprive the helpless of justice! They prey on widows and plunder the orphans. °3 What will you do on the day of punishment? Where will you flee for help when disaster suddenly comes? Where will you save your wealth? °4 You can do nothing but cringe among the captives and exiles or fall down among the slain. Yet for all this Yahweh’s anger does not subside, his hand is poised to strike. § Assyria: instrument of God°5 Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger, the
staff of my fury! °6 Against a godless nation I send him, against
a people who provoke my wrath I dispatch him, to
plunder and pillage, to
tread them down like mud in the streets. °7 But the mind of his king is far from
this, his
heart harbors other thoughts; what
he wants is to destroy, to
make an end of all nations. °8 For he says: “Are
not my commanders like kings? °9 Was it not the same for Calno as for
Carchemish, for
Hamath as for Arpad, and
for Samaria as for Damascus? °10 Just as my hands have seized idolatrous
kingdoms, whose graven images excelled those of Samaria and Jerusalem, °11 just as I have dealt with Samaria and her
idols, shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols?” °12 When Yahweh has finished all his work on Mount Zion
and in Jerusalem, he will punish the king of Assyria for his willful pride
and arrogant insolence. °13 For the king says; “By
my own strength I have done this and
by my own wisdom, for I am clever. I
have moved the frontiers of peoples, I
have plundered treasures, I
have brought inhabitants down to the dust, I
have toppled kings from their thrones. °14 As one reaches into a nest, so
my hands have reached into nations’ wealth. As
one gathers deserted eggs, so
have I gathered the riches of the earth. No
one flapped a wing or
opened its mouth to chirp a protest.” °15 Does the axe claim more credit than
the man who wields it? Does
the saw magnify itself more
than the one who uses it? This
would be like a rod wielding the man who lifts it up; will
those not made of wood, be controlled by the cudgel? °16 Therefore the Lord, Yahweh Sabaoth, is
ready to send a wasting sickness upon
the king’s sturdy warriors. Beneath
his plenty, a flame will burn like
a consuming fire. °17 The Light of Israel will be a fire and
his Holy One a flame – to
burn and devour his thorns and briers all
in a single day. °18 The splendor of his forest and fruitful
land comes
undone and raves, body
and soul disappears and passes away. °19 The remnant of the trees in his forest will
be so few, so easy to count, that
a child could make a list of them. § A remnant will return
°20 On that day, the remnant of Israel and the survivors
of the people of Jacob will no longer rely upon the tyrant who struck them
down, but instead will truly rely upon the Holy One of Israel. °21A remnant will return– a remnant of Jacob – to the mighty God. °22 Yes, Israel! Though your people be as the sand of
the sea, only a remnant of them will return; their end has been ordered,
justice shall be fully done. °23 The Lord will make a full end, as decreed
by Him, all over the land. °24 Thus says the Lord, Yahweh Sabaoth, “O
my people, who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians who strike
you with the rod and lift up their staff against you as did the Egyptians. °25 In a little while my anger against you will be over
and will be directed to their destruction. °26 Yahweh Sabaoth will lash at them with a scourge, as
he did with the Midianites at the rock of Oreb, as he did in Egypt when he
raised his rod over the sea. °27 On that day, their burden will be lifted off your
shoulders, their yoke lifted off your neck. The yoke will be destroyed. °28 They have gone up from Rimmon and
have come to Aiath; they
have passed through Migron and
stored supplies at Michmash. °29 They have crossed over the pass and
now camp at Geba for the night. Ramah
is in terror; Gibeah
of Saul has fled. °30 Lift up your voice, O daughter of Gallim, let
it be heard at Laishah and
answered at Anathoth. °31 Madmenah is in flight; the
people of Gebim flee for their lives. °32 This day the invaders will halt at Nob; they
will shake their fists at
the mount of the Daughter of Zion, at
the hill of Jerusalem. °33 Suddenly, the Lord, Yahweh Sabaoth lops
off the boughs with terrifying violence. The
tall trees are hewn down, the
lofty ones are brought low. °34 With an axe he cuts down the thickets; and
Lebanon, the majestic, falls. § The Prince of Peace¤11 °1 From the stump of Jesse a shoot will come forth; from his roots a branch will grow and bear fruit. °2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him – a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and power, a Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord. °3 Not by appearances will he judge, nor by what is said must he decide, °4 but with justice he will judge the poor and with righteousness decide for the meek. Like a rod, his word will strike the oppressor, and the breath of his lips slay the wicked. °5 Justice will be the girdle of his waist, truth the girdle of his loins. °6 The wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will rest beside the kid, the calf and the lion cub will feed together and a little child will lead them. °7 Befriending each other, the cow and the bear will see their young ones lie down together. Like cattle, the lion will eat hay. °8 By the cobra’s den the infant will play. The child will put his hand into the viper’s lair. °9 No one will harm or destroy over my holy mountain, for as water fills the sea the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. °10 On that day the “Root of Jesse” will be raised as a
signal for the nations. The people will come in search of him, thus making
his dwelling place glorious. °11 On that day Yahweh will again raise his hand to
reclaim the remnant of his people from Assyria; from Egypt, Pathros and
Ethiopia; from Elam, Shinar, Hamath and from the coastlands of the sea. °12 He will set up a signal that can be seen from all
the countries and assemble the exiles of Israel; he will gather the scattered
people of Judah from all the corners of the earth. °13 Then Ephraim will cast off its jealousy and Judah
will be rid of its enemies. Ephraim will not envy Judah nor Judah be hostile
to Ephraim. °14 But the two will sweep down together upon
the shoulder of Philistia to the west and plunder the nations to the east.
They will lay their hands upon Edom and Moab and make the Ammonites their
subjects. °15 Yahweh will dry up the tongue of the Egyptian sea;
he will sweep his hand over the Euphrates in scorching fury, and break it
into seven streams that people can cross dry-shod. °16 Then
there will be a highway for the remnant of his people coming back from
Assyria, as there was when Israel came out of Egypt. § Song of the
saved
¤12 °1 On that day you will say: “I give praise to you, O Lord. Although you have been angry with me your anger has been appeased and you have consoled me. °2 He is the God of my salvation; in him I trust and am not afraid, Yahweh is my strength: him I will praise, the one who saved me.” °3 You will draw water with joy from the very fountain of salvation. °4 Then you will say: “Praise to the Lord, break into songs of joy for him, proclaim his marvellous deeds among the nations and exalt his Name. °5 Sing to the Lord: wonders he has done let these be known all over the earth. °6 Sing for joy, O people of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.” § Against Babylon°1 An oracle concerning Babylon, seen
by Isaiah, son of Amoz: °2 On a bare hilltop raise a banner; cry
aloud to them, wave
a hand for them to
enter the Gates of the Nobles. °3 I have ordered my sacred knights, I
have summoned my mighty warriors – all
those who rejoice in my triumph – I
have commanded them to carry out my wrath. °4 Listen, a rumbling on the mountains as
of a great multitude! Listen,
a tumultuous uproar as
of kingdoms massing together! Yes,
Yahweh Sabaoth is mustering his army. °5 From faraway lands, from
the ends of the heavens they
come – Yahweh and
the instruments of his wrath – to
destroy the whole earth. °6 Wail, for the day of Yahweh is near; it
will come as destruction from the Almighty. °7 All arms will go limp, every
human heart will fail him. °8 Everyone will be gripped with terror. Pain
and sorrow taking hold of them, men
will be in anguish like
women in travail. They
will look aghast at each other, their
faces aflame as with fever. °9 See how the day of Yahweh comes: it
is a cruel day coming
with wrath and fierce anger. It
will make the earth desolate; it
will destroy sinners within it. °10 The stars and constellations at night will
send forth no light, the moon will
not shine; in the morning the sun will
be dark as it rises. °11 I punish the world for the evil it does, and
the wicked for their sins. I
make the arrogance of the proud cease. I
end the haughtiness of the ruthless. °12 I will make mortals scarcer than gold and
humans more rare than the gold of Ophir. °13 This is why the heavens tremble and
the earth shakes its foundation, at
the wrath of Yahweh Sabaoth on
the day of his burning anger. °14 Like a hunted gazelle, or
like a flock without a shepherd everyone
returns to his own people, each
one flees to his native land. °15 Whoever is captured will be butchered, whoever
is caught will be slaughtered. °16 Their babies will be dashed to pieces
before their eyes, their
houses will be looted, their
wives raped. °17 Against them I will stir up the Medes, who
don’t crave for money and
are not interested in gold. °18 Their bows and arrows will strike down young
men without
mercy or compassion. They
do not spare infants and children. °19 Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, pride
and glory of the Chaldeans, will
be like Sodom and Gomorrah when
overthrown by God. °20 She will never be inhabited, nor
dwelt in from age to age. There
no Arab will pitch his tent, no
shepherd will tend his flock. °21 There wild beasts of the desert will lie, howling
creatures will fill the houses, owls
and ostriches will dwell there and
wild goats will leap about. °22 There mad dogs will cry out in her
strongholds, and
jackals in her palaces. Her
time is close at hand; her
days are now numbered. °1 The Lord will take pity on Jacob, he will choose
Israel again and settle them in their own land. Then foreigners will join
them and be counted with the people of Jacob. °2 Nations will take them and bring them to their own
place. But as soon as they are back home, the people of Israel will subdue
them and make them servants and maids. Thus the people of Israel will make
captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors. § How you have fallen, shining star!°3 On the day Yahweh gives you rest from your suffering and turmoil, from your fear and your cruel bondage, °4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: How has the oppression ceased? How has the strongman ended? °5 Yahweh has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the tyrant °6 who struck down the people with blow after blow, who ruled the nations in anger, with unrelenting persecution. °7 The whole earth is at rest and at peace, breaking forth into song. °8 Even the cypresses exult and the cedars of Lebanon say: “Now that you have fallen, no loggers come to cut us down.” °9 The netherworld is all astir to meet you when you come. It stirs up the dead to greet you – all who were leaders of the world. It raises from their thrones – all who were kings of the nations. °10 They all speak and say to you: “You have also been thrown to the ground and have become like us! °11 All your pomp has been brought down to the Kingdom of death, along with the sound of your harps; maggots are the bed beneath you and worms are your blanket.” °12 How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cast down to the ground, you who mowed down the nations! °13 You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven, I will raise my throne higher than the stars of God; I will sit on the Mount of Assembly, in the far recesses of the North. °14 I will climb up above the clouds; I will be like the Most High!” °15 But down to the netherworld you go, to the deep recesses of the Pit. °16 All who see you stare at you and ponder over your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth, who made kingdoms quake, °17 who made the world a waste, who overthrew its cities and would not give its captives release?” °18 All kings of nations lie in state, each in his own tomb. °19 You are nevertheless cast out of the tomb, like a rejected untimely birth, like a trampled corpse buried under the slaughtered, under those cut down by the sword, thrown into the common grave. °20 You were not given a monument for you have brought your land to ruin, and caused your people to be slain. May the descendants of evildoers never be mentioned again! °21 Go up, slaughter the sons for the sins of their fathers, lest they rise and possess the land and cover the earth with their cities. °22 “I will rise up against them,” says Yahweh Sabaoth. “I
will cut off from Babylon her name, her remnant, offspring and posterity,”
says Yahweh. °23 “I will turn her into a swampland, a habitation of
reptiles and crocodiles; I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,”
says Yahweh Sabaoth. °24 Yahweh Sabaoth has sworn: “As
I have planned, so will it be! As
I have decided, so will I do; °25 I will destroy the Assyrian in my land, trample
him down on my mountains; take
his yoke off my people’s neck, and
remove his burden from their shoulders. °26 This is the sentence he pronounced for the whole
earth; with his hand stretched out over all nations. °27 Yahweh has made a decision, and who will annul it?
His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back? § Warning to the Philistines°28 In the year King Ahaz died this oracle was
proclaimed: °29 “Rejoice not, all you Philistines, that the rod
which smote you is broken; for from the root of the snake will come forth a
viper, and its offspring will be a flying dragon. °30 On that day my poor will have their fill with the
fruits of my fields and the helpless will rest secure. But through famine I
will kill your children and slay even your remnant.” °31 Wail, O gate! Cry, O city! tremble
in fear, all you Philistines! For
smoke comes from the north – a
great army sweeps down on you. °32 What answer will then be given to the messengers of
that nation? “Yahweh has laid the foundation of Zion, and there his afflicted
people will take refuge.” § Lament for Moab
°1An oracle concerning Moab: Laid
waste in a night, Ar
of Moab is silent! Laid
waste in a night, Kir
of Moab is ruined! °2 The people of Diman have gone to
the high places to weep. Over
Nebo and Medeba Moab wails. Every
head is shaved, every
beard is shorn. °3 In the streets they wear sackcloth, on
the rooftops and in the squares; everyone
wails, every
heart melts in tears. °4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their
howling is heard as far as Jahaz; the
armed men of Moab cry aloud and
their hearts are faint. °5 My heart cries out for Moab; her
fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as
far as Eglath-Shelishiyah. At
the ascent of Luhith they
go up weeping; on
the way to Horonaim their
cries are heart-rending. °6 The watered fields of Nimrim have
become a wasteland; the
turf is dried up, the
grass is withered, the
verdure is gone. °7 Now they carry away their possessions, the
wealth they have stored up, to
the Brook of the Willows. °8 Their cry rings round the border of Moab, resounds
as far as Eglaim, reaches
as far as Beer Elim. °9 The waters of Dimon flow with blood, but
worse is yet in store, for
I will bring lions upon Dimon, upon
those who escape from Moab, and
upon those who survive in the land. ¤16 °1 Like bewildered birds cast
out of their nests, the
daughters of Moab stay
at the fords of Arnon. °2 From Sela, across the wilderness, they
send lambs to the mount of Zion: are
they not the rulers of the land? °3 They say: “Take counsel, render
decision with justice. Even
at high noon let
your shade be like the night to
hide the fugitives. Do
not betray the refugees. °4 Let the outcasts from Moab sojourn
among you; be
a refuge to them against
the destroyer.” (When
the oppressor is no more and
the destruction is over and
those who trample the land underfoot
have gone, °5 a throne will be established steadfast
in love. One
from the House of David, for
the sake of truth will sit on it; he
will administer justice swiftly and
judge the people righteously.) °6 We have heard of the pride of Moab, of
her arrogance and insolence, of
her empty pretensions. °7 Let her wail then, and
let everyone wail for her. Mourn
for the raisin-cakes of Kirhareseth. °8 The fields of Heshbon languish, the
vines of Sibmah wither. The
tyrants of the nations have
trampled down the choicest vines, those
that once reached Jazer, spreading
towards the desert, stretching
out as far as the sea. °9 Therefore I weep as Jazer weeps for
the vines of Sibmah. I
drench you, O Heshbon, O
Elealeh, with my tears! For
over your fruit and your vintage have
been heard loud battle cheers. °10 But they are gone: joy and gladness have
now vanished from your orchards. In
the vineyards no
more singing is heard, no
more shout of joy is raised. In
the winepresses no
foot treads out wine, no
voice shouts in exultation, no
heart sings a vintage song. °11 Like a lyre, therefore, my
soul moans for Moab; my
heart pines for Kir-Areseth. °12 When Moab appears on the high places, she
will only grow weary; when
she goes to pray at the sanctuary, it
will be to no avail. °13 This is the word which Yahweh spoke against Moab in
the past. But °14 now Yahweh says, “Within three years,
like the years of a servant bound by contract, the glorious power of Moab
will have ceased to command respect, her survivors will be very few and
feeble.” § Against Damascus
°1An oracle concerning
Damascus: “Damascus
will cease to be a city and
will become a heap of ruins. °2 Her towns will be abandoned and
left as pasture for flocks; there
they will lie down afraid of no one. Damascus
will no longer be a kingdom, °3 so Ephraim will be left undefended. From
now on the remnant of Aram will have no more power than the children of
Israel.” This
is Yahweh Sabaoth speaking. °4 On that day the
glory of Jacob will fade; the
fat of his flesh will waste away. °5 It will be as when a reaper gathers
the standing grain and
lops off the stalks, or
as when they gather the gleanings in
the Valley of Rephaim. °6 Yet some gleanings remain, as
when an olive tree is beaten – two
or three olives are left on the topmost bough, four
or five on the fruitful branches, says
Yahweh, the God of Israel. °7 On that day people will look to their
Creator, their eyes turned to the Holy One of Israel. °8 They will no longer look to the altars,
to the work of their hand, the
sacred pole or the incense stand which
their fingers have made. °9 On that day your cities will be like the
cities of the Hivites and the Amorites which they abandoned to the
Israelites. All will be desolation. °10 For you have forgotten the God of your
salvation, you
have failed to remember the Rock of your refuge. You
may plant the finest plants, you
may plant out imported shoots, °11 you may make them grow on
the day you plant them, you
may make them blossom on
the day you sow, yet
they dwindle and the harvest is gone: then
you may cry! § The upsurge of nations
°12 Oh, the rage of many peoples – they
rage like the raging sea! Oh,
the thunder of many nations – they
thunder like the thundering of mighty waves! °13 But God rebukes them, and
they flee far away, swept
away like chaff on
the hills before the wind, whirled
away like eddying dust before
the thunderstorm. °14 At eventide they sow terror; before
morning they are no more. Such
is the portion of our despoilers, such
is the lot of our plunderers. § Against Ethiopia¤18 °1 Woe to the land of whirring wings beyond
the rivers of Cush, °2 which sends ambassadors by sea in
papyrus boats over the waters! Go,
swift messengers, to
a people tall and bronzed, to
a nation feared far and wide, a
nation conquering and strong, whose
land the rivers divide. °3 All you inhabitants of the world, all
you who dwell on earth, when
a banner on the mountain is raised, look! When
a horn on the hill is sounded, listen! °4 For thus Yahweh spoke to me: “From
where I dwell, I gaze untroubled, like
heat shimmering in the sunshine, like
a dewy mist in the heat of harvest.” °5 For before the vintage, when
the flowers fall, and
the blooms become ripened grapes, I
will cut shoots and prune and
hew away spreading branches. °6 They will be left to the birds of prey and
to the beasts of the earth. The
birds will feed on them all summer, and
the beasts all winter. °7 At that time the tall, bronzed people from a country
traversed by rivers – a conquering and strong nation feared far and wide –
will bring offerings to Yahweh Sabaoth, to Mount Zion. For this is the place
where the name of Yahweh dwells. § Against Egypt°1An oracle concerning Egypt: Yahweh
rides on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt. The
idols of Egypt tremble before him; the
heart of Egypt melts within it. °2 I will stir Egyptians against each other: brother
will fight against brother, friend
against friend, city
against city, kingdom
against kingdom. °3 The Egyptians will lose heart for I will
confound their plans; they
will consult idols and sorcerers, ghosts
and necromancers. °4 I will deliver the Egyptians into
the hands of a cruel master, and
a tyrant will be their ruler. It
is Yahweh Sabaoth who speaks. °5 The waters of the river will dry up; the
river bed will be parched. °6 The canals will become foul dry, the
tributaries of Egypt’s Nile will dwindle and cease to flow. The
reeds and rushes will wither. °7 The plants on the banks and
at the mouth of the river, and
all the crops along the Nile will dry up, blow away and be no more. °8 The fishermen will mourn, all
who cast hook in the Nile will groan, and
those who throw nets upon the waters will lament. °9 The flax worker will despair, the
carders, too, and white cloth weavers; °10 the spinners will be crushed; the
hired laborers despondent. °11 The princes of Zoan are utter fools, and
brutish is the counsel of
the wisest of Pharaoh’s counselors. How
can you say to Pharaoh, “I
am one of the wise men, a
disciple of ancient kings?” °12 Where are your wise men? Let
them come forward now, let
them explain to you what
Yahweh will do against Egypt. °13 The princes of Zoan have become fools; the
princes of Memphis have been deceived; Egypt
is led astray by the chiefs of her tribes. °14 Yahweh has poured into them a spirit which
makes Egypt err in all her ventures, as
a vomiting drunkard errs. °15 And Egypt will never succeed in
anything it attempts by
head or by tail, by palm or by reed. § Egypt will be converted°16 On that day the Egyptians will be like a woman
trembling in fear whenever they see the hand of Yahweh Sabaoth raised against
them. °17 Judah will be a terror to Egypt. Whenever
they think of Judah, the Egyptians will be terrified because of the terrible
fate Yahweh Sabaoth has in store for them. °18 On that day there will be five cities in the land of
Egypt speaking the language of Canaan, in which people will call upon Yahweh
Sabaoth. One of them is called the City of the Sun. °19 On that day there will be an altar to Yahweh in the
center of the land of Egypt and a sacred pillar to Yahweh at its border. °20 It will be a sign and a remembrance of Yahweh
Sabaoth in the land of Egypt, so that they may call to him when they are
oppressed, and he will send a savior to defend and deliver them. °21 Yahweh will reveal himself to the Egyptians. They
will acknowledge him on that day and worship him with sacrifice and burnt
offerings. They will make vows to Yahweh and perform them. °22 Yahweh will strike Egypt and then cure it. When they
turn to him, he will heal them and heed their supplications. °23 On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to
Assyria. Assyrians will come to Egypt, and Egyptians to Assyria. Egyptians
and Assyrians will worship together. °24 On that day, Israel will be a third party with Egypt
and Assyria – a blessing on earth. °25 And
Yahweh will bless them saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my
creation, and Israel my heritage.” § The Sign of the Naked Prophet°1 In the year that the general sent by Sargon, king of Assyria, made an assault upon Ashdod, capturing it, °2 Yahweh gave a warning through Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saying, “Hang the sackcloth from your hips, take off your sandals and go.” He did so, and walked naked and barefoot. °3 Then Yahweh said: Just as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and portent for Egypt and Ethiopia, °4 so will the king of Assyria lead away captives from Egypt and exiles from Ethiopia, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, their buttocks uncovered, to the disgrace of Egypt. °5 Those who pinned their hope upon Ethiopia and made a boast of Egypt will be frightened and put to shame. °6 On that day the inhabitants of this coastland will say, “Look at what happened to those we trusted and fled to for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! What are we going to do now to save ourselves?” § Fall of Babylon°1An oracle concerning the
Desert by the Sea: A
fearful vision is shown to me: As
whirlwinds sweep over the Negeb, coming
in waves from the desert, from
the fearful land, °2 the traitor betrays, the
plunderer plunders. “Go
up, O Elam! Lay
siege, O Media!” “I
have silenced all the groanings.” °3 Therefore I am in anguish; my
body is wracked with pain as
a woman in travail. I
am so bewildered that I cannot hear, I
am so dismayed that I cannot see. °4 My mind reels, my
heart falters in fear; the
twilight I longed for has
become a horror. °5 They set the tables, they
spread the rugs, they
eat and drink. Arise,
O princes, oil
the shield! °6 For this is what Yahweh said to me, “Go,
post a watchman and
make him report what he sees. °7 If he sees riders: horsemen
in pairs, men
mounted on camels, men
mounted on donkeys; let
him observe diligently, let
him listen attentively.” °8 Then the watchman shouted, “On
a watchtower, O Lord, I stand through
all the watches of the day, and
at my post I stay through
all the watches of the night. °9 And look, here come riders, horsemen
in pairs.” And
he spoke up again: “Fallen
is Babylon, fallen, and
all the graven images of her gods lie
shattered on the ground!” °10 O my people, threshed and winnowed, I
announce to you what I have heard from
Yahweh Sabaoth, the God of Israel. § Against Edom and Arabia°11An oracle concerning Dumah: Someone
calls to me out of Seir, “Watchman,
what of the night? Watchman,
what of the night?” °12 The watchman answers, “Morning
comes, but soon it
will be night again. Come
back and ask, if
you want to ask again.” °13An oracle concerning
Arabia: In
the forest of Arabia lodge the
Dedanites’ traveling companies. °14 Those who dwell in the land of Tema went
to meet the fugitives: bring
bread for the hungry and
water for the thirsty. °15 These people have fled from the sword, from
the whetted swords, from
the bent bows, from
the fury of battle. °16 For thus Yahweh says to me, “In a year’s time, as a
worker bound by contract would reckon it, all the glory of Kedar will come to
an end. °17 Few of Kedar’s archers and warriors will
remain.” Yahweh God of Israel has spoken. °1An oracle concerning the
Valley of Vision. What
ails you now, that
you have all gone up to the housetops, °2 you with your hustle and bustle a
tumultuous city, a wanton town? Your
slain men have
not been killed by the sword, nor
have they died in battle. °3 Together your leaders have fled; they
were captured under the threat of the bow. Your
valiant were caught together, they
had fled far away. °4 That is why I say, “Look
away from me. I
will weep bitterly. Do
not try to comfort me over
the ruin of the daughter of my people.” °5 There comes from the Lord Yahweh Sabaoth
a day of trampling and rout. In
the Valley of Vision they undermine the walls and
the cries for help ascend to the mountains. °6 Elam bears the quiver with
charioteers and horsemen; Kir
uncovers the shield. °7 Chariots are all over your choicest
valleys; horsemen
are stationed at the gates. °8 Judah is stripped of her defenses. § Let us eat
and drink!
On that day you turned your eyes to the arsenal at the Palace of the Forest. °9 You saw the many breaches in the defenses of the city of David. You gathered together the waters of the lower pool. °10 You counted the houses of Jerusalem and tore down some of them to strengthen the wall. °11 You built a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old Pool. But you gave no thought to its Maker. You had no regard for him who had planned it long ago. °12 On that day the Lord Yahweh Sabaoth called you to weep and mourn, to shave your head and put on sackcloth. °13 But look, instead of that, there is wanton revelry: oxen are butchered and sheep are slaughtered. You eat meat and get drunk, saying, “Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.” °14 A word from Yahweh Sabaoth has reached my ears: “This sin will not be forgiven until they die.” § Against a minister
°15 Thus says the Lord Yahweh Sabaoth: Go and talk to
this man Shebna, who is the palace steward. Ask him: °16 Who are you and what right have you to
carve a resting place on the heights, to
cut out a burial place for
yourself here in the rock? °17 Look here, O you strongman, Yahweh
will seize you; he
will take you captive and
take firm hold of you. °18 He will roll you up, toss
you like a ball, then
violently hurl you down into
a large open land. There
you will perish with
the chariots of your glory, O
you, the shame of your master’s house! °19 You will be deposed, strongman. I
will hurl you down from where you are. °20 On that day I will summon my
servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah. °21 I will clothe him with your robe, I
will strengthen him with your girdle, I
will give him your authority, and
he will be a father to
the inhabitants of Jerusalem and
to the people of Judah. °22 Upon his shoulder I will place the
key of the House of David: what
he opens, no one shall shut; what
he shuts, no one shall open. °23 I will fasten him like a peg in
a sure spot, and
he will be a seat of honor in
the house of his father. °24 (Upon him will hang all the load of his father’s
house – offspring and descendants, all the little vessels from bowls to jars.
°25 On that day, says Yahweh Sabaoth, the peg
fastened in a sure spot will give way; it will be cut down and the load
hanging on it will fall. Thus Yahweh has spoken.) § Against Tyre°1An oracle concerning Tyre: Wail,
O ships of Tarshish, for
Tyre is destroyed! When
you return from Kittim you
will hear the news and wonder. °2 Keep silent, merchants of Sidon, all
you inhabitants of the coast. Your
messengers passed over the sea, °3 across the wide oceans; the
grain of Shihor, the
harvest of the Nile, was
your income and
you were the fair of the nations. °4 Be ashamed, O Sidon, refuge on the sea! The
queen of the sea wonders: “Have
I not had labor pains and
brought forth children? Have
I not nourished young men and
brought up daughters?” °5 Those in Egypt will be in anguish when
they learn the fate of Tyre. °6 You who dwell on the coastlands, wail
as you pass over to Tarshish. °7 Is this the ancient city, your pride, whose
feet had carried her afar to
found colonies in distant lands? °8 Who has planned this against Tyre, the
imperial city whose merchants are princes, whose
traders are among the great ones of the world? °9 It is Yahweh Sabaoth who has planned it, to
bring down her proud majesty, to
humble the great ones of the world. °10 Till your land like the valley of the
Nile O
Daughter of Tarshish, you
have no more shipbuilding yard. °11 Yahweh has stretched out his hand over
the sea to make kingdoms tremble. He
has ordered the destruction of
the fortresses of Phoenicia. °12 He has said, “Rejoice no longer, ravished
virgin daughter of Sidon. Arise,
pass over to Cyprus; even
there you will find no rest.” °13 Look at the land of the Chaldeans, a
people now of no account. The
Assyrians have destined the land to
be a place for wild beasts. They
have erected siege towers and
demolished her bastions, razed
her palaces, completely reducing
her to ruins. °14 Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for
your haven is destroyed. °15 On that day, Tyre will be forgotten for seventy
years, about the span of a king’s life. Then at the end of seventy years, it
will happen to Tyre as in a harlot’s song: °16 Take a harp, go about the city, forgotten harlot,
sing your sweetest song, play your best melody, that they may remember you. °17 At the end of seventy years, Yahweh will visit Tyre.
She will return to her hire and once again play whore with all the kingdoms
of the world on the face of the earth. °18 But
her wages and activities as harlot will be dedicated to Yahweh, instead of
being stored or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live in the
presence of Yahweh, that they may have abundant food and beautiful clothes. § The sentence
¤24 °1 See how Yahweh breaks the
land and makes it crack, how
he turns it upside down and
scatters its inhabitants, °2 priest and people alike, servant
and master, maid and mistress; buyer
and seller, lender and borrower. As
it will be with the creditor, so
will it be with the debtor. °3 Cracked is the earth, worn
out is the world, for
Yahweh has spoken. °4 The earth mourns and withers, the
world pines and fades, both
heaven and earth languish. °5 The land lies polluted, defiled
by its inhabitants who
have transgressed the laws, violated
the ordinances, and
broken the covenant. °6 Therefore a curse consumes the land and
its people burn for their guilt. Few
of its inhabitants are left. °7 (The new wine mourns, the
vine pines away, all
the revelers groan. °8 The merry timbrels are stilled, the
noise of the revelers is over, the
harps and lyres are silenced. °9 No more will they drink wine with a song; strong
drink tastes bitter to the drinker. °10 The city of confusion is broken down, every
door is closed; you cannot enter. °11 In the streets they cry for wine: all
joy is gone, all
cheer has left the land. °12 The city is left in distress, its
ruined market is deserted.) °13 Some remain where nations have been as
olives after the beating of the trees, as
grapes after the vintage. °14 They lift up their voices and shout for
joy, from
the vast lands they acclaim Yahweh. °15 People give him glory from the western
islands: “Islands,
sing to Yahweh, the God of Israel!” °16 From the remotest part of the earth we
hear songs of praise: “Glory
to the Righteous One.” Yet
I said: “Woe is me! Woe is me! there is but treachery and traitors!” °17 Not at all! Terror,
pit and snare await
you, inhabitants of the earth. °18 He who flees at the cry of terror falls
into the pit, and
he who climbs out of the pit gets
caught in the snare. For
the floodgates of heaven are opened and
the earth shakes to its foundation. °19 The earth is broken into fragments, the
earth is in convulsion. °20 The earth reels like a drunkard, it
sways like a hut in the storm, weighed
down by its transgression, and
it falls, never to rise again. °21 On that day Yahweh will punish the
host of the heavens above, and
the kings of the earth below. °22 They will be gathered together as
prisoners are gathered in the pit; they
will be shut up in a dungeon and
after a time, punished. °23 Then the moon will be confounded and
the sun ashamed, when
Yahweh Sabaoth reigns on
Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and
lets his Glory be shown to his elders. §
Thanksgiving
°1 Yahweh, you are my God; I exalt you and praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, faithful and true, planned long ago. °2 You have made the city a heap, the massively defended city a ruin. The bastion of foreign domination is a city no more, nor will it ever be rebuilt. °3 Therefore a strong people glorifies you; the head of a great nation holds you in awe. °4 For you have been a refuge to the poor, a haven to the needy in time of distress, a harbor in the storm, a shade from the heat. For the blast from the ruthless is like an icy storm, °5 like heat in a dry place. You silence the noise of foreigners; you subdue the singing of the despot and the proud. °6 On this mountain Yahweh Sabaoth will prepare for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, meat full of marrow, fine wine strained. °7 On this mountain he will destroy the pall cast over all peoples, this very shroud spread over all nations, °8 and death will be no more. The Lord Yahweh will wipe away the tears from all cheeks and eyes; he will take away the humiliation of his people all over the world: for Yahweh has spoken. °9 On that day you will say: This is our God. We have waited for him to save us, let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. °10 For on this mountain the hand of Yahweh rests. Moab instead will be trodden down, as
straw trodden down on a dunghill. °11
He will stretch forth
his hands there, as a swimmer spreads out his hands to swim. But Yahweh will
strike down their pride together with their falsehood. °12 He will raze the high-walled fortress; he will level
it to the ground, as dust. § Song of victory°1 On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city, he himself has set up walls and fortifications to protect us. °2 Open the gates! Let the righteous nation enter, she who is firm in faithfulness. °3 You keep in perfect peace the one of steadfast mind, the one who trusts in you. °4 Trust in Yahweh forever, for Yahweh is an everlasting Rock. °5 He brought down those who dwell on high, he laid low the lofty city, he razed it to the ground, leveled it to the dust, °6 Now it is trampled the poor and the lowly tread upon it. § Psalm of hope°7 Let the righteous walk in righteousness. You make smooth the path of the just, °8 and we only seek the way of your laws, O Yahweh. Your name and your memory are the desire of our hearts. °9 My soul yearns for you in the night; for you my spirit keeps vigil. When your judgments come to earth, the world’s inhabitants learn to be upright. °10 But when favor is shown to the wicked, he does not learn to be just. He does evil in a land of righteousness and fails to see Yahweh’s majesty. °11 Yahweh, your hand is lifted up, but they fail to see that. Let them see your zeal for your people, that they may be put to shame. Let your enemies be burned in the fire of your anger. °12 Yahweh, please give us peace; for all that we accomplish is your work. °13 O Yahweh, our God, other lords besides you have ruled us, but it is your name alone that we honor. °14 They are now dead, never to rise again, for you have passed sentence on them. You have wiped out all remembrance of them. °15 You have enlarged the nation, O Yahweh; you have given glory to your name; you have widened the borders of the country. °16 For they sought you in distress, they cried out to you in the time of their punishment. °17 As a woman in travail moans and writhes in pain, so are we now in your presence. °18 We conceived, we had labor pains, but we gave birth to the wind. We have not brought salvation to the land; the inhabitants of a new world have not been born. °19 Your dead will live! Their corpses will rise! Awake and sing, you who lie in the dust! Let your dew fall, O Lord, like a dew of light, and the earth will throw out her dead. °20 Come, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a moment until his wrath is over. °21 For look, Yahweh is coming out of his dwelling; he will punish the inhabitants of the earth for their sins. The earth will reveal the blood shed upon her and will not conceal her slain any longer. § The vineyard of Yahweh°1 On that day, with his fierce, strong, and powerful sword, Yahweh will punish Leviathan, the twisting serpent always fleeing; he will slay the dragon of the sea. °2 On that day, he will say, “Praise my fruitful vineyard! °3 I, Yahweh, am its keeper; I water it every moment. So that no one will harm it, day and night I guard it.” °4 – “I have no wall, who will cleanse me from thorns?” – “I myself will march against them, I will burn them altogether. °5 Or if they come to me for refuge, let them make peace with me, yes, let them make peace with me.” °6 In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel
will blossom and bear many a shoot and
fill the face of the earth with fruit. °7 Has Yahweh beaten them as he beat those
who beat them? Has
he slain them as he slew those who slew them? °8 With expulsion and exile the
city has been punished; with
a blast as fierce as a storm from the east, she
has been pursued and carried off. °9 By this, therefore, the guilt of
Jacob will be expiated and
he will atone for his sins when
he pulverizes all the altar stones like
chalkstones crushed to pieces. No
more Asherah poles or incense altars! °10 For the fortified city is abandoned: it
lies deserted now, a
forsaken habitation left
like a wilderness. There
the calves graze, there
they lie down, and there they
strip bare its branches. °11 Its dry boughs are broken; women
come and make fire with them. This
is a people without understanding; therefore
their Maker will not spare them; he
will not show compassion on them. °12 On that day, between
the Euphrates and the Wadi of Egypt, Yahweh
will thresh out the grain. One
by one you will be gleaned, O
people of Israel. °13 On that day a
great trumpet will blow, and
those who were perishing in
the land of Assyria and
those who were driven out to
the land of Egypt will
return to worship the Lord on
the mountain in Jerusalem. § The irresponsible rulers¤28 °1 Woe to the drunkards of Ephraim proudly
adorned, to
that fading flower of luxurious beauty on
the head of a rich valley – all
are dizzy with wine. °2 Look, the Lord is sending a
powerful and strong one. Like
a downpour of hail, like
a destructive tempest, like
flooding water in
torrential rain, he
will cast it down to the ground – °3 that proud ornament of
the drunkards of Ephraim. He
will trample it underfoot – °4 that fading flower of glorious beauty on
the head of a rich valley. It
will be like an early fruit which
ripened before summer: as
soon as someone sees it he
picks it, and while it is yet in
his hand he eats it. °5 On that day, Yahweh Sabaoth will
be a glorious ornament, a
diadem of beauty, to
the remnant of his people. °6 He will be a spirit of justice to
him who sits in judgment, a
source of strength to
those who turn back the enemies at the gate. § Scoffers beware
°7 But they also have erred through wine, reeling
and stumbling from strong drink. Priests
and prophets stagger, befuddled
with wine, reeling
when seeing visions, stumbling
when rendering decisions. °8 All the tables are full of vomit; there
is not a spot without filth. °9 “Who does he think he is teaching? Who
does he think listens to him? Babies
just weaned from their mother’s milk? Babies
just taken from their mother’s breast? °10 Who cares to hear his ‘Keep
quiet, keep quiet! Wait
a little, wait a little!’ °11 Yes, surely with stammering lips and
in a strange tongue, he
will talk to this nation, °12 he who once said to them, “This
is rest, give rest to the weary”; and,
“This is repose.” But
they would not listen. °13 That is why Yahweh now says: Keep
quiet, keep quiet! Wait
a little, wait a little! So
that when they have to go forward, they
will instead fall backward; they
will be injured and snared and
taken captive. °14 Therefore, listen to the word of Yahweh, you
scoffers who rule these people of Jerusalem. °15 Because you make a boast, “We
have made a covenant with death, we
have made a pact with the netherworld. When
the flood passes by it
cannot harm us, for
we have made lies our refuge and
falsehood our hiding place.” § The
cornerstone
°16 Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this: See, I lay in Zion a granite stone, a precious stone, a sure foundation; he who relies on it shall not be put to shame. °17 I will make justice the measure and righteousness the plumb line. Violent hail will sweep away your refuge of lies and raging waters will overflow your hiding place. °18 Your covenant with death will not stand, your
pact with the netherworld will be annulled. When
the overwhelming flood passes, you
will be crushed by it. °19 Morning after morning, by
day and by night, the
scourge will seize and crush you. If
you understood this message, you
would be terrified. °20 “The bed will be too short to stretch out
on, the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.” °21 Yahweh will arise as on Mount Perazim, he
will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon, to
work his work – his singular work; to
do his deed – his strange deed. °22 Put an end to your mocking, or
your bonds will be tightened, for
I have heard the destruction decreed against
the whole earth by
the Lord Yahweh Sabaoth. § Parable of the farmer°23 Listen to my words, pay attention and understand what
I say. °24 Does the plowman do nothing but plow, loosen the
earth, pulverize the clods with a harrow? °25 After leveling the soil, does he not begin to sow
caraway and scatter cumin, wheat and barley and put spelt as the border? °26 For his God instructs him on what to do, he gives
him guidance and discretion, too. °27 For caraway is not threshed nor cumin crushed, but
caraway is beaten with a stick and cumin with a rod. °28 Is the wheat milled on the threshing floor? Is it
threshed without end? They put in movement chariot and horses but do not
grind it. °29 All comes from Yahweh Sabaoth whose advice is
excellent, whose wisdom is wonderful. § Hurricane in Jerusalem
¤29 °1 Woe to Ariel – Ariel, the
city against which David encamped! After
a year or two, after
the feasts have made their full round, °2 I will lay siege on Ariel and
there will be grief and mourning. To
me she will be like an Ariel. °3 I will send warriors against you; they
will encircle you with outposts and
raise siegeworks against you. °4 Thrown down, you will speak from the
ground: from
the dust your words will come muffled, your
voice will rise as a ghost’s, your
speech will be a whisper in the dust. But
in a flash, °5 the horde of your
enemies will be like dust, the
horde of tyrants, flying chaff. °6 For suddenly, Yahweh Sabaoth will come with
thunder, earthquake and great noise, with
whirlwind and thunderstorm and
flames of consuming fire. °7 The hordes of all nations that
fight against Ariel, that
attack and besiege her fortress, will
vanish like a dream, like
a vision in the night. °8 As when a hungry
man dreams he is eating and
awakens with an empty stomach, or
when a thirsty man dreams he is drinking and
awakens with a parched throat, so
will the horde of nations be that
make war against Zion. °9 Be irresolute, be stupefied, lose
your sight and remain blind! Be
drunk but not from wine, stagger
but not from beer. °10 For Yahweh has poured out on you a
spirit of deep sleep; he
has shut your eyes – the prophets; he
has covered your heads – the seers. °11 The revelation of all this has become for you like
the words of a sealed scroll. When someone gives it to another who knows how
to read and says, “Read this,” the other one answers, “I cannot; it is
sealed.” °12 When the scroll is given to one who
doesn’t know how to read,” he answers, “I do not know.” § This people honors me with words°13 Yahweh has said; “These people approach me in words; they honor me with lip-service, while their hearts stay afar. The worship they offer me is useless, these are no more than traditions and human rules. °14 Because of this I will surprise them once more; the wisdom of the wise will be useless and the understanding of their prudent men will be at a loss. °15 Woe to those who
hide deep from Yahweh their plans, who
work in the dark and say, “Who
will know, and who will see us?” °16 You turn things upside down, as
though the potter were the clay, and
of him it could say, “He
did not make me; he knows nothing.” °17 In a very short time, Lebanon
will become a fruitful field and
the fruitful field will be as a forest. °18 On that day the
deaf will hear the words of the book, and
out of the dark and obscurity the
eyes of the blind will see. °19 The meek will find joy and
the poor among men will rejoice in
the Holy One of Israel. °20 For the tyrant will be no more and
the scoffers gone forever, and
all who plan to
do evil will be cut down – °21 those who by a word make a you guilty, those
who for a bribe can lay a snare and
send home the just empty-handed. °22 Therefore Yahweh, Abraham’s redeemer, speaks
concerning the people of Jacob: No
longer will Jacob be ashamed; no
longer will his face grow pale. °23 When he sees the work of my hands, his
children again in his midst, they
will sanctify my name, they
will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and
stand in awe of the God of Israel. °24 Those who err in spirit will understand; those
who murmur will learn. § Do not rely on the great powers°1 “Woe to the rebellious children,” says the Lord;
“they make plans which are not mine, they form alliances I did not inspire,
and thus add sin upon sin. °2 They go down to Egypt without my advice to take
refuge in Pharaoh’s protection and seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt. °3 Therefore Pharaoh’s protection will be your shame
and Egypt’s shadow your confusion. °4 When your officials reach Zoan and your ambassadors
come to Hanes, °5 they will all be put to shame by a people
who can do nothing for them, who can give neither help nor benefit but only
disgrace and reproach.” °6An oracle concerning the
beasts of the Negeb: Through
a distressed and troubled land of
lions and lionesses, of
vipers and darting snakes, the
envoys carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, their
treasures upon the humps of camels, to
a people that is of no use to them. °7 Egypt! An illusory and useless help.
Because of that I call it:Scarecrow,
the Do-Nothing. § Just tell us pleasant things°8 Now go, write it down as a record for them, inscribe
it on a scroll, so it will be an everlasting accusation against them. °9 These are a rebellious people, their children deceitful.
They do not listen to Yahweh’s advice. °10 To the seers they say, “See not,” and to the
prophets, “Do not prophesy the truth. Just tell us pleasant things; see
illusions and prophesy deceits. °11
Stray from the path,
turn from the way! Take away from us the Holy One of Israel!” °12 Therefore the Holy One of Israel says, “Because you
despised this message and resorted instead to lies and abusive taxes,
choosing to stay with it, °13 therefore this guilt of yours will be
like a breach on a high wall, cracked and bulging, ready to fall; the crash
will come suddenly and instantly. °14 It will be like the breaking of a potter’s vessel,
smashed so ruthlessly that among its fragments not one shard remains big
enough to scoop cinder out of the hearth or ladle water out of the cistern.” °15 For thus said the Lord Yahweh, the Holy One of
Israel: “Conversion and calmness would have been your salvation, quietness
and trust your strength.” °16 But instead you said, “No, we will flee on horses!”
Very well then, flee! And you added, “We will ride on swift steeds.” Your
pursuer will be swifter. °17 At the threat of one, a thousand will flee, at the
threat of five all will flee, till what is left of you will be like a staff
on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill. § The coming
prosperity
°18 Yet Yahweh waits to give you grace; he rises to show you compassion. For Yahweh is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him. °19 O people of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. When you cry, he will listen; when he hears, he will answer. °20 When the Lord has given you the bread of anguish and the water of distress, he, your teacher will hide no longer. °21 Your own eyes will see him, and your ear will listen to his words behind you: “This is the way, walk in it.” °22 You will see the uncleanliness of your idols and images overlaid with silver and gold. You will throw them out like a menstrual cloth.“Away with you then!” you will say to them. °23 He will then give rain for the seed you sow and make the harvest abundant from the crops you grow. On that day your cattle will graze in wide pastures. °24 Your beasts of burden will eat silage tossed to them with pitchfork and shovel. °25 For on the day of the great slaughter, when fortresses fall, streams of water will flow on every mountain and lofty hill. °26 The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun seven times greater, like the light of seven days, when Yahweh binds up the wounds of his people and heals the bruises inflicted by his blows. § Assyria will be sacrificed°27 Look, from afar the
Name of Yahweh is coming, burning
in anger, with
a heavy hand. Filled
with fury are his lips, like
a consuming fire is his tongue. °28 Like a rushing torrent is his breath, rising
up to the neck, shaking
the nations as
in a sieve of destruction, putting
the bit of his bridle between
the jaws of the peoples causing
them to err and stray. °29 You will sing, as
on the night of a holy solemnity; your
hearts will rejoice as
when people go up with flutes, with
timbrels and lyres. to
the mountain of the Lord, to
the mighty One of Israel. °30 Yahweh will make his majestic voice heard and
show his arm descending in
devastating fury and consuming fire, with
sweeping wind and crashing thunder. °31 At the voice of Yahweh, Assyria
will be battered; at
the blows of his rod, it
will be shattered. °32 At every beat of the punishing rod the
plagues will fall on him. For
Yahweh will fight him with
outstretched hand. °33 The pyre has long been ready, prepared
for the king. Broad
and deep is its fire pit, piled
up with dry grass and wood. The
breath of the Lord, like
a stream of brimstone, will
set it ablaze. § Look to the
Holy One of Israel
°1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who pin their hopes on cavalry, putting their trust in chariots because they are many, relying on horsemen because they are strong. Why did they not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult Yahweh? °2 And yet he is very wise, and from him disaster will come. He does not go back on his word; he will rise against the evildoers, and cut off the help the wicked waited for. °3 The Egyptians are men, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit. When Yahweh stretches forth his hand, the helper and the one he helped will fall and perish together. °4 For thus the Lord has spoken: Just as a lion or a lion cub growls over its prey and is neither frightened nor disturbed by the shouts of the shepherd, so will Yahweh Sabaoth descend to fight on Mount Zion. °5 Like birds that hover, so will Yahweh Sabaoth shield Jerusalem: he will protect and deliver, rescue and save. °6 Return, O children of Israel, to him you have so wickedly betrayed. °7 On that day each one of you will throw away the idols of silver and gold that his sinful hands have made. °8 Assyria will fall by a sword not wielded by a man. They will be devoured by a sword not held by a mortal. They will flee before the sword, their young men will be captured and put to forced labor. °9 They will desert their post and the officers, in terror, will abandon the standard.” It is Yahweh who speaks, whose fire is in
Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem. § A king will reign with justice¤32 °1 A king will reign with justice and princes reign in righteousness. °2 Each will be like a shield from the wind and a shelter from the rain, like streams of water in a dry, parched land, like the shade of a rock in a weary land. °3 The eyes that see will not be shut; the ears that hear will not be stopped. °4 The mind of the rash will not judge hastily; the tongue that stammers will speak clearly. °5 No more will the fool be taken as noble, nor
the scoundrel considered honorable. °6 For the fool speaks folly and his mind thinks
sinfully: he practices wickedness and takes pride in godlessness; he lets the
hungry go without food, and the thirsty without drink. °7 The ways of the scoundrel are also evil, scheming
wickedly against the poor, destroying the needy with lies even when their
plea is just. °8 But those who are noble plan noble things, and so
are their deeds. § Tremble, you idle women
°9 Rise up, women who are at ease; hear my voice,
carefree daughters; give heed to my words. °10 In a little over a year, you who feel complacent
will be shaken, for harvest will not come and the vintage will fail. °11 Tremble, you women who are at ease; be troubled, you
carefree ones. Strip yourselves bare, with only a sackcloth to cover your
loins. °12 Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the
fruitful vine, °13 for the soil of my people overgrown with
briers and thorns, for all the houses of joy, for the city of the wanton. °14 For the palace will be abandoned, and the noisy city
deserted; the fort and the tower will become dens forever, the delight of
wild asses, a pasture for flocks. § My people will live in peace°15 When at last the spirit is poured on us from on high, then will the desert become a garden, and this garden will be free as a fallow land. °16 Justice will dwell in the wilderness; and in the fertile land, righteousness. °17 Justice will bring about peace; justice will produce calm and security forever. °18 My people will live in comfort and bliss in a land of secure dwellings and undisturbed resting places. °19 While the forest will be beaten down and the fortress laid waste. °20 How blessed you will be, sowing by every stream, letting your work animals roam contented and free. § Psalm of hope¤33 °1 Woe to you, O ravager who
never have been ravaged, you
O treacherous one who
have not been betrayed! When
your ravaging is over, you
yourself will be ravaged; when
your treacherous deals are ended, you
yourself will be betrayed. °2 O Yahweh, have mercy on us who
put all our hope in you. Be
our strength every morning, our
salvation when trouble comes. °3 Peoples flee when you thunder and
threaten, nations
scatter when you rise majestically. °4 Your spoil, O nations, will be gathered like
grasshoppers or locusts leaping
and pouncing at grain in the fields. °5 Great is Yahweh who dwells in the height who
fills Zion with justice and right, °6 at any time he makes you secure. Wisdom
and knowledge are the helpful riches, the
fear of Yahweh will be your treasure. § The intervention of Yahweh
°7 The people of Ariel lament in the street, their
envoys of peace bitterly weep. °8 The highways lie waste with no traveler
in sight. For
the covenants were broken, the
promises trampled down; no
one has been respected. °9 The earth mourns and languishes, Lebanon
withers away with shame, Sharon
has become a wilderness, and
Bashan and Carmel are stripped bare. °10 Yahweh says: now I will rise up, now
I will be exalted, now
I will lift myself up. °11 You conceived chaff, you
will deliver stubble, my
breath like fire will devour you. °12 The nations will be burned to lime, like
thorns cut down and burned in the fire. °13 You who are afar, hear
what I have done; and
you who are near, acknowledge
my might. °14 The sinners of Zion shake, trembling
in fear are the hypocrites. “Who
among us will dwell with flames? Who
can subsist in the midst of fire? °15 He who walks uprightly and
speaks righteously, spurns
profit from oppression, shakes
his fists at graft and corruption, stops
his ears against suggestions of bloodshed and
averts his eyes from evil plans. °16 This is the one who
will dwell on the heights, his
stronghold a fortress of rocks; bread
is given to him, his
water will not fail. § After the oppression°17 Your eyes will behold a king in his splendor and a land that stretches afar. °18 Yet your mind may still dwell on its old fears: Where is the oppressor who counted and weighed the taxes and enrolled our sons? °19 But you will
see no more of those fierce people with obscure speech you cannot comprehend,
with stammering tongue you cannot understand. °20 Look to Zion, the city of our festivals; see Jerusalem, a peaceful abode, a tabernacle never to be destroyed. Not one of its stakes will ever be removed nor any of its ropes severed. °21 But there is Yahweh mighty for our sake, in place of broad rivers and streams. Here you see no galley with oars; no stately sailing ship. °22 But Yahweh is our judge, Yahweh is our king: he will save us. § The oppressor pillaged
°23 Your rigging hangs loose: it cannot hold the mast
firm, it cannot keep the sail spread out. Such
have been the prey and spoil that even the lame pounced on it. °24 On that day no one apologized, “I am sickly.” The
people who dwell there have been forgiven their sins. § The end of Edom
¤34 °1 Come, O nations, hear and
take heed, O peoples! Listen,
O earth and all that is in you; listen,
O world and all that comes from you. °2 The wrath of Yahweh is upon all nations. His
fury is upon all their armies. He
has doomed them, he
has given them over for slaughter. °3 Their slain will be thrown away, stench
coming from the carcasses, mountains
will flow with blood. °4 The heavens will dissolve and
the skies roll up like a scroll, all
their hosts shall fall, as
the leaf falls from its vine, as
the fruit falls from its tree. °5 My sword waited in the heavens; and
look, it descends upon Edom, to
judge the people I have doomed. °6 The sword of Yahweh is bathed in blood and
covered with fat – the
blood of goats and lambs, the
fat of the saddle of rams. For
Yahweh has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a
great slaughter in the land of Edom. °7 Wild oxen will fall and
young steers with the bulls. Their
land will be drenched with blood; their
soil enriched with fat. °8 For Yahweh has a day of vengeance, Zion’s
defender has a year of recompense. °9 The streams of Edom will become pitch, her
soil will be turned into brimstone, her
land will be burning pitch. °10 Never will its fire be quenched, night or
day, forever
will its smoke go up. From
generation to generation the land will lie desolate and
none will ever pass through it. °11 It will be the haunt of pelican and wild
hog, the
dwelling place of the owl and the hawk. God
has decided to make it empty, he
has destined it to be desolate. °12 There will be no more kings to be
proclaimed, no
princes to be acclaimed, for
the nobility will vanish in
a kingdom doomed to perish. °13 Thorns will grow over the castles, nettles
and brambles over the citadels; the
place will be a haunt of reptiles, an
abode of owls and ostriches. °14 Wild beasts will meet there, wild
goats will call to one another; there
will the night creatures alight to
find for themselves a resting place. °15 There will the great owl make her nest to
lay and hatch and also find rest. There
will the vultures gather, each
with its mate. °16 Seek and read from the book of Yahweh: not
one of them will be missing, for
his mouth has given the order and
his spirit has brought them together. °17 He has cast the lot for them. His
hand has divided it among them. They
will possess the land forever, and
from generation to generation they shall dwell there. § The return of the exiles¤35 °1 Let the wilderness and the arid land rejoice, the desert be glad and blossom. °2 Covered with flowers, it sings and shouts with joy, adorned with the splendor of Lebanon, the magnificence of Carmel and Sharon. They, my people, see the glory of Yahweh, the majesty of our God. °3 Give vigor to weary hands and strength to enfeebled knees. °4 Say to those who are afraid: “Have courage, do not fear. See, your God comes, demanding justice. He is the God who rewards, the God who comes to save you.” °5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unsealed. °6 Then will the lame leap as a hart and the tongue of the dumb sing and shout. For water will break out in the wilderness and streams gush forth from the desert. °7 The thirsty ground will become a pool, the arid land springs of water. In the haunts where once reptiles lay, grass will grow with reeds and rushes. °8 There will be a highway which will be called The Way of Holiness; no one unclean will pass over it nor any wicked fool stray there. °9 No lion will be found there nor any beast of prey. Only the redeemed will walk there. °10 For the ransomed of Yahweh will return: with everlasting joy upon their heads, they will come to Zion singing, gladness and joy marching with them, while sorrow and sighing flee away. § Sennacherib’s invasion°1 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. °2 From Lakish the king of Assyria sent his field commander with a large army to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. They halted at the channel of the Upper Pool on the highway of the Fuller’s Field. °3 So Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator, went out to him together with Shebna the secretary and Joah son of Asaph the recorder. °4 The field commander said to them, “Give Hezekiah this message of the great king of Assyria: How can you be so confident? °5 Do you think words can replace strategy and military strength? On whom are you relying to rebel against me? °6 You rely on Egypt, a broken staff which pierces the
palm of him who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh, king of Egypt, for all who rely
on him. °7 Yes, you may say to me: ‘We rely on
Yahweh our God.’ But isn’t he the one whose altars and high places Hezekiah
removed when he commanded Judah and Jerusalem: You shall worship before this
altar? °8 Come now, make a bargain with
my master, the king. I will give you two thousand horses if you are able to
supply riders. °9 How could you ever
repulse one of the least of my master’s generals? And you rely on Egypt for
chariots and horsemen! °10 Do you think that I
have come to attack and destroy this land without consulting Yahweh? He
himself said to me: Go up to this land and conquer it!” °11 Then Eliakim and Shebna and Joah said to the field
commander, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic, we understand it. Do not speak
to us in Hebrew in the hearing of these people on the walls.” °12 But the field commander said, “Do you think that my
master sent me to speak these words only to your master and you? Isn’t it
also to the men on the walls who with you will have to eat their own dung and
drink their urine?” °13 Then the field commander stood and cried out with a loud
voice in Hebrew, “Hear the words of the great king of Assyria: °14 Do not let Hezekiah deceive you! No, he will not be
able to help you! °15 Do not listen to him when he tells you to
trust in Yahweh, saying, ‘Yahweh will save us; this city will not be given
over to the king of Assyria.’ °16 Do not listen to Hezekiah but to what the
king of Assyria says, ‘Make your peace with me °17 and
surrender. So I will let each of you eat of your vine and of your fig tree
and drink the water of your cistern until I come again. Then I will take you
to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, of bread and
vineyards.’ °18 Hezekiah is misleading you when he says that Yahweh
will save you. Have the gods of the nations rescued their lands from the
hands of the king of Assyria? °19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad?
Where are the gods of Shepharvaim? And have the gods delivered Samaria from
my hand? °20 Who among all the gods of these nations
has been able to save his country from me? Do you think that Yahweh could
deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’ ” °21 The people were like deaf and remained silent, for
the king had commanded them not to answer him. °22 Then Eliakim with Shebna and Joah came to Hezekiah
with their clothes torn and told him what the field commander had said. § King Hezekiah consults Isaiah
°1 When King Hezekiah heard this he tore his clothes,
covered himself with sackcloth and went to the house of Yahweh. °2 He sent Eliakim, Shebna and the elders among the
priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz. °3 And they said to Isaiah, “This is what Hezekiah
says: Today is a day of distress, rebuke and disgrace, as when children come
to birth and there is no strength to deliver. °4 May
your God hear the words of the field commander, whom his master the king of
Assyria has sent. May Yahweh your God rebuke him for the words he said,
insulting the living God. Therefore offer a prayer for the few of us that are
left.” °5 When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, °6 he said to them: “Tell your master this word of
Yahweh: Do not fear because of what you heard when the servants of the king
of Assyria insulted me. Listen! °7
I will let him be
disturbed by certain news, so he will return to his country and there I will
have him slain by the sword.” °8 The field commander returned and found the king of
Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left
Lachish. °9 This was because King Sennacherib had
heard that Tirhakah, the Cushite king of Egypt, was going out to fight him. Again
Sennacherib sent messengers to Hezekiah with these words, °10 “Say to Hezekiah king of Judah that his God in whom
he trusts might deceive him in saying that Jerusalem will not be given into
the hands of the king of Assyria. °11 Surely you have heard what the kings of
Assyria have done to all the lands they have destroyed! And will you be
spared? °12 Have the gods saved the nations that my
fathers destroyed? Gozan and Haran, Rezeph and the sons of Eden who were in
Telassar? °13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of
Arpad, the kings of the cities of Sepharvaim, of Hena and of Ivvah?” °14 Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and
when he had read it he went to the house of Yahweh where he unrolled the
letter °15 and prayed saying, °16 “O Yahweh, God of hosts and God of Israel, enthroned
above the cherubim! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth,
give ear Yahweh and hear! °17 Open your eyes and see! Listen to all the
words of Sennacherib who has sent men to insult the living God! °18 It is true, Yahweh, that the kings of Assyria have
laid waste all the countries of the earth. °19 They
have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not
true gods but made of wood and stone by human hands. °20 Now, O Yahweh our God, save us from his hand and let
all the kingdoms of the earth know that you alone, Yahweh, are God.” °21 Then Isaiah, son of Amoz, sent word to Hezekiah: “You have called upon Yahweh and he has heard your prayer regarding Sennacherib, king of Assyria. This is what Yahweh has spoken against him: °22 The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises and scorns you; the Daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head behind you. °23 Whom have you insulted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted up your brow? Against the Holy One of Israel! °24 Through your servants you have insulted Yahweh. For you have said: With my numerous chariots, I have climbed the heights of the mountains, the topmost recesses of Lebanon. I have felled its tallest cedars and its choicest fir trees. I have reached the remotest heights of its border, the best of its forests. °25 I have dug wells and drunk waters; I dried up with the sole of my foot all the streams of Egypt. °26 But have you not heard how I decreed it long ago? I have just brought to pass what I planned from days of old: to lay waste fortified cities, to turn them into heaps of ruins. °27 Shorn of power, their inhabitants have been dismayed and confounded; they have been as the grass and green plants in the field, as the grass on the housetops, as corn scorched before it blooms. °28 I know whenever you rise or sit, whenever you come or go. °29 Because of your rage against me and of your arrogance that has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bridle in your mouth, and I will turn you back on the way by which you came. °30 This will be a sign for you, O Hezekiah: This year you will eat the gleaning of the fields and next year the self-sown grain, but in the third year sow and reap, plant vines and eat the fruit. °31 A remnant of the people of Judah shall take root below and produce fruit above. °32 For a remnant will come from Jerusalem and survivors from Mount Zion. The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this. That is why Yahweh has spoken concerning the king of Assyria. °33 He shall not enter this city nor shoot his arrows. °34 He shall not raise a shield to oppose it nor build a siege ramp against it. He shall leave by the way he came and he shall not enter the city, word of Yahweh. °35 I will protect this city and so save it for my own sake and for the sake of David, my servant.” °36 That night the angel of Yahweh went and struck one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people rose early next morning there lay all the corpses. °37 So Sennacherib, king of Assyria departed, returned
home and lived in Nineveh. °38 While he was worshiping in the temple of
his god, Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer slew him with the sword
and then escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon, his son, succeeded
him as king. § Illness and cure of Hezekiah°1 In those days Hezekiah fell mortally ill and the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, went to him with a message from Yahweh, “Put your house in order for you shall die; you shall not live.” °2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahweh, °3 “Ah Yahweh! Remember how I have walked before you in truth and wholeheartedly, and done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. °4 Then the word of Yahweh came to Isaiah, °5 “Go and tell Hezekiah what Yahweh, the God of his father David, says: I have heard your prayer and I have seen your tears. See! I am adding fifteen years to your life °6 and I will save you and this city from the power of the king of Assyria. I will defend it for my sake and for the sake of David my servant. °22 Hezekiah asked, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?” °7 Isaiah answered, “This shall be for you a sign from Yahweh, that he will do what he has promised. °8 See! I shall make the shadow descending on the stairway of Ahaz go back ten steps.” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had covered on the stairway. °21 Isaiah then said, “Bring a fig cake to rub on the ulcer and let Hezekiah be cured!” § Canticle of Hezekiah
°9Canticle of Hezekiah king
of Judah after his illness and recovery: °10 Once I said: In the noontime of my life I
go; I
am sent to the land of the dead, for
the rest of my years. °11 I said: Never again shall I see Yahweh in
the land of the living; never
again shall I see the inhabitants of the earth. °12 Like a shepherd’s tent, my dwelling has
been pulled down and thrown away; like
a weaver, you rolled up my life and
cut it from the loom: from
day to night you made me waste away. °13 I have cried for help until morning. Like
a lion, he has broken all my bones. °14 I have uttered shrill cries like
a swallow or a crane, I
have moaned like a dove. My
eyes all the while are growing weary as
I look up to the heavens: Come
and help me, O Lord! For
I am troubled. °15 But how can I speak and
what shall I say to him, if
he himself is doing this to me? I
will have to walk all my years bearing
this anguish of my soul. °16 O Lord, give me back my health and
give me back my life! °17 My anguish has turned to peace; you
have retrieved my life from
the pit of corruption; you
have cast all my sins behind you. °18 For the dead cannot give you thanks, death
cannot give you praise; those
who go down to the pit cannot
hope for your kindness. °19 The living, the living alone can
give you thanks and praise, as I do; fathers will tell their sons of your
fidelity. °20 O Yahweh, come and save me! We
will sing, accompanied by harps, in
the Temple of Yahweh all
the days of our life. § Babylonian Embassy°1 At that time Merodach-Baladan, son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah after hearing that he was recovering from an illness. °2 Hezekiah was pleased and showed the envoys all that was in his treasure house, the silver, gold, spices and fine oil, his entire armory and all that was in his treasury. In fact there was nothing in his palace or in his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them. °3 Isaiah the prophet came to Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say and from where did they come?” Hezekiah answered, “They came to me from a distant country – from Babylon.” °4 And Isaiah said, “What have they seen in your palace?” Hezekiah replied, “They have seen everything in my palace; there is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.” °5 Isaiah then said, “Hear this word of Yahweh, the God of hosts: °6 Behold the days are coming when all that is in your palace, and which your fathers have treasured to this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left. °7 And some of your descendants, born of you, will be taken and will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” °8 Hezekiah then said to Isaiah, “The word of Yahweh
which you have spoken to me is good!” For he thought: there will be peace and
truth in my lifetime. § Be comforted, my people¤40 °1 Be comforted, my people, be strengthened, says your God. °2 Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, proclaim to her that her time of bondage is at an end, that her guilt has been paid for, that from the hand of Yahweh she has received double punishment for all her iniquity. °3 A voice cries, “In the wilderness prepare the way for Yahweh. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. °4 Every valley will be raised up; every mountain and hill will be laid low. The stumbling blocks shall become level and the rugged places smooth. °5 The glory of Yahweh will be revealed, and all mortals together will see it; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.” °6 A voice says, “Cry.” and I say, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, and all its beauty as the flower of the field. °7 The grass withers, the flower wilts, when the breath of Yahweh blows upon it. °8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will forever stand.” °9 Go up onto the high mountain, messenger of Zion, lift up your voice with strength, fear not to cry aloud when you tell Jerusalem and announce to the cities of Judah: Here is your God! °10 Here comes your God with might; his strong arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and here before him is his booty. °11 Like a shepherd he tends his flock: he gathers the lambs in his arms, he carries them in his bosom, gently leading those that are with young. § The great God°12 Who has measured the waters of the sea in
a cupped hand, or
the breadth of the sky in the span of a hand? Who
has collected the sands of the earth? Who
has weighed the mountains in scales and
the hills in a balance? °13 Who has probed the spirit of Yahweh or
as a counselor advised him? °14 Whom has he consulted to enlighten him, and
help him to decide? Who
gave him knowledge and
taught him the ways of success? °15 The nations before him are like a drop on
the brim of the bucket, or
like dust on the scales. The
islands weigh no more than powder. °16 Lebanon is not enough to burn as altar
fire, nor
will its animals provide a holocaust. °17 All nations before him are as nothing, all
emptiness, all vanity in his eyes. °18 To whom, then, will you liken God? With
whose image will you compare him? °19 To an idol cast by a craftsman, covered
with gold by a goldsmith and
adorned with silver chains? °20 Or to wood that will not rot, chosen and
fashioned by a skilled craftsman into an image that cannot move? °21 Have you not known? Have
you not heard? Has
it not been told you from the beginning, that
you may understand how the earth was founded? °22 He sits far above the vault of the earth, with
its inhabitants like grasshoppers; he
stretches out the heavens as a curtain and
spreads them out like a tent where he dwells. °23 He reduces the princes to naught, and
the rulers of the earth to nothingness. °24 No sooner are they planted or sown, no
sooner do they take root in the ground, than
he blows on them, and they wither, a
storm sweeps them away like stubble. °25 To whom, then, will you liken me or
make me equal? says the Holy One. °26 Lift up your eyes and see: who
has created all this? He
has ordered them as a starry host and
called them each by name. So
mighty is his power, so
great his strength, that
not one of them is missing. °27 How can you say, O Jacob, how
can you complain, O Israel, that
your destiny is hidden from me, that
your rights are ignored by Yahweh? °28 Have you not known, have you not heard that
Yahweh is an everlasting God, the
Creator of the ends of the earth? He
does not grow tired or weary, his
knowledge is without limit. °29 He gives strength to the enfeebled, he
gives vigor to the wearied. °30 Youth may grow tired and faint, young
men will stumble and fall, °31 but those who hope in Yahweh will
renew their strength. They
will soar as with eagle’s wings; they
will run and not grow weary; they
will walk and never tire. § Cyrus, liberator of Israel¤41 °1 Keep silent before me, O islands, or
be prepared to contend with me; O
nations, draw near and speak. Let
us meet together for judgment. °2 Who has called from the east one
that victory hails at every step? Who
has given him the nations to rule and
their kings to subdue? His
sword makes dust of them and
his arrows scatter them like chaff. °3 Unharmed he pursues them through paths that
his feet have scarcely touched. °4 Who really has done all this? I,
who call the generations from the beginning, I,
Yahweh, who am the first and
will be with the last. °5 The islands have seen it and feared, the
ends of the earth were scared. °6 (Each helps the other and says to his companion,
“Take heart!” °7 So the craftsman encourages the
goldsmith, and he who beats out with the hammer assures the other who strikes
the anvil, saying, “It is ready for soldering”; and he fastens the idol with
nails to hold it in place.) § Hope for a new exodus°8 But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, seed of Abraham my friend, °9 I have taken you from the ends of the earth. I have called you from the remotest corners, and I said, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and will not cast you away.” °10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will give you strength, I will bring you help, I will uphold you with the right hand of my justice. °11 All who rage against you will be put to shame and disgrace; all who fight against you will perish and come to nothing. °12 You will seek, but will not find them; those enemies of yours, those who took up arms against you will be destroyed, brought to nothing. °13 For I, Yahweh, your God, take hold of your right hand and say to you: “Fear not, I am your assistance.” °14 Fear not, Jacob, poor worm, and you, people of Israel, so frail. I am your redeemer, says Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, your helper. °15 I will make you a thresher, new and with sharp double teeth: you will thresh hills and mountains, crushing them and reducing them to chaff. °16 You will winnow them, the wind will carry them off and the storm will scatter them. But you will rejoice in Yahweh and glory in the Holy One of Israel. °21 Present your case, says Yahweh. Produce
your evidence, says the King of Jacob. °22 Bring your idols and let them tell us what is going
to happen. What have they foretold, so that we may consider them and reflect
on the final outcome? °23 Let them foretell what is to come, that we may know
that they are gods. Let them do good or do evil, that we may be dismayed and
terrified. °24 See, they are nothing, their
work is nothing, and
to choose them is foolishness. °25 From the north I have called him, and he
comes; from
the east I have called him by his name. He
tramples kings and princes down as
if they were mortar, as
if he were a potter working the clay. °26 Has anyone announced this from the
beginning, so we might know, or
foretold it long ago, so we might say, “It is true?” No
one among you foretold it, no
one proclaimed it. No
one heard a word from you. °27 I was the first to announce to Zion: “Look,
here they come!” and
I sent a messenger to Jerusalem. °28 But when I looked, there was no one,
there was not a single counselor among them who, if asked, could give an
answer. °29 All of them are nothing, emptiness
are their works; their
images are wind and nothingness. Here is my servant ¤42 °1 Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight. I have put my spirit upon him, and he will bring justice to the nations. °2 He does not shout or raise his voice proclamations are not heard in the streets. °3 A broken reed he will not crush, nor will he snuff out the light of the wavering wick. He will make justice appear in truth. °4 He will not waver or be broken until he has established justice on earth; the islands are waiting for his law. °5 Thus says God, Yahweh, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread the earth and all that comes from it, who gives life and breath to those who walk on it: °6 I, Yahweh, have called you for the sake of justice; I will hold your hand to make you firm; I will make you as a covenant to the people, and as a light to the nations, °7 to open eyes that do not see, to free captives from prison, to bring out to light those who sit in darkness. °8 I am Yahweh, that is my name, I will not give my glory to another; or my praise to graven images. °9 See, the former things have come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them. § Song of victory°10 Sing a new song to Yahweh; let
his praise reach the ends of the earth. Let
the sea and all that it holds, let
the coastlands and their inhabitants resound
with song and praise of him. °11 Let the wilderness and the cities lift
up their voice, together
with the villages of Kedar. Let
the inhabitants of Sela sing, and
shout from the top of the mountain. °12 Let them give glory to Yahweh and
praise him in the far islands. °13 Yahweh comes like a mighty warrior, he
stirs up his fury before the fight. He
threatens, he raises the battlecry, and
he triumphs over his enemies. °14 For a long time I have been silent; I
have kept still and restrained myself, I
moaned like a woman in labor, breathing
and panting: °15 I will lay waste mountains and hills and
wither all their vegetation; I
will turn rivers into wasteland and
dry up the pools. °16 I will lead the blind by ways which
they do not know; along
unseen paths I will guide them. I
will turn darkness into light before them and
make the rough ground smooth. These
are the things that I will do, and
I will not forsake them. °17 But those who trust in graven images and
say to idols, “You are our gods” will be turned back in shame. °18 Listen, O deaf, look,
O blind, that you may see! °19 Who is blind, but my servant, or
deaf as the messenger I send? Who
is blind but the one I am lifting up? Who is deaf but the servant of Yahweh? °20 You have seen many things without
observing; your ears were open but without hearing. °21 It pleased Yahweh, the Just One, that
his Law receive glory and fame. °22 But this is a people robbed and
plundered, all
of them ensnared in pits or languishing in prison. They
have become a prey, with
no one to rescue them; they
have become a spoil, with
no one to order, “Send them back!” °23 Who among you will give ear to this? Who
will listen and hear for the time to come? °24 Who handed Jacob to the spoilers and
Israel to the plunderers? Was
it not Yahweh, against
whom we have sinned, in
whose ways they would not walk, and
whose law they would not obey? °25 Therefore he poured out on them the
fury of his anger – the
violence of war. It
blazed round about them, and
they failed to know what it meant; it
burned and consumed them, and
they remained in bewilderment. § In the midst of the flames, you shall not be burned¤43 °1 But now, thus says Yahweh, who
created you, Jacob, who
formed you, Israel: Fear
not, for I have redeemed you; I
have called you by your name; you
are mine. °2 When you pass through the waters, I
will be with you. When
you pass through the rivers, they
will not sweep over you. When
you walk through fire, you
will not be burned; neither
will the flames consume you. °3 For I am your savior, I,
Yahweh, your God, the
Holy One of Israel. I
give Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia
and Seba in exchange for you. °4 Since you are precious in my sight, and
important – for I have loved you, I
give people in exchange for you and
nations in return for your life. °5 Fear not, for I am with you: I
will bring your children from the east and
gather you from the west. °6 I will say to the north, “Give them up!” and
to the south, “Do not hold them!” Bring
back my sons from afar, my
daughters from the ends of the earth, °7 all those called by my name all
I have created for my glory. °8 Lead out my people – who
have eyes but are blind, who
have ears but are deaf. °9 Let the nations gather together, let
the people assemble. Who
among them can foretell this or
declare to us the things to come? Let
them bring their witnesses to prove them right; let
others hear so that they may say, “It is true.” °10 You are my witnesses, says Yahweh, you
are 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, neither
will there be one after me. °11 I, I am Yahweh, there
is no savior but me. °12 It is I who have foretold; I
have spoken and made it known, I,
not any of your foreign gods. Therefore
you are my witnesses –
it is Yahweh who speaks, I
am God. °13 From ever I am God there
is no one who can deliver from my hand. I
act, and what I do no one undoes. °14 Thus says Yahweh, your
redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For
your sake I send an army to Babylon to
bring down all their bars. The
Chaldeans’ shout of joy will
turn into lamentation. °15 I am Yahweh, your Holy One, the
Creator of Israel, your King. °16 Thus says Yahweh, who
opened a way through the sea and
a path in the mighty waters, °17 who brought down chariots and horses, a
whole army of them, and
there they lay, never to rise again, snuffed
out like a wick. °18 But do not dwell on the past, or
remember the things of old. °19 Look, I am doing a new thing: now
it springs forth. Do
you not see? I
am opening up a way in the wilderness and
rivers in the desert. °20 The beasts of the land will honor me, jackals
and ostriches, because
I give water in the wilderness and
rivers in the desert that
my chosen people may drink. °21 I have formed this people for myself; they
will proclaim my praise. °22 You have not called upon me, O Jacob, indeed
you were tired of me, O Israel; °23 neither have you brought me sheep for
burnt offerings, nor
honored me with your sacrifices. I
have not burdened you with offerings, nor
wearied you asking for incense. °24 You have not spent money on sweet
frankincense for me, neither
have you satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. Instead
you have burdened me with your sins and
wearied me with your offenses. °25 I it is, I am He who
blots out your offenses for my own sake, and
remembers your sins no more. °26 Remind me about the past; let
us argue together. Speak
up and prove your innocence. °27 Your first father sinned, and your mediators have
rebelled against me. °28 Therefore I have disgraced the
dignitaries of your temple, I have consigned Jacob to destruction, Israel to
scorn. ¤44 °1 But now listen, Jacob my servant, Israel
whom I have chosen. °2 This is what Yahweh says – he
who made you and will help you, he
who formed you from the womb: Fear
not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun,
whom I have chosen. °3 For I will pour water upon the thirsty
land and
streams on the dry ground. I
will pour my spirit upon your race and
my blessing upon your offspring. °4 They will spring up like grass, like
poplars beside the flowing streams. °5 One will say, “I belong to Yahweh”; another
will call himself by Jacob’s name. On
his hand another will write “Yahweh” and
take the name of Israel. °6 This is what the Lord says – Israel’s
King and Redeemer, Yahweh Sabaoth: I
am the first and the last, there
is no other God besides me. °7 Who then is like me? Let
him stand up and speak, let
him argue this out with me. Who
from the beginning has foretold the future, and
revealed to us what was to come? °8 Do not be afraid or troubled. Have
I not proclaimed and
foretold this long ago? You
are my witnesses; is
there a God besides me or
another Rock? I know of none. § Mockery against those who worship idols°9 Good-for-nothing are all idol makers, and useless
are the works they prize so much. Their witnesses, blind and ignorant, will
be put to shame. °10 Who ever fashioned a god or cast an idol
without hope of gain? See how its devotees will be ridiculed, for its
craftsmen are but humans. °11 Let them all assemble, let them come to
court; they will be both terrified and scorned. °12 The blacksmith works on an iron image over the fire
and beats it into shape with a hammer. He gets hungry and tired; if there is
no water to drink, he gets exhausted. °13 In like manner, the wood carver takes the
measurement and marks the outline of an idol, carves it with chisels, giving
it a bodily form and a human face that it may live in a shrine. °14 He cut down cedars or perhaps took an oak or cypress
from the forest or maybe he planted a cedar which the rain caused to grow. °15 For the common people, that means fuel which they
use to warm themselves and to cook their food. But the craftsman carves out
of the tree trunk an idol which he worships and before which he bows down. °16 The remaining portion he burns to warm himself; over
its live embers he roasts meat and is satisfied. He says, “Well and good, I
feel warm and enjoy the light.” °17 The other portion which he has made into
an idol he worships and bows before it, praying “Rescue me, for you are my
god.” °18 They have no knowledge, no discernment. For they
have shut their mind to understanding, their heart to all reason. °19 Not one of them
has the intelligence to reflect and the sense to say, “Half of the log I
burned, and on its embers I baked bread and roasted meat. Shall I then make a
dirty idol of what remains? Am I to worship a block of wood?” °20 Only one of deluded mind can hold on to ashes. Will
he not save himself at least and confess, “What I hold is only a lie?” °21 Remember this, Jacob, for you are my servant, O Israel, I have formed you to be my servant; Israel, do not forget me. °22 I have blotted out your offenses as a thick cloud, your sins as a mist. Return to me for I am redeeming you. °23 Sing gladly, O heavens, for Yahweh has done this. Shout aloud, O earth below! Burst into song, you mountains, you forests with all your trees! For Yahweh has redeemed Jacob and shown his glory to Israel. °24 Thus says Yahweh, your redeemer, who formed you from the womb: I
am Yahweh who made all things, I alone stretched out the heavens, and spread out the earth. Who helped me? °25 I am he who thwarts the omens of false prophets, who makes fools of diviners, who turns the wise back and makes nonsense of their knowledge. °26 I confirm the word of my servant and carry out the plan announced by my messengers. I am he who says of Jerusalem, “It shall be inhabited,” and of the towns of Judah, “They shall be rebuilt; I will restore their ruins.” °27 I am he who says to the ocean, “Be dry, I will dry up your wellsprings!” °28 I call on Cyrus, “My shepherd!” and he goes to fulfill my will. I say to Jerusalem, “Be rebuilt!” and see: the cornerstone is laid. °1 Thus says Yahweh to his anointed, to Cyrus: “I have taken you by the right hand to subdue nations before you and strip kings of their armor, to open the gateways before you so that they will be closed no more. °2 I will go before you to level the slopes, I will break the gates of brass and destroy the iron bars; °3 I will give you treasures hidden in darkness and riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am Yahweh, the God of Israel who calls you by your name. °4 For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen one, I have called you by your name and given you your mission although you do not know me. °5 I am Yahweh, and there is no other; there is no God besides me. I armed you when you did not know me, °6 so that, from the rising to the setting of the sun, all may know that there is no one besides me; I am Yahweh, and there is no other. °7 I form the light and create the dark; I usher in prosperity and bring calamity. I, Yahweh, do all this. °8 Let the heavens send righteousness like dew and the clouds rain it down. Let the earth open and salvation blossom, so that justice also may sprout; I,
Yahweh, have created it. °9 Woe to him who argues with his Maker being but a pot
among pots. Will the clay say to him who fashions it, “What are you making?
You have no skill.” °10 Woe to him who asks a father, “What have you
begotten!” or a mother, “To what have you given birth?” °11 Thus says Yahweh, the Holy One, he who fashions
Israel: Is it for you to question me about my children, or decide the work of
my hands for me? °12 I am He who made the earth and created humankind
upon it. I
am He who stretched out the heavens with my own hands and gave order to their
whole array. °13 I have raised Cyrus for the sake of justice. I will
direct his ways and make him rebuild my city. He will send my exiles home
without ransom or indemnity. It is Yahweh Sabaoth who speaks. °14 Thus says Yahweh: The
peasants of Egypt, the traders of Ethiopia and the tall men of Seba will pass
near you in chains, and bow down facing you. In worship they will say, “Surely
God is with you. There is no one else, there is no other god.” °15 Truly you are the God who remains hidden, the God of
Israel, the Savior. °16 All idol makers will be put to shame, they will go
away humiliated. °17 But Israel will be saved by Yahweh –
delivered with an ever-lasting salvation. You will never be put to disgrace
for everlasting ages. °18 Yes, this is what Yahweh says, he
who created the heavens, –
for he is God, who
formed and shaped the earth, –
for he himself set it: “I
did not let confusion in it, I
wanted people to live there instead” –
for I am Yahweh and there is no other. °19 I have not spoken in secret, from
a dark place of the earth; I
have not said to the race of Jacob: “Seek
me, but all will be confused,” –
for I Yahweh tell the truth and I speak openly – § Every knee will bend°20 Come, gather together, and try to understand, survivors from among the nations: They are but fools they who follow idols of wood and pray to gods that cannot move – °21 Let them present their arguments take counsel together and tell me: Who announced this from the beginning, who foretold it in the distant past? Is it not me Yahweh? There is no other God besides me, a Savior, a God of justice, there is no other one but me. °22 Turn to me and be saved, all you from the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is no other. °23 By my own self I swear it, and what comes from my mouth is truth, a word I say will not be revoked. Before me every knee will bend, by me every tongue will swear, °24 saying, “In Yahweh alone are righteousness and strength.” All who have raged against him will come to him in shame. °25 But through Yahweh there will be victory and glory to the people of Israel. § Difference between God and the false gods¤46 °1 Bel
bows down, Nebo collapses, the carriages are weighed down with their idols.
Their sacred objects have become a burden for the weary feasts. °2 They cringe and crouch together, powerless to save those
who carry them, as they themselves are taken captive. °3 Hear me, O people of Jacob, and
all who remain of Israel, whom
I have cared for since you were conceived, and
carried since you were born. °4 Even to your old age, I am he and
I will sustain you even
when your hair turns gray. It
is I who have done this, and
who bear the burdens, I
will sustain and save you. °5 To whom will you compare me or consider
me equal? Against
whom will you match me, as
though we were alike? °6 Some pour out gold from their purses, and
with silver weighed on the scales they
hire a goldsmith to make an image before
which they bow and worship. °7 They carry it upon their shoulders and
set it up in its place; and
there it stands, unmoving and silent. They
cry out to it, but it does not answer, it
delivers no one from distress and disaster. °8 Bear it well in mind, you rebels, °9 recall those things of long ago. I
am God, and there is no other; I
am God, and there is none like me. °10 From the beginning I foretold the
outcome, from
ancient times, what was yet to come. I
say, and my plan will be fulfilled; and
what I wish, I will accomplish. °11 From the east I call forth a bird of
prey, from
a distant land, a man to carry out my plan. Yes,
I have spoken, it will be done; I
have planned, it will be executed. °12 Listen to me, you without hope, you
who are deprived of any right. °13 I am bringing my justice, it is not far
away; my
salvation will not delay. I
will make salvation appear in Zion, upon
Israel I will bestow my glory. ¤47 °1 Come down and sit in the dust, O
virgin daughter of Babylon! No
more throne! Sit on the ground, O
daughter of the Chaldeans. No
longer will you be called dainty
and delicate. °2 Take the millstone and grind meal; uncover
your hair, bare your legs; strip
to the thighs and pass over the rivers. °3 Your nakedness will be exposed, your
shame will be uncovered. I
will take revenge on you and
no one will save you, °4 says our Redeemer, Yahweh Sabaoth. His
name is the Holy One of Israel. °5 Go creep into the shadows and sit in
silence, O
daughter of the Chaldeans, for
no more will you be called sovereign
lady of the kingdoms. °6 Angry with my people, I had left my inheritance; I
gave them into your hands, but
you showed them no mercy. You
laid a heavy yoke on the aged. °7 You said, “I will reign forever;” but
you did not take this to heart or
ponder on what would ensue. °8 Listen, therefore, you wanton woman, lounging in
security and deluding yourself, “I am, and there is none besides me. I will
never be a widow or suffer the loss of children.” °9 But these two things will come to you in
a moment, on a single day – loss
of children and widowhood. They
will come upon you in full measure, in
spite of all your witchcraft, in
spite of the power of your spells. °10 You have trusted in your wickedness, saying,
“Nobody sees me.” Your
intelligence and knowledge have
perverted you, for you have said: “I
am, and there is none besides me.” °11 Evil, suddenly, will come your way though
you do not know it. Disaster
will fall upon you, and
no ransom will ward it off; a
catastrophe you cannot foresee will
come upon you suddenly. °12 Keep on, then, with your magic spells and
with the multitude of your sorceries, which you have labored at since your youth. Do
you think they will help you now? Do you think they will cause terror around
you? °13 Yet you are wearied with so many advisers. Let your
astrologers stand up, your stargazers who foretell what will happen each
month; let them save you from what is to come upon you. °14 Look,
they will be like stubble and the fire
will burn them. They cannot
even save themselves from the power
of consuming flames. These are no
embers to warm anyone, no fireside to
sit by. °15 This
is your lot and of your wizards with whom you
have labored from your youth. Now each will
go his own way – powerless to save you. ¤48 °1 Listen to this, House of Jacob, called
by the name of Israel and
born out of Judah’s womb, you
who swear by the name of Yahweh and
invoke the God of Israel, though
not in truth or righteousness – °2 calling yourselves after the holy city, and
relying on the God of Israel whose
name is Yahweh Sabaoth. °3 From long ago I revealed things past: they
went forth from my mouth; I
declared them. Then suddenly I acted and
the word came to be. °4 Because I know that you are stubborn, your
head as hard as iron, your
forehead as bronze, °5 So I told you about them; before
they took place I
let you hear of them, lest
you should say: “My idols did these, my graven image, my molten image
commanded them.” °6 Now that you have heard and seen, will
you not admit it? From
now on I will tell you new things, even
hidden things you have not known before. °7 They are created now and not long ago; up
to this day you have not heard of them lest
you should say, “I already knew.” °8 You have not heard, you didn’t know nor
were your ears opened before, for
I knew how treacherous you were – you
who from birth have been called a rebel. °9 For my name’s sake I delayed my anger, for
my honor’s sake I restrained it, lest
I destroy you. °10 See: I have refined you as silver; I
have tested you in the furnace of affliction. °11 But now for my own sake I will act, yes,
for my own sake. For
how could I let my Name be defiled? Never
will I yield my glory to another. °12 Listen to me, O Jacob, Israel
whom I have called, I
am the same, I am the first, and
I am also the last. °13 My hand laid the foundation of the earth, my
right hand spread out the heavens. When
I call on the stars they
all stand forth together. °14 Assemble, all of you, and listen. Who
among them has foretold these things? The
beloved of Yahweh will do what pleases him with
Babylon and the people of Chaldea. °15 I, yes I myself, have spoken; I
myself called him and made him prosper in his way. § If you had obeyed my law°16 Come near me and listen to this: From the beginning I have not spoken in secret; from the time that it happened I have been there. Know then, that Yahweh the Lord, with his Spirit has sent me! °17 Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I, Yahweh, your God, teach you what is best for you; I lead you in the way that you must go. °18 Had you paid attention to my commandments, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea. °19 Your descendants would have been like the sand, and those born of your stock like its grains, their names never cut off nor blotted out from my presence. °20 “Go forth from Babylon, flee from Chaldea!” Declare this with shouts of joy, make this known to the ends of the earth. Proclaim: Yahweh has redeemed his servant Jacob! °21 Those he led through the desert were never thirsty. He made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and water gushed out. °22 There is no
peace for the wicked, Yahweh says. § Yahweh called me from my mother’s womb¤49 °1 Listen to me, O islands, pay attention, peoples from distant lands. Yahweh called me from my mother’s womb; he pronounced my name before I was born. °2 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword. He hid me in the shadow of his hand. He made me into a polished arrow set apart in his quiver. °3 He said to me, “You are Israel, my servant, Through you I will be known.” °4 “I have labored in vain,” I thought and spent my strength for nothing.” Yet what is due me was in the hand of Yahweh, and my reward was with my God. I am important in the sight of Yahweh, and my God is my strength. °5 And now Yahweh has spoken, he who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, to gather Israel to him. °6 He said: “It is not enough that you be my servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob, to bring back the remnant of Israel. I will make you the light of the nations, that my salvation will reach to the ends of the earth.” °7 Thus says Yahweh, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, to him whom people despise, to him whom nations abhor, to the servant of tyrants: “Kings will see you and stand up, and princes will bow down for the sake of Yahweh, the faithful one, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.” °8 This is what Yahweh says: “At
a favorable time I have answered you, on the day of salvation I have been
your help; I have formed you and made you to be my covenant with the people. You
will restore the land, and allot its abandoned farms. °9 You will say to the captives: Come out; and to those
in darkness: Show yourselves. They
will feed along the road; they will find pasture on barren hills. °10 They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the
scorching wind or the sun beat upon them; for he who has mercy on them will
guide them and lead them to springs of water. °11 I will turn all my mountains into roads and raise up
my highways. °12 See, they come from afar, some from the north and
west, others from the land of Sinim.” § Though your
mother forgets you
°13 Sing, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth; break forth into song, O mountains: for Yahweh has comforted his people and taken pity on those who are afflicted. °14 But Zion said: “Yahweh has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.” °15 Can a woman forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child of her womb? Yet though she forget, I will never forget you. °16 See, I have written your name upon the palm of my
hands; your walls are ever before me. °17 Your
sons hurry back, and those who laid you waste hasten to depart from you. °18 Lift up your eyes, look around and see: your
children are all assembling and coming to you. As I live, says Yahweh, you
will wear them all as your jewels; they will adorn you as brides are adorned. °19 Your lonely places and your ruins, your wastelands
and devastated country, will now be too small for your people, while those who
destroy you will be driven off. °20 The children you will have, after those you lost,
will also say in your hearing, “This place is too small for us. Give us more
space to live in.” °21 You will then say in your heart, “Who has borne me
these? I was bereaved and barren, and who has brought these up? I was left
alone; but these – where have they come from?” °22 Thus speaks the Lord Yahweh: See, I am to make signs
to the nations; and to raise my banner to the peoples, that they will bring your
sons in their arms, your daughters upon their shoulders. °23 Kings will be your foster fathers, their queens your
nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the
ground; they will lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am
Yahweh and that those who hope in me will not be put to shame. °24 Can booty be taken from a warrior, or captives be
rescued from a tyrant? But thus says Yahweh: °25 Yes,
captives will be taken from warriors and booty rescued from a tyrant: for I will
fight whoever fights you and I will save your children. °26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh and
be drunk with their own blood, as with wine. All peoples will know that I,
Yahweh, am your savior, your redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. ¤50 °1 Thus says Yahweh: Where is the writ of
divorce with which I dismissed your mother? Or to which of my creditors have
I sold you? It was for your sins that you were sold, for your crimes that
your mother was dismissed. °2 Why was there no one when I came? Why
did no one answer when I called? Is
my hand too short to reach out and save? Have
I not the power to deliver? See
how, at my threat, the sea dries up, the
rivers turn into desert, their
fish dying, for lack of water. °3 I clothe the heavens in mourning: I
make sackcloth their covering. § Yahweh has opened my ear°4 The Lord Yahweh has taught me so I speak as his disciple and I know how to sustain the weary. Morning after morning he wakes me up to hear, to listen like a disciple. °5 The Lord Yahweh has opened my ear. I have not rebelled, nor have I withdrawn. °6 I offered my back to those who strike me, my cheeks to those who pulled my beard; neither did I shield my face from blows, spittle and disgrace. °7 I have not despaired, for the Lord Yahweh comes to my help. So, like a flint I set my face, knowing that I will not be disgraced. °8 He who avenges me is near. Who then will accuse me? Let us confront each other. Who is now my accuser? Let him approach. °9 If the Lord Yahweh is my help. who will condemn me? All of them will wear out like cloth; the moth will devour them. °10 Let anyone among you who fears Yahweh listen to the
voice of his servant. Whoever walks in darkness and has no light to shine for
him, let him trust in the name of Yahweh, let him rely upon his God. °11 Yet all of you who kindle flames and carry about
burning torches, go into the flames of your own fire, into the sparks you
have kindled. This will befall you from my hand, you will lie down in
torment. § God will save the children of Abraham¤51 °1 Listen
to me, you who pursue justice, you
who go in search of Yahweh. Look to the rock from which you were hewn, to the
pit from which you were quarried. °2 Look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave
you birth. He was alone when I called him; but I blessed and increased him. °3 Truly Yahweh’s compassion is for Zion, his mercy is
upon all her ruins. He will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like
Yahweh’s garden. In her will be found joy and rejoicing, melody and song of
praise and thanksgiving. °4 Listen to me, you peoples, hear
me, O nations. I
am to give you my law, my
justice will be a light to the nations. °5 Suddenly my justice will appear, my
salvation is on the way, and
my arm will impose my rule. The
islands also wait in hope for me, trusting
in my arm. °6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens and
look upon the earth beneath. Like
smoke, the heavens will vanish, and
the earth wear out like a garment; its
inhabitants will fall like flies. But
my salvation will last forever, my
justice will never fail. °7 Hear me, you who know righteousness, you
who have my law in your hearts: do
not fear the reproach of men or
be terrified by their mocking. °8 For they will be like garments eaten by
moths, like
wool consumed by grubs. But
my justice will last forever and
my salvation for all generations. § Awake, Yahweh°9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Yahweh! Awake as in ancient days, in times of generations long ago. Was it not you who split Rahab in two and pierced the dragon through? °10 Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, to make a way on the seabed for the redeemed to pass over? °11 The redeemed of Yahweh will return and come to Zion singing with joy, crowned with everlasting gladness, while sorrow and mourning flee away. °12 I, yes I, am your comforter. How then can you be afraid of the one who dies, of humans who fade like grass? °13 Are you forgetting Yahweh who made you, who stretched forth the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth? Why live every day in constant fear of the fury of the oppressor, when he sets out to destroy you? And where is the fury of the oppressor? °14 The captive exiles will soon be free; they will not die in a deep prison, nor will they want for food. °15 I am Yahweh, your God, the
one who stirs the sea, making
its waves roar. My
name is Yahweh Sabaoth. °16 I have put my words in your mouth as I stretched out
the heavens; When I laid the foundations of the earth, I said to Zion: “You
are my people, and I have shielded you in the shadow of my hand.” °17 Awake, awake! Arise,
O Jerusalem, you who drank at the hand of Yahweh the cup of his fury, the cup
which made you tremble, that you drank to the last drop! °18 Among all the children she bore, she has no one to
guide her; among all the sons she reared, she has no one to take her by the
hand. °19 These double calamities have befallen you – ruin and
destruction, famine and sword. Who
is there to console you? °20 Your children were found helpless at the corner of
every street, like wild bulls in a net. They had drunk to the full the fury
of Yahweh, the wrath of your God. °21 Therefore hear this now, you afflicted one, you who
are drunk but not with wine. °22 Thus says your Lord Yahweh, your God,
defender of your people’s cause: See,
I am taking out of your hand the cup of trembling; the cup of my anger – you
will drink of it no more. °23 But I will put it into the hands of your
tormentors, those who ordered you to bow down, that they might trample on
you, while you laid your body as a pavement, as a street for them to walk on. ¤52 °1 Awake, awake! Put
on your strength, O Zion; put
on your glorious garments, O Jerusalem, holy city. For
never will the uncircumcised or
the unclean enter you again. °2 Shake the dust off yourself and
rise up, O Jerusalem. Loose
the bonds from your neck, O
captive Daughter of Zion. °3 For thus says Yahweh: You
were sold for no amount, you
will be redeemed without money. °4 Thus says the Lord God: In
the beginning my
people lived as aliens in Egypt; then
Assyria oppressed them without reason. °5 But now, what am I doing here? says
Yahweh. My people have been carried off for no money and their masters make a boast of it; all
day long my name is scorned. °6 Therefore my people will know my name; therefore
they will know on that day that
it is I who say: “Here I am!” °7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who herald peace and happiness, who proclaim salvation and announce to Zion: “Your God is king!” °8 Together your watchmen raise their voices in praise and song; they see Yahweh face to face returning to Zion. °9 Break into shouts of joy, O ruins of Jerusalem, for Yahweh consoles his people and redeems Jerusalem. °10 Yahweh has bared his holy arm in the eyes of the nations; all the ends of the earth, in alarm, will witness God’s salvation. °11 Depart, depart from that nation, come out! Touch nothing unclean. Purify yourselves, you who bear all Yahweh’s holy vessels. °12 Yet not in escape, or in fright, will you come out, you will not leave in headlong flight; for ahead is Yahweh, your vanguard, and behind, the God of Israel, your rearguard. § Through his punishment, we are made whole°13 It is now when my servant will succeed; he will be exalted and highly praised. °14 Just as many have been horrified at his disfigured appearance: “Is this a man? He does not look like one,” °15 so will nations be astounded, kings will stand speechless, for they will see something never told, they will witness something never heard of. ¤53 °1 Who could believe what we have heard, and to whom has Yahweh revealed his feat? °2 Like a root out of dry ground, like a sapling he grew up before us, with nothing attractive in his appearance, no beauty, no majesty. °3 He was despised and rejected, a man of sorrows familiar with grief, a man from whom people hide their face, spurned and considered of no account. °4 Yet ours were the sorrows he bore, ours were the sufferings he endured, although we considered him as one punished by God, stricken and brought low. °5 Destroyed because of our sins, he was crushed for our wickedness. Through his punishment we are made whole; by his wounds we are healed. °6 Like sheep we had all gone astray, each following his own way; but Yahweh laid upon him all our guilt. °7 He was harshly treated, but unresisting and silent, he humbly submitted. Like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearer he did not open his mouth. °8 He was taken away to detention and judgment – what an unthinkable fate! He was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for his people’s sin. °9 They made his tomb with the wicked, they put him in the graveyard of the oppressors, though he had done no violence nor spoken in deceit. °10 Yet it was the will of Yahweh to crush him with grief. When he makes himself an offering for sin, he will have a long life and see his descendants. Through him the will of Yahweh is done. °11 For the anguish he suffered, he will see the light and obtain perfect knowledge. My just servant will justify the multitude; he will bear and take away their guilt. °12 Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong. For he surrendered himself to death and was even counted among the wicked, bearing the sins of the multitude and interceding for sinners. § Rejoice, O barren woman¤54 °1 Rejoice, O barren woman who has not given birth; sing and shout for joy, you who never had children, for more are the children of the rejected woman than the children of the married wife, says Yahweh. °2 Enlarge the space for your tent, stretch out your hangings, lengthen your ropes and strengthen your stakes, °3 for you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will take possession of the nations and inhabit cities that have been abandoned. °4 Do not be afraid for you will not be deceived, do not be ashamed for you will not be disgraced. You will forget the shame of your youth; no longer will you remember the disgrace of your widowhood. °5 For your Maker is to marry you: Yahweh Sabaoth is his name. Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel: He is called God of all the earth. °6 For Yahweh has called you back as one forsaken and grieved in spirit. Who could abandon his first beloved? says your God. °7 For a brief moment I have abandoned you, but with great tenderness I will gather my people. °8 For a moment, in an outburst of anger, I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I have had mercy on you, says Yahweh, your Redeemer. °9 This is for me like Noah’s waters, when I swore that they would no more flood the earth; so now I swear not to be angry with you and never again to rebuke you. °10 The mountains may depart and the hills be moved, but never will my love depart from you nor my covenant of peace be removed, says Yahweh whose compassion is for you. °11 O afflicted city, lashed by storm and unconsoled, I will set your stones with turquoise, your foundations with sapphires. °12 I will crown your wall with agate, make your gates crystal, and your ramparts of precious stones. °13 All your children will be taught by Yahweh, and they will prosper greatly. °14 Justice will be your foundation; tyranny and the fear of oppression will never come near you. °15 If ever you are attacked, it will not be of my
doing; and your attacker will surely fail. °16 Look, it is I who created the blacksmith, who fans the
burning coals and forges his weapons. But I have also prepared the one who
makes them useless. °17 No weapon forged against you will succeed, and all
who speak against you will be silenced. Such is the lot of the servants of
Yahweh, and such is the right I grant them – says Yahweh. § Come to the water¤55 °1 Come here, all you who are thirsty, come to the water! All who have no money, come! Yes, without money and at no cost, buy and drink wine and milk. °2 Why spend money on what is not food and labor for what does not satisfy? Listen to me, and you will eat well; you will enjoy the richest of fare. °3 Incline your ear and come to me; listen, that your soul may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, I will fulfill in you my promises to David. °4 See, I have given him for a witness to the nations, a leader and commander of the people. °5 Likewise you will summon a nation unknown to you, and nations that do not know you will come hurrying to you for the sake of Yahweh your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has promoted you. °6 Seek Yahweh while he may be found; call to him while he is near. °7 Let the wicked abandon his way, let him forsake his thoughts, let him turn to Yahweh for he will have mercy, for our God is generous in forgiving. °8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are not your ways, says Yahweh. °9 For as the heavens are above the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts. °10 As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return till they have watered the earth, making it yield seed for the sower and food for others to eat, °11 so is my word that goes forth out of my mouth: it will not return to me idle, but it shall accomplish my will, the purpose for which it has been sent. °12 Yes, in joy you will depart, in peace you will be
led forth: mountains and hills will break into song before you, trees of the
countryside will clap their hands. °13 Instead of the thornbush, the cypress will thrive;
instead of briers, the myrtle. This will make Yahweh famous and remain as an
everlasting witness to him. §THIRD PART
OF THE BOOK OF ISAIAH
§ God calls everyone
¤56 °1 This is what Yahweh says: Maintain
what is right and
do what is just, for
my salvation is close at hand, my
justice is soon to come. °2 Blessed is the mortal who does these things, and
perseveres in them, who does not defile the sabbath and who refrains from
evil. °3 Let no foreigner say, “Surely Yahweh will exclude me
from his people.” Neither let the castrated man say, “I have become a mere
dry tree.” °4 For this is what Yahweh says: To the castrated men
who keep my sabbaths, who choose to do what pleases me and remain faithful to
my covenant: °5 I will give them in my house and within its walls, a
memorial and a name that are worth more than sons and daughters; I will give
them a name that will never die away or be forgotten. °6 Yahweh says to the foreigners who join him, serving
him and loving his name, keeping his sabbath unprofaned and remaining
faithful to his covenant: °7 I will bring them to my holy mountain and give them
joy in my house of prayer. I will accept on my altar their burnt offerings
and sacrifices, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the
nations. °8 Thus says the Lord God, Yahweh, who gathers the
exiles of Israel: There are others I will gather besides those already
gathered. § Reproaches°9 All you wild beasts, come and devour, all you beasts
of the forests! °10 Blind are Israel’s watchmen: they all see nothing.
They are dumb watchdogs they are unable to bark. Lying down and dreaming,
they love to slumber. °11 Greedy dogs that are never satisfied; shepherds of
no discretion, they all turn their own way, everyone of them to his own gain. °12 “Come, bring wine,” they say, “and let us all get
drunk, and tomorrow will be as today, or perhaps even a happier day.” ¤57 °1 Righteous people perish, and
no one cares about it. The
just one is taken off, and no one understands that he is taken away from the
calamity that comes, °2 he enters into peace. °3 But all you children of a witch, come
here, you offspring of the whore and the adulterer. °4 Who are you mocking? At
whom are you making faces, opening wide your mouth and sticking out your
tongue? You
are children of sin, offspring of deceit and falsehood, °5 burning with lust among the bushes, under
spreading branches, sacrificing
your children by the streams, in
the clefts of rocks. °6 Your heart is with your idols, the
smooth stones of the wadis to which you have poured out drink offerings and
brought oblations of grain. Can
I tolerate this? °7 You have made your bed upon a high and
lofty mountain. You
went up there to offer your sacrifice. °8 You have set up your domestic idols behind
your doorposts and your doors. Deserting
me, you have uncovered your bed, climbed into it and spread it wide. You
made a bargain with those whose
bed you enjoy, and
you had intercourse with them. °9 With perfumed oil, you made yourself look
your best for Molech; you
sent envoys far afield – the
children you sent to your pagan god through a sacrificial death. °10 Although wearied with your misdeeds, you
have never given up; you
have never tired or weakened, but
instead found your strength revived. °11 Where had gone your fear of me that
you should lie and disown me, refuse
me a place in your heart and
not remember me? Have
I held my peace so long that
you do not fear me any more? °12 But now I will tell your merits and your deeds, it
will not be for your advantage. °13
When you cry out in
distress, let your idols save you! The wind will blow them all away; a whiff
of a breeze will carry them off. But
he who takes refuge in me will take possession of the land, my holy mountain
his inheritance. § There is no peace without justice°14 Then it shall be said: “Prepare, prepare, open up a way, remove all obstructions from my people’s way.” °15 For thus says the Most High, he who is enthroned forever, he whose name is holy: “I reign exalted and holy but I am also with him who is contrite and humble in spirit, to give the contrite a heart revived and the humble in spirit a new life. °16 For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry, lest the spirit of man faint before me, the very breath that I have created. °17 His wickedness enraged me for a time, I smote him and hid my face, for he, a rebel, wanted to go his own drive. And I have seen his ways. °18 But from now on I will console, I will heal and fully comfort him, – all those of his people who mourn. °19 I will bring smiles to their lips. Peace! Peace to him who is far and to him who is near. I will indeed heal you,” Yahweh says. °20 But the wicked are like a turbulent sea that finds no rest and whose waters cast up mire and slime. °21 “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.” § The kind of
fast that pleases me
¤58 °1 Cry out aloud for all you are worth; raise your voice like a trumpet blast; tell my people of their offenses, Jacob’s family of their sins. °2 Is it true that they seek me day after day, longing to know my ways, as a people that does what is right and has not forsaken the word of its God? They want to know the just laws and not to drift away from their God. °3 “Why are we fasting,” they complain, “and you do not even see it? We are doing penance and you never notice it.” Look, on your fast days you push your trade and you oppress your laborers. °4 Yes, you fast but end up quarreling, striking each other with wicked blows. Fasting as you do will not make your voice heard on high. °5 Is that the kind of fast that pleases me, just a day to humble oneself? Is fasting merely bowing down one’s head, and making use of sackcloth and ashes? Would you call that fasting, a day acceptable to Yahweh? °6 See the fast that pleases me: breaking the fetters of injustice and unfastening the thongs of the yoke, setting the oppressed free and breaking every yoke. °7 Fast by sharing your food with the hungry, bring to your house the homeless, clothe the one you see naked and do not turn away from your own kin. °8 Then will your light will break forth as the dawn and your healing come in a flash. Your righteousness will be your vanguard, the Glory of Yahweh your rearguard. °9 Then you will call and Yahweh will answer, you
will cry and he will say, I am here. If
you remove from your midst the yoke, the
clenched fist and the wicked word, °10 if you share your food with the hungry and
give relief to the oppressed, then
your light will rise in the dark, your
night will be like noon. °11 Yahweh will guide you always and
give you relief in desert places. He
will strengthen your bones; he
will make you as a watered garden, like
a spring of water whose
waters never fail. °12 Your ancient ruins will be rebuilt, the
age-old foundations will be raised. You
will be called the Breach-mender, and
the Restorer of ruined houses. °13 If you stop profaning the sabbath and
doing as you please on the holy day, if
you call the sabbath a day of delight and
keep sacred Yahweh’s holy day, if
you honor it by not going your own way, not
doing as you please and
not speaking with malice, °14 then you will find happiness in Yahweh, over
the heights you will ride triumphantly, and
feast joyfully on the inheritance of your father Jacob you. The
mouth of Yahweh has spoken. § Penitential psalm¤59 °1 Yahweh’s arm is not too short to save nor
his ear too dull to hear. °2 It is your sins, rather, that
separate you from God. It
is your iniquities that veil his face, so
that he does not hear you. °3 For your hands are blood-stained, your
fingers blotted with crimes; your
lips have spoken lies, your
tongues have uttered deceit. °4 No one fights for a right cause; no
one makes a truthful plea. They
all tell lies and rely on vanity; they
conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity. °5 They hatch vipers’ eggs and
weave spiders’ webs. Whoever
eats their eggs dies; and
from an egg that is crushed a
venomous snake is hatched. °6 Their thread gives useless cloth; their
works are of help to no one. Their
plans are evil plots executed
in deeds of violence. °7 Their feet rush to do evil; they
are quick to shed innocent blood. Their
minds are full of wicked thoughts, leaving
in their wake ruin and havoc. °8 They do not know the way of peace; from
them no one can expect justice. They
have made their roads tricky and crooked so
that he who follows them is lost or waylaid. °9 So, far away from us lies justice, and
beyond reach is righteousness. We
look for light but behold darkness; we
long for brightness but walk in gloom. °10 Like the blind we grope for the wall, like
those without eyes we feel our way. We
stumble at noon as at twilight; we
are dead in the midst of our sins. °11 We are like bears that growl; we
are like doves that moan. We
look for justice and find none; we
wait for salvation that never comes. °12 For our offenses before you are many, and
our sins bear witness against us. We
acknowledge our offenses; we
know all our iniquities. °13 Yes, we have betrayed and deceived
Yahweh, turning
away from following our God. We
have planned violence and rebellion; we
have thought and murmured lies. °14 Justice has been withheld, righteousness
stands aloof, for
truth has fallen in the public square and
integrity is not allowed to enter. °15 There is no sincerity nor honesty. The
one who turns from evil is despoiled. Yahweh
has seen this and is aggrieved that
justice does not exist. °16 Appalled at seeing none would intervene, his
own arm brought about the victory, his
justice giving him its support. °17 He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and
salvation as a helmet upon his head. He
wrapped himself in garments of vengeance and
put on a mantle of fury. °18 To each he will pay his due – wrath
to his enemy, reprisal to his foe. °19 Those in the west will hear the name of
Yahweh; those
in the east will see his glory. For
it will come like a pent-up stream driven
by the breath of Yahweh. °20 But to Zion he will come as redeemer, and
to those of Jacob who turn from sin. This
is Yahweh speaking. °21 For my part, this is my covenant with them, says
Yahweh. My spirit which I have poured out on you, and my words which I have
put in your mouth, will never leave you, nor your children, nor your
children’s children forever and ever. § The Glory
of Yahweh rises upon you
¤60 °1 Arise, shine, for your light has come. The Glory of Yahweh rises upon you. °2 Night still covers the earth and gloomy clouds veil the peoples, but Yahweh now rises and over you his glory appears. °3 Nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn. °4 Lift up your eyes round about and see: they are all gathered and come to you, your sons from afar, your daughters tenderly carried. °5 This sight will make your face radiant, your heart throbbing and full; the riches of the sea will be turned to you, the wealth of the nations will come to you. °6 A flood of camels will cover you, caravans from Midian and Ephah. Those from Sheba will come, bringing with them gold and incense, all singing in praise of Yahweh. °7 The flocks of Kedar will be gathered for you, the rams of Nebaioth put at your service: they are acceptable offerings on my altar and will enhance the glory of my house. °8 Who are these as thick as clouds, flying like doves to their cote? °9 Ah, they are ships, with those of Tarshish in the front, for the islands now trust in me. They bear your sons from far away bringing their gold and silver with them, for the name of Yahweh your God, for the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. °10 Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will attend to you. For though in anger I have struck you, in
love I will have mercy on you. °11 Your gates will forever be open and
never be shut by night or day, that
you may receive the wealth of the nations, their
kings leading them in procession; °12 (for the nations and kingdoms that refuse to serve
you will perish; they will be destroyed.) °13 The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the
pine, the fir and the cypress, too, to
adorn the place of my sanctuary, to
give glory to the resting place of my feet. °14 The sons of those who oppressed you will
come bending low; all
who despised you will fall before your feet. They
will call you the City of Yahweh, Zion
of the Holy One of Israel. °15 Though you have been forsaken, hated and
avoided, I
will make of you an everlasting pride, a
joy for all generations. °16 You will suck the milk of nations and
be nursed at royal breasts. You
will know that I, Yahweh, am your savior, your
redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. °17 Instead of bronze I will bring you gold; instead
of iron I will bring silver; instead
of wood, bronze; instead
of stones, iron. Peace
will be overseers, justice
your taskmasters. °18 Violence will no more be heard in your
land, nor
ruin and destruction within your borders. You
will call your walls Salvation, and
your gates Praise. °19 No more will the sun give you light by
day, nor
the moon shine on you by night. For
Yahweh will be your everlasting light and
your God will be your glory. °20 No more will your sun go down, never
will your moon wane. For
Yahweh will be your everlasting light, and
your days of mourning will come to an end. °21 Your people will be upright; forever
they will possess the land – they
the shoot of my planting, the
work of my hand – in
them I shall be glorified. °22 The least of them will become a clan, the
smallest a mighty nation. I,
Yahweh, will do this, swiftly,
in due time. § The Spirit of the Lord is upon me¤61 °1 The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh is upon me, because Yahweh has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up broken hearts, to proclaim liberty to the captives, freedom to those languishing in prison; °2 to announce the year of Yahweh’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God; to give comfort to all who grieve; °3 (to comfort those who mourn in Zion) and give them a garland instead of ashes, oil of gladness instead of mourning, and
festal clothes instead of despair. They
will be called oaks of integrity planted
by Yahweh to show his glory. °4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and
repair cities laid waste, left
desolate for many generations. °5 Strangers will stand to feed your flocks, foreigners
to be your plowmen and vinedressers. °6 But you will be named priests of Yahweh, you
will be called ministers of our God. You
will feed on the wealth of nations and
bathe in the splendor of their riches. °7 Since my people’s shame has been twofold and
disgrace has been their lot, they
will possess a double portion of
inheritance in their land. I
will give them everlasting joy. °8 For I, Yahweh, love justice, I
hate robbery and oppression; I
will give them their due reward and
make an everlasting covenant with them. °9 Their descendants shall be known among
the nations and
their offspring among the peoples. All
who see them will acknowledge that
they are a race Yahweh has blessed. °10 I rejoice greatly in Yahweh, my
soul exults for joy in my God, for
he has clothed me in the garments of his salvation, he
has covered me with the robe of his righteousness, like
a bridegroom wearing a garland, like
a bride adorned with jewels. °11 For as the earth brings forth its growth, and
as a garden makes seeds spring up, so
will the Lord Yahweh make justice and praise spring
up in the sight of all nations. § Your God will rejoice in you¤62 °1 For Zion’s sake I will not hold my peace, for
Jerusalem I will not keep silent, until
her holiness shines like the dawn and
her salvation flames like a burning torch. °2 The nations will see your holiness and
all the kings your glory. You
will be called by a new name which
the mouth of Yahweh will reveal. °3 You will be a crown of glory in
the hand of Yahweh, a
royal diadem in the hand of your God. °4 No longer will you be named Forsaken; no
longer will your land be called Abandoned; but
you will be calledMy Delight and
your land Espoused. For
Yahweh delights in you and
will make your land his spouse. °5 As a young man marries a virgin, so
will your builder marry you; and
as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so
will your God rejoice in you. § He who sows will reap°6 Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have stationed watchmen; all the day and throughout the night they will not be silent. You who call on Yahweh, give yourselves no rest; °7 and give him no rest either till he restores Jerusalem and makes of it the pride of the earth. °8 Yahweh swears by his right hand and by his mighty arm: Never again will I give your grain as food for your enemies, nor will foreigners drink the wine for which you have labored. °9 But those who toil will eat the harvest, and praise Yahweh; and those working for the vintage shall drink of the wine in the courts of my sanctuary. °10 “Pass through, pass through the gates, prepare the
way for the people. Build it up, bank up the highway, clear it of stones;
raise up a standard for the peoples.” °11 For Yahweh proclaims to the ends of the earth: Say
to the daughter of Zion, here comes your salvation! Yahweh brings the reward
of his victory, his booty is carried before him. °12 They shall be called the holy people, the redeemed
of Yahweh; and you shall be calledThe
Sought After,a city no longer abandoned. § Why are your clothes red?¤63 °1 Who is this coming from Edom, majestically arrayed in crimson garments from Bozrah, marching in great strength? “It is I, proclaiming justice, I who am powerful to save.” °2 Why are your clothes red? Such garments have those who tread the winepress. °3 “Alone I have trod the grapes; not one of my people was with me. I trampled them in my anger, I trod them down in my wrath, their lifeblood spattering my garments, staining with crimson all my raiment. °4 For I had set a day of vengeance and my year of redemption had come. °5 I looked about: there was no one to help. I was appalled: there was no one to give support. My own arm, then, brought about the victory, and I was supported by my own fury. °6 I crushed the peoples in my anger, I trampled them down in my wrath, and
on the earth I poured their lifeblood.” § Rend the heavens and come down°7 I will sing in praise of Yahweh and recall his kindness, according to all that he has done for us, his great goodness to the family of Israel. He has granted us mercy in the abundance of his blessings. °8 For he said: “Surely they are my people, children who will not be disloyal.” So he proved himself their Savior °9 in all their trials. It was not a messenger or an angel but he himself who delivered them. Out of his love and mercy, he redeemed them, lifting them up and carrying them throughout the days of old. °10 Yet they rebelled, giving grief to his holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy, fighting against them. °11 His people then remembered the days of old, the days of Moses. Where is he who brought them out of the sea, the shepherd of his flock? Where is he who in the midst of them poured out his holy Spirit, °12 who sent his own power to accompany Moses, who divided the waters before them, winning for himself eternal renown, °13 who made them go through the depths as easily as a horse in the wilderness? °14 Like cattle going down into the valley, they did not stumble. The spirit of Yahweh led them to their rest; you guided your people, winning for yourself glorious renown. °15 Look down from heaven, look down from your holy and glorious throne. Where is your zeal and your strength, the yearning of your heart and your compassion? How long will you ignore our pain? °16 For you are our Father, whereas Abraham does not know us nor has Israel any knowledge of us. But you, O Yahweh, are our Father, from the beginning, you are our redeemer: this is your name. °17 Why have you made us stray from your ways? Why have you let our heart become hard so that we do not fear you? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your inheritance. °18 Why have irreligious people invaded your sanctuary? Why have our enemies trampled it down? °19 For too long we have become like those you do not rule, like those who do not bear your name. Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down! The mountains would quake at your presence. °1 As when fire sets brushwood ablaze and causes water to boil, make the nations know your name, and your enemies tremble. °2 Let them witness your stunning deeds. °3 No one has ever heard or perceived, no eye has ever seen a God besides you who works for those who trust in him. °4 You have confounded those who acted righteously and who joyfully kept your ways in mind. You are angry with our sins, yet conceal them and we shall be saved. °5 All of us have become like the unclean; all our good deeds are like polluted garments; we have all withered like leaves, blown away by our iniquities. °6 There is no one who calls upon your name, no one who rouses himself to lay hold of you. For you have hidden your face, you have given us up to the power of our evil acts. °7 And yet, Yahweh, you are our Father; we are the clay and you are our potter; we are the work of your hand. °8 Do not let your anger go too far, O Yahweh, or think of our sins forever. See, we all are your people! °9 Your holy cities have become a wilderness, Zion has become a wasteland, Jerusalem a desolation. °10 Our holy and glorious house, where our ancestors used to pray to you, has been razed to the ground, and all that we treasure lies in ruins. °11 Can you still remain unmoved, O Yahweh, before all this? Will you punish us further with your silence? § God’s response°1 I let myself be found by those who did not ask for me; I have been met by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation who did not call on my name. °2 I have stretched out my hands all day to a rebellious people who chose the evil way, following their own wishes. °3 These people provoked me to my face, continually,
sacrificing in gardens, burning incense on bricks, °4 living
in tombs and spending nights in dark places; a people who eat the flesh of
swine and broth of abominable meat. °5 They cry out, “Stay away, do not come near, for I am
too sacred to be touched.” Such people and their acts arouse my anger like
fire that burns all day. °6 Look, all this is written in my book, I will not
keep silent till I have settled my account with them °7 for their
crimes and the crimes of their fathers as well, Yahweh says. Because they
burned incense on the mountains and blasphemed against me on the hills, I
will pay them back in full. § God saves and blesses the just°8 Yahweh says, When people find juice in a grape, they
say: ‘Do not destroy it, there is a blessing here.’ So will I do with my
servants; I will not destroy all of them. °9 I will create a new race from Jacob and they will
own the hills of Judah. My chosen people will inherit them, and my servants
will dwell there. °10 Sharon will be a pasture for flocks, the Valley of
Achor a resting place for herds; they will be for my people who have sought
me. °11 But as for you who have forsaken Yahweh, you who
have forgotten my holy mountain, you who spread a table for Fortune and fill
cups of mixed wine for Destiny, °12
I have destined you
to the sword. All of you will kneel for the slaughter. For
I called and you did not answer; I
spoke and you did not listen. Instead
you did what was evil in my sight and
chose that in which I had no delight. °13 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Look,
my servants will eat but
you will go hungry; my
servants will drink but
you will be thirsty; my
servants will rejoice but
you will be disgraced; °14 my servants will sing with gladness of
heart, but
you will cry with grief in your heart and
wail in anguish of spirit. °15 My chosen ones will use as a curse the name you will
leave behind, as I strike you dead and give my servants a new name. °16 Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will receive
the blessing from the God of truth; whoever takes an oath in the land will
swear by the God of truth. For past troubles will be forgotten, and I will
see them no more. § A new heaven and a new earth°17 I now create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind again. °18 Be glad forever and rejoice in what I create; for I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight. °19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people. The sound of distress and the voice of weeping will not be heard in it any more. °20 You will no longer know of dead children or of adults who do not live out a lifetime. One who reaches a hundred years will have died a mere youth, but one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. °21 They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant crops and eat their fruit. °22 No longer will they build houses for others to dwell in; no longer will they plant for others to eat the harvest. For as the days of a tree will the days of my people be; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands. °23 Their labor will not be in vain, nor will they bear children destined for misfortune, for they will be a people blessed by Yahweh, and their descendants with them. °24 Before they call, I will have answered; while they are yet speaking, I will have heard. °25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together, the
lion will eat straw like the ox, (but
the serpent will feed on dust). They
will not destroy nor do any harm over
all my holy mountain, says Yahweh. § True worship of Yahweh°1 Thus says Yahweh: Heaven
is my throne and earth my footstool. What house, then, could you build for
me, and what could you offer as my resting place? °2 My hands have made all this and it is all mine, but
what I am looking for is the one who is meek and contrite of heart, who trembles
at my word. °3 They sacrifice an ox, then they murder a human
being. They sacrifice a lamb, then they break a dog’s neck; they bring a
cereal offering, then they offer swine’s blood. They burn incense, but they
burn it for idols. Since
they have chosen their own ways and taken delight in their dirty idols, °4 I will likewise choose afflictions for them that
they fear and abhor. For
when I called no one answered, when
I spoke no one listened. Instead
they did what was evil in my sight and
chose that in which I had no delight. °5 Hear the word of Yahweh, you who tremble at his
word: Because of my name your own people hate and reject you, saying, “Let
Yahweh show his glory, that we may see your joy.” These
mockers will be put to shame. °6 Listen, an uproar from the city, a voice
from the temple! It is the voice of Yahweh avenging and paying back his
enemies. § Birth of the new Jerusalem°7 Long before being in labor, she
has given birth; before
having birth pangs she
has been delivered of a son. °8 Has anyone ever heard of such a thing? Has anyone
seen the like of it? How could a land spring forth in one day? How could a
nation be formed in a moment? Yet
Zion had scarcely been in travail when she gave birth to her children. °9 Yahweh says: Do I allow to conceive and yet not to
give birth? For I am the one who opens the womb and who closes it. °10 “Rejoice for Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you
who love her. Be glad with her, rejoice
with her, all you who were in grief over her, °11 that you may suck of the milk from her comforting
breasts, that you may drink deeply from the abundance of her glory.” °12 For this is what Yahweh says: I will send her peace,
overflowing like a river; and the nations’ wealth, rushing like a torrent
towards her. And
you will be nursed and carried in her arms and fondled upon her lap. °13 As a son comforted by his mother, so will I comfort
you. °14 At the sight of this, your heart will
rejoice; like grass, your bones will flourish. For it shall be known that
Yahweh’s hand is with his servant, but his fury is upon his enemy. °15 Look, Yahweh will come in fire, his
chariots like the whirlwind, to
release his anger with fury and
his threat with flames of fire. °16 For by fire will Yahweh execute judgment, and
by his sword, against all mortals. Those
slain by Yahweh will be many. °17 As for those who sanctify and purify themselves by
going to the gardens and following the priestess in the midst – those who eat
the flesh of pigs, reptiles and rats – their deeds and thoughts will suddenly
come to an end, says Yahweh. § The pagans enter the kingdom of God°18 Now I am going to gather the nations of every
tongue, and they will witness my glory, °19 for I
will perform a wonderful thing among them. Then I will send some of their
survivors to the nations – Tarshish, Put, Lud, Moscheck, Rosh, Tubal, and
Javan – to the distant islands where no one has ever heard of me or seen my
glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. °20 They will bring your kindred from all the nations as
an offering to Yahweh on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, on camels
to my holy mountain in Jerusalem, says Yahweh, just as the Israelites bring
oblations in clean vessels to the house of Yahweh. °21 Then I
will choose priests and Levites even from them, says Yahweh. °22 Yahweh says, “As the new heavens and the new earth
that I will make shall endure before me, so will your name and your
descendants also endure.” °23 From new moon to new moon, from sabbath to sabbath,
every mortal will come to worship me, says Yahweh. °24 And on
their way out they will see the corpses of those who rebelled against me.
Their worms shall not die, nor their fire be quenched, and they will be
abhorrent to all. The End |