“As a lion^(Q) growls,
    a great lion over its prey—
and though a whole band of shepherds^(R)
    is called together against it,
it is not frightened by their shouts
    or disturbed by their clamor^(S)—
so the Lord Almighty will come down^(T)
    to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.
⁵ Like birds hovering^(U) overhead,
    the Lord Almighty will shield^(V) Jerusalem;
he will shield it and deliver^(W) it,
    he will ‘pass over’^(X) it and will rescue it.”

⁸ “Assyria^(AD) will fall by no human sword;
    a sword, not of mortals, will devour^(AE) them.
They will flee before the sword
    and their young men will be put to forced labor.^(AF)
9 Their stronghold^(AG) will fall because of terror;
    at the sight of the battle standard^(AH) their commanders will panic,^(AI)”
declares the Lord,
    whose fire^(AJ) is in Zion,
    whose furnace^(AK) is in Jerusalem.

³ Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,^(AR)
    and the ears^(AS) of those who hear will listen.
⁴ The fearful heart will know and understand,^(AT)
    and the stammering tongue^(AU) will be fluent and clear.
⁵ No longer will the fool^(AV) be called noble
    nor the scoundrel be highly respected.
⁶ For fools speak folly,^(AW)
    their hearts are bent on evil:^(AX)
They practice ungodliness^(AY)
    and spread error^(AZ) concerning the Lord;
the hungry they leave empty^(BA)
    and from the thirsty they withhold water.
⁷ Scoundrels use wicked methods,^(BB)
    they make up evil schemes^(BC)
to destroy the poor with lies,
    even when the plea of the needy^(BD) is just.^(BE)
8 But the noble make noble plans,
    and by noble deeds^(BF) they stand.^(BG)

² Lord, be gracious^(CV) to us;
    we long for you.
Be our strength^(CW) every morning,
    our salvation^(CX) in time of distress.^(CY)
3 At the uproar of your army,^(CZ) the peoples flee;^(DA)
    when you rise up,^(DB) the nations scatter.
⁴ Your plunder,^(DC) O nations, is harvested^(DD) as by young locusts;^(DE)
    like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.

⁵ The Lord is exalted,^(DF) for he dwells on high;^(DG)
    he will fill Zion with his justice^(DH) and righteousness.^(DI)
6 He will be the sure foundation for your times,
    a rich store of salvation^(DJ) and wisdom and knowledge;
    the fear^(DK) of the Lord is the key to this treasure.^[a](DL)

⁷ Look, their brave men^(DM) cry aloud in the streets;
    the envoys^(DN) of peace weep bitterly.
⁸ The highways are deserted,
    no travelers^(DO) are on the roads.^(DP)
The treaty is broken,^(DQ)
    its witnesses^[b] are despised,
    no one is respected.
⁹ The land dries up^(DR) and wastes away,
    Lebanon^(DS) is ashamed and withers;^(DT)
Sharon^(DU) is like the Arabah,
    and Bashan^(DV) and Carmel^(DW) drop their leaves.

¹⁰ “Now will I arise,^(DX)” says the Lord.
    “Now will I be exalted;^(DY)
    now will I be lifted up.
¹¹ You conceive^(DZ) chaff,
    you give birth^(EA) to straw;
    your breath is a fire^(EB) that consumes you.
¹² The peoples will be burned to ashes;^(EC)
    like cut thornbushes^(ED) they will be set ablaze.^(EE)”

¹³ You who are far away,^(EF) hear^(EG) what I have done;
    you who are near, acknowledge my power!
¹⁴ The sinners^(EH) in Zion are terrified;
    trembling^(EI) grips the godless:
“Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?^(EJ)
    Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”
¹⁵ Those who walk righteously^(EK)
    and speak what is right,^(EL)
who reject gain from extortion^(EM)
    and keep their hands from accepting bribes,^(EN)
who stop their ears against plots of murder
    and shut their eyes^(EO) against contemplating evil—
¹⁶ they are the ones who will dwell on the heights,^(EP)
    whose refuge^(EQ) will be the mountain fortress.^(ER)
Their bread will be supplied,
    and water will not fail^(ES) them.

¹⁷ Your eyes will see the king^(ET) in his beauty^(EU)
    and view a land that stretches afar.^(EV)
18 In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror:^(EW)
    “Where is that chief officer?
Where is the one who took the revenue?
    Where is the officer in charge of the towers?^(EX)”
¹⁹ You will see those arrogant people^(EY) no more,
    people whose speech is obscure,
    whose language is strange and incomprehensible.^(EZ)

²⁰ Look on Zion,^(FA) the city of our festivals;
    your eyes will see Jerusalem,
    a peaceful abode,^(FB) a tent^(FC) that will not be moved;^(FD)
its stakes will never be pulled up,
    nor any of its ropes broken.
²¹ There the Lord will be our Mighty^(FE) One.
    It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams.^(FF)
No galley with oars will ride them,
    no mighty ship^(FG) will sail them.
²² For the Lord is our judge,^(FH)
    the Lord is our lawgiver,^(FI)
the Lord is our king;^(FJ)
    it is he who will save^(FK) us.

²³ Your rigging hangs loose:
    The mast is not held secure,
    the sail is not spread.
Then an abundance of spoils will be divided
    and even the lame^(FL) will carry off plunder.^(FM)
24 No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”;^(FN)
    and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.^(FO)

⁵ My sword^(GE) has drunk its fill in the heavens;
    see, it descends in judgment on Edom,^(GF)
    the people I have totally destroyed.^(GG)
6 The sword^(GH) of the Lord is bathed in blood,
    it is covered with fat—
the blood of lambs and goats,
    fat from the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrifice^(GI) in Bozrah^(GJ)
    and a great slaughter^(GK) in the land of Edom.
⁷ And the wild oxen^(GL) will fall with them,
    the bull calves and the great bulls.^(GM)
Their land will be drenched with blood,^(GN)
    and the dust will be soaked with fat.

⁸ For the Lord has a day^(GO) of vengeance,^(GP)
    a year of retribution,^(GQ) to uphold Zion’s cause.
⁹ Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
    her dust into burning sulfur;^(GR)
    her land will become blazing pitch!
¹⁰ It will not be quenched^(GS) night or day;
    its smoke will rise forever.^(GT)
From generation to generation^(GU) it will lie desolate;^(GV)
    no one will ever pass through it again.
¹¹ The desert owl^[d](GW) and screech owl^[e] will possess it;
    the great owl^[f] and the raven^(GX) will nest there.
God will stretch out over Edom^(GY)
    the measuring line of chaos^(GZ)
    and the plumb line^(HA) of desolation.
¹² Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
    all her princes^(HB) will vanish^(HC) away.
¹³ Thorns^(HD) will overrun her citadels,
    nettles and brambles her strongholds.^(HE)
She will become a haunt for jackals,^(HF)
    a home for owls.^(HG)
14 Desert creatures^(HH) will meet with hyenas,^(HI)
    and wild goats will bleat to each other;
there the night creatures^(HJ) will also lie down
    and find for themselves places of rest.
¹⁵ The owl will nest there and lay eggs,
    she will hatch them, and care for her young
    under the shadow of her wings;^(HK)
there also the falcons^(HL) will gather,
    each with its mate.

None of these will be missing,^(HN)
    not one will lack her mate.
For it is his mouth^(HO) that has given the order,^(HP)
    and his Spirit will gather them together.
¹⁷ He allots their portions;^(HQ)
    his hand distributes them by measure.
They will possess it forever
    and dwell there from generation to generation.^(HR)

³ Strengthen the feeble hands,
    steady the knees^(IB) that give way;
⁴ say^(IC) to those with fearful hearts,^(ID)
    “Be strong, do not fear;^(IE)
your God will come,^(IF)
    he will come with vengeance;^(IG)
with divine retribution
    he will come to save^(IH) you.”

⁵ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened^(II)
    and the ears of the deaf^(IJ) unstopped.
⁶ Then will the lame^(IK) leap like a deer,^(IL)
    and the mute tongue^(IM) shout for joy.^(IN)
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
    and streams^(IO) in the desert.
⁷ The burning sand will become a pool,
    the thirsty ground^(IP) bubbling springs.^(IQ)
In the haunts where jackals^(IR) once lay,
    grass and reeds^(IS) and papyrus will grow.

⁸ And a highway^(IT) will be there;
    it will be called the Way of Holiness;^(IU)
    it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean^(IV) will not journey on it;
    wicked fools will not go about on it.
⁹ No lion^(IW) will be there,
    nor any ravenous beast;^(IX)
    they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed^(IY) will walk there,
¹⁰     and those the Lord has rescued^(IZ) will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;^(JA)
    everlasting joy^(JB) will crown their heads.
Gladness^(JC) and joy will overtake them,
    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.^(JD)

“Virgin Daughter^(NC) Zion^(ND)
    despises and mocks you.
Daughter Jerusalem
    tosses her head^(NE) as you flee.
²³ Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed?^(NF)
    Against whom have you raised your voice^(NG)
and lifted your eyes in pride?^(NH)
    Against the Holy One^(NI) of Israel!
²⁴ By your messengers
    you have ridiculed the Lord.
And you have said,
    ‘With my many chariots^(NJ)
I have ascended the heights of the mountains,
    the utmost heights^(NK) of Lebanon.^(NL)
I have cut down its tallest cedars,
    the choicest of its junipers.^(NM)
I have reached its remotest heights,
    the finest of its forests.
²⁵ I have dug wells in foreign lands^[j]
    and drunk the water there.
With the soles of my feet
    I have dried up^(NN) all the streams of Egypt.^(NO)’

²⁶ “Have you not heard?
    Long ago I ordained^(NP) it.
In days of old I planned^(NQ) it;
    now I have brought it to pass,
that you have turned fortified cities
    into piles of stone.^(NR)
27 Their people, drained of power,
    are dismayed and put to shame.
They are like plants in the field,
    like tender green shoots,
like grass^(NS) sprouting on the roof,^(NT)
    scorched^[k] before it grows up.

²⁸ “But I know where you are
    and when you come and go^(NU)
    and how you rage^(NV) against me.
²⁹ Because you rage against me
    and because your insolence^(NW) has reached my ears,
I will put my hook^(NX) in your nose^(NY)
    and my bit in your mouth,
and I will make you return
    by the way you came.^(NZ)

“This year^(OB) you will eat what grows by itself,
    and the second year what springs from that.
But in the third year^(OC) sow and reap,
    plant vineyards^(OD) and eat their fruit.^(OE)
31 Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah
    will take root^(OF) below and bear fruit^(OG) above.
³² For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,^(OH)
    and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.^(OI)
The zeal^(OJ) of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.

“He will not enter this city^(OK)
    or shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield
    or build a siege ramp^(OL) against it.
³⁴ By the way that he came he will return;^(OM)
    he will not enter this city,”
declares the Lord.
³⁵ “I will defend^(ON) this city and save it,
    for my sake^(OO) and for the sake of David^(OP) my servant!”

¹⁰ I said, “In the prime of my life^(PO)
    must I go through the gates of death^(PP)
    and be robbed of the rest of my years?^(PQ)”
¹¹ I said, “I will not again see the Lord himself^(PR)
    in the land of the living;^(PS)
no longer will I look on my fellow man,
    or be with those who now dwell in this world.
¹² Like a shepherd’s tent^(PT) my house
    has been pulled down^(PU) and taken from me.
Like a weaver I have rolled^(PV) up my life,
    and he has cut me off from the loom;^(PW)
    day and night^(PX) you made an end of me.
¹³ I waited patiently^(PY) till dawn,
    but like a lion he broke^(PZ) all my bones;^(QA)
    day and night^(QB) you made an end of me.
¹⁴ I cried like a swift or thrush,
    I moaned like a mourning dove.^(QC)
My eyes grew weak^(QD) as I looked to the heavens.
    I am being threatened; Lord, come to my aid!”^(QE)

¹⁵ But what can I say?^(QF)
    He has spoken to me, and he himself has done this.^(QG)
I will walk humbly^(QH) all my years
    because of this anguish of my soul.^(QI)
16 Lord, by such things people live;
    and my spirit finds life in them too.
You restored me to health
    and let me live.^(QJ)
17 Surely it was for my benefit^(QK)
    that I suffered such anguish.^(QL)
In your love you kept me
    from the pit^(QM) of destruction;
you have put all my sins^(QN)
    behind your back.^(QO)
18 For the grave^(QP) cannot praise you,
    death cannot sing your praise;^(QQ)
those who go down to the pit^(QR)
    cannot hope for your faithfulness.
¹⁹ The living, the living—they praise^(QS) you,
    as I am doing today;
parents tell their children^(QT)
    about your faithfulness.

²⁰ The Lord will save me,
    and we will sing^(QU) with stringed instruments^(QV)
all the days of our lives^(QW)
    in the temple^(QX) of the Lord.

³ A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
    the way^(RQ) for the Lord^[l];
make straight^(RR) in the desert
    a highway for our God.^[m](RS)
4 Every valley shall be raised up,^(RT)
    every mountain and hill^(RU) made low;
the rough ground shall become level,^(RV)
    the rugged places a plain.
⁵ And the glory^(RW) of the Lord will be revealed,
    and all people will see it together.^(RX)
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”^(RY)

⁶ A voice says, “Cry out.”
    And I said, “What shall I cry?”

“All people are like grass,^(RZ)
    and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
⁷ The grass withers^(SA) and the flowers fall,
    because the breath^(SB) of the Lord blows^(SC) on them.
    Surely the people are grass.
⁸ The grass withers and the flowers^(SD) fall,
    but the word^(SE) of our God endures^(SF) forever.^(SG)”

⁹ You who bring good news^(SH) to Zion,
    go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,^[n](SI)
    lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
    say to the towns of Judah,
    “Here is your God!”^(SJ)
10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes^(SK) with power,^(SL)
    and he rules^(SM) with a mighty arm.^(SN)
See, his reward^(SO) is with him,
    and his recompense accompanies him.
¹¹ He tends his flock like a shepherd:^(SP)
    He gathers the lambs in his arms^(SQ)
and carries them close to his heart;^(SR)
    he gently leads^(SS) those that have young.^(ST)

¹² Who has measured the waters^(SU) in the hollow of his hand,^(SV)
    or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?^(SW)
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
    or weighed the mountains on the scales
    and the hills in a balance?^(SX)
13 Who can fathom the Spirit^[o](SY) of the Lord,
    or instruct the Lord as his counselor?^(SZ)
14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
    and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,^(TA)
    or showed him the path of understanding?^(TB)

¹⁵ Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
    they are regarded as dust on the scales;^(TC)
    he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.^(TD)
16 Lebanon^(TE) is not sufficient for altar fires,
    nor its animals^(TF) enough for burnt offerings.
¹⁷ Before him all the nations^(TG) are as nothing;^(TH)
    they are regarded by him as worthless
    and less than nothing.^(TI)

¹⁸ With whom, then, will you compare God?^(TJ)
    To what image^(TK) will you liken him?
¹⁹ As for an idol,^(TL) a metalworker casts it,
    and a goldsmith^(TM) overlays it with gold^(TN)
    and fashions silver chains for it.
²⁰ A person too poor to present such an offering
    selects wood^(TO) that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
    to set up an idol^(TP) that will not topple.^(TQ)

²¹ Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?^(TR)
Has it not been told^(TS) you from the beginning?^(TT)
    Have you not understood^(TU) since the earth was founded?^(TV)
22 He sits enthroned^(TW) above the circle of the earth,
    and its people are like grasshoppers.^(TX)
He stretches out the heavens^(TY) like a canopy,^(TZ)
    and spreads them out like a tent^(UA) to live in.^(UB)
23 He brings princes^(UC) to naught
    and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.^(UD)
24 No sooner are they planted,
    no sooner are they sown,
    no sooner do they take root^(UE) in the ground,
than he blows^(UF) on them and they wither,^(UG)
    and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.^(UH)

²⁵ “To whom will you compare me?^(UI)
    Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.^(UJ)
26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:^(UK)
    Who created^(UL) all these?
He who brings out the starry host^(UM) one by one
    and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,^(UN)
    not one of them is missing.^(UO)

²⁷ Why do you complain, Jacob?
    Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
    my cause is disregarded by my God”?^(UP)
28 Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?^(UQ)
The Lord is the everlasting^(UR) God,
    the Creator^(US) of the ends of the earth.^(UT)
He will not grow tired or weary,^(UU)
    and his understanding no one can fathom.^(UV)
29 He gives strength^(UW) to the weary^(UX)
    and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men^(UY) stumble and fall;^(UZ)
31 but those who hope^(VA) in the Lord
    will renew their strength.^(VB)
They will soar on wings like eagles;^(VC)
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.^(VD)