Isaiah 45-66
New King James Version
Cyrus, God’s Instrument
45 “Thus says the Lord to His anointed,
To (A)Cyrus, whose (B)right hand I have [a]held—
(C)To subdue nations before him
And (D)loose the armor of kings,
To open before him the double doors,
So that the gates will not be shut:
2 ‘I will go before you
(E)And[b] make the [c]crooked places straight;
(F)I will break in pieces the gates of bronze
And cut the bars of iron.
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden riches of secret places,
(G)That you may know that I, the Lord,
Who (H)call you by your name,
Am the God of Israel.
4 For (I)Jacob My servant’s sake,
And Israel My elect,
I have even called you by your name;
I have named you, though you have not known Me.
5 I (J)am the Lord, and (K)there is no other;
There is no God besides Me.
(L)I will gird you, though you have not known Me,
6 (M)That they may (N)know from the rising of the sun to its setting
That there is none besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other;
7 I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and (O)create calamity;
I, the Lord, do all these things.’
8 “Rain(P) down, you heavens, from above,
And let the skies pour down righteousness;
Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation,
And let righteousness spring up together.
I, the Lord, have created it.
9 “Woe to him who strives with (Q)his Maker!
Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth!
(R)Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’?
10 Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What are you begetting?’
Or to the woman, ‘What have you brought forth?’ ”
11 Thus says the Lord,
The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:
(S)“Ask Me of things to come concerning (T)My sons;
And concerning (U)the work of My hands, you command Me.
12 (V)I have made the earth,
And (W)created man on it.
I—My hands—stretched out the heavens,
And (X)all their host I have commanded.
13 (Y)I have raised him up in righteousness,
And I will [d]direct all his ways;
He shall (Z)build My city
And let My exiles go free,
(AA)Not for price nor reward,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
The Lord, the Only Savior
14 Thus says the Lord:
(AB)“The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush
And of the Sabeans, men of stature,
Shall come over to you, and they shall be yours;
They shall walk behind you,
They shall come over (AC)in chains;
And they shall bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you, saying, (AD)‘Surely God is in you,
And there is no other;
(AE)There is no other God.’ ”
15 Truly You are God, (AF)who hide Yourself,
O God of Israel, the Savior!
16 They shall be (AG)ashamed
And also disgraced, all of them;
They shall go in confusion together,
Who are makers of idols.
17 (AH)But Israel shall be saved by the Lord
With an (AI)everlasting salvation;
You shall not be ashamed or (AJ)disgraced
Forever and ever.
18 For thus says the Lord,
(AK)Who created the heavens,
Who is God,
Who formed the earth and made it,
Who has established it,
Who did not create it [e]in vain,
Who formed it to be (AL)inhabited:
(AM)“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 I have not spoken in (AN)secret,
In a dark place of the earth;
I did not say to the seed of Jacob,
‘Seek Me [f]in vain’;
(AO)I, the Lord, speak righteousness,
I declare things that are right.
20 “Assemble yourselves and come;
Draw near together,
You who have escaped from the nations.
(AP)They have no knowledge,
Who carry the wood of their carved image,
And pray to a god that cannot save.
21 Tell and bring forth your case;
Yes, let them take counsel together.
(AQ)Who has declared this from ancient time?
Who has told it from that time?
Have not I, the Lord?
(AR)And there is no other God besides Me,
A just God and a Savior;
There is none besides Me.
22 “Look to Me, and be saved,
(AS)All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 (AT)I have sworn by Myself;
The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness,
And shall not return,
That to Me every (AU)knee shall bow,
(AV)Every tongue shall take an oath.
24 He shall say,
[g]‘Surely in the Lord I have (AW)righteousness and strength.
To Him men shall come,
And (AX)all shall be ashamed
Who are incensed against Him.
25 (AY)In the Lord all the descendants of Israel
Shall be justified, and (AZ)shall glory.’ ”
Dead Idols and the Living God
46 Bel (BA)bows down, Nebo stoops;
Their idols were on the beasts and on the cattle.
Your carriages were heavily loaded,
(BB)A burden to the weary beast.
2 They stoop, they bow down together;
They could not deliver the burden,
(BC)But have themselves gone into captivity.
3 “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob,
And all the remnant of the house of Israel,
(BD)Who have been upheld by Me from [h]birth,
Who have been carried from the womb:
4 Even to your old age, (BE)I am He,
And even to gray hairs (BF)I will carry you!
I have made, and I will bear;
Even I will carry, and will deliver you.
5 “To(BG) whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal
And compare Me, that we should be alike?
6 (BH)They lavish gold out of the bag,
And weigh silver on the scales;
They hire a (BI)goldsmith, and he makes it a god;
They prostrate themselves, yes, they worship.
7 (BJ)They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it
And set it in its place, and it stands;
From its place it shall not move.
Though (BK)one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer
Nor save him out of his trouble.
8 “Remember this, and [i]show yourselves men;
(BL)Recall to mind, O you transgressors.
9 (BM)Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and (BN)there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me,
10 (BO)Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, (BP)‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’
11 Calling a bird of prey (BQ)from the east,
The man (BR)who executes My counsel, from a far country.
Indeed (BS)I have spoken it;
I will also bring it to pass.
I have purposed it;
I will also do it.
12 “Listen to Me, you (BT)stubborn-hearted,
(BU)Who are far from righteousness:
13 (BV)I bring My righteousness near, it shall not be far off;
My salvation (BW)shall not [j]linger.
And I will place (BX)salvation in Zion,
For Israel My glory.
The Humiliation of Babylon
47 “Come (BY)down and (BZ)sit in the dust,
O virgin daughter of (CA)Babylon;
Sit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of the Chaldeans!
For you shall no more be called
Tender and [k]delicate.
2 (CB)Take the millstones and grind meal.
Remove your veil,
Take off the skirt,
Uncover the thigh,
Pass through the rivers.
3 (CC)Your nakedness shall be uncovered,
Yes, your shame will be seen;
(CD)I will take vengeance,
And I will not arbitrate with a man.”
4 As for (CE)our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name,
The Holy One of Israel.
5 “Sit in (CF)silence, and go into darkness,
O daughter of the Chaldeans;
(CG)For you shall no longer be called
The Lady of Kingdoms.
6 (CH)I was angry with My people;
(CI)I have profaned My inheritance,
And given them into your hand.
You showed them no mercy;
(CJ)On the elderly you laid your yoke very heavily.
7 And you said, ‘I shall be (CK)a lady forever,’
So that you did not (CL)take these things to heart,
(CM)Nor remember the latter end of them.
8 “Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures,
Who dwell securely,
Who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me;
I shall not sit as a widow,
Nor shall I know the loss of children’;
9 But these two things shall come to you
(CN)In a moment, in one day:
The loss of children, and widowhood.
They shall come upon you in their fullness
Because of the multitude of your sorceries,
For the great abundance of your enchantments.
10 “For you have trusted in your wickedness;
You have said, ‘No one (CO)sees me’;
Your wisdom and your knowledge have [l]warped you;
And you have said in your heart,
‘I am, and there is no one else besides me.’
11 Therefore evil shall come upon you;
You shall not know from where it arises.
And trouble shall fall upon you;
You will not be able [m]to put it off.
And (CP)desolation shall come upon you (CQ)suddenly,
Which you shall not know.
12 “Stand now with your enchantments
And the multitude of your sorceries,
In which you have labored from your youth—
Perhaps you will be able to profit,
Perhaps you will prevail.
13 (CR)You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels;
Let now (CS)the[n] astrologers, the stargazers,
And [o]the monthly prognosticators
Stand up and save you
From what shall come upon you.
14 Behold, they shall be (CT)as stubble,
The fire shall (CU)burn them;
They shall not deliver themselves
From the power of the flame;
It shall not be a coal to be warmed by,
Nor a fire to sit before!
15 Thus shall they be to you
With whom you have labored,
(CV)Your merchants from your youth;
They shall wander each one to his [p]quarter.
No one shall save you.
Israel Refined for God’s Glory
48 “Hear this, O house of Jacob,
Who are called by the name of Israel,
And have come forth from the wellsprings of Judah;
Who swear by the name of the Lord,
And make mention of the God of Israel,
But (CW)not in truth or in righteousness;
2 For they call themselves (CX)after the holy city,
And (CY)lean on the God of Israel;
The Lord of hosts is His name:
3 “I have (CZ)declared the former things from the beginning;
They went forth from My mouth, and I caused them to hear it.
Suddenly I did them, (DA)and they came to pass.
4 Because I knew that you were [q]obstinate,
And (DB)your neck was an iron sinew,
And your brow bronze,
5 Even from the beginning I have declared it to you;
Before it came to pass I proclaimed it to you,
Lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them,
And my carved image and my molded image
Have commanded them.’
6 “You have heard;
See all this.
And will you not declare it?
I have made you hear new things from this time,
Even hidden things, and you did not know them.
7 They are created now and not from the beginning;
And before this day you have not heard them,
Lest you should say, ‘Of course I knew them.’
8 Surely you did not hear,
Surely you did not know;
Surely from long ago your ear was not opened.
For I knew that you would deal very treacherously,
And were called (DC)a transgressor from the womb.
9 “For(DD) My name’s sake (DE)I will [r]defer My anger,
And for My praise I will restrain it from you,
So that I do not cut you off.
10 Behold, (DF)I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tested you in the (DG)furnace of affliction.
11 For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it;
For (DH)how should My name be profaned?
And (DI)I will not give My glory to another.
God’s Ancient Plan to Redeem Israel
12 “Listen to Me, O Jacob,
And Israel, My called:
I am He, (DJ)I am the (DK)First,
I am also the Last.
13 Indeed (DL)My hand has laid the foundation of the earth,
And My right hand has stretched out the heavens;
When (DM)I call to them,
They stand up together.
14 “All of you, assemble yourselves, and hear!
Who among them has declared these things?
(DN)The Lord loves him;
(DO)He shall do His pleasure on Babylon,
And His arm shall be against the Chaldeans.
15 I, even I, have spoken;
Yes, (DP)I have called him,
I have brought him, and his way will prosper.
16 “Come near to Me, hear this:
(DQ)I have not spoken in secret from the beginning;
From the time that it was, I was there.
And now (DR)the Lord God and His Spirit
[s]Have sent Me.”
17 Thus says (DS)the Lord, your Redeemer,
The Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
Who teaches you to profit,
(DT)Who leads you by the way you should go.
18 (DU)Oh, that you had heeded My commandments!
(DV)Then your peace would have been like a river,
And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
19 (DW)Your descendants also would have been like the sand,
And the offspring of your body like the grains of sand;
His name would not have been cut off
Nor destroyed from before Me.”
20 (DX)Go forth from Babylon!
Flee from the Chaldeans!
With a voice of singing,
Declare, proclaim this,
Utter it to the end of the earth;
Say, “The Lord has (DY)redeemed
His servant Jacob!”
21 And they (DZ)did not thirst
When He led them through the deserts;
He (EA)caused the waters to flow from the rock for them;
He also split the rock, and the waters gushed out.
22 “There(EB) is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
The Servant, the Light to the Gentiles
49 “Listen, (EC)O coastlands, to Me,
And take heed, you peoples from afar!
(ED)The Lord has called Me from the womb;
From the [t]matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name.
2 And He has made (EE)My mouth like a sharp sword;
(EF)In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me,
And made Me (EG)a polished shaft;
In His quiver He has hidden Me.”
3 “And He said to me,
(EH)‘You are My servant, O Israel,
(EI)In whom I will be glorified.’
4 (EJ)Then I said, ‘I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain;
Yet surely my [u]just reward is with the Lord,
And my [v]work with my God.’ ”
5 “And now the Lord says,
Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him,
So that Israel (EK)is [w]gathered to Him
(For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord,
And My God shall be My strength),
6 Indeed He says,
‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a (EL)light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”
7 Thus says the Lord,
The Redeemer of Israel, [x]their Holy One,
(EM)To Him [y]whom man despises,
To Him whom the nation abhors,
To the Servant of rulers:
(EN)“Kings shall see and arise,
Princes also shall worship,
Because of the Lord who is faithful,
The Holy One of Israel;
And He has chosen You.”
8 Thus says the Lord:
“In an (EO)acceptable[z] time I have heard You,
And in the day of salvation I have helped You;
I will [aa]preserve You (EP)and give You
As a covenant to the people,
To restore the earth,
To cause them to inherit the desolate [ab]heritages;
9 That You may say (EQ)to the prisoners, ‘Go forth,’
To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
“They shall feed along the roads,
And their pastures shall be on all desolate heights.
10 They shall neither (ER)hunger nor thirst,
(ES)Neither heat nor sun shall strike them;
For He who has mercy on them (ET)will lead them,
Even by the springs of water He will guide them.
11 (EU)I will make each of My mountains a road,
And My highways shall be elevated.
12 Surely (EV)these shall come from afar;
Look! Those from the north and the west,
And these from the land of Sinim.”
13 (EW)Sing, O heavens!
Be joyful, O earth!
And break out in singing, O mountains!
For the Lord has comforted His people,
And will have mercy on His afflicted.
God Will Remember Zion
14 (EX)But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,
And my Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can(EY) a woman forget her nursing child,
[ac]And not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Surely they may forget,
(EZ)Yet I will not forget you.
16 See, (FA)I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me.
17 Your [ad]sons shall make haste;
Your destroyers and those who laid you waste
Shall go away from you.
18 (FB)Lift up your eyes, look around and see;
All these gather together and come to you.
As I live,” says the Lord,
“You shall surely clothe yourselves with them all (FC)as an ornament,
And bind them on you as a bride does.
19 “For your waste and desolate places,
And the land of your destruction,
(FD)Will even now be too small for the inhabitants;
And those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 (FE)The children you will have,
(FF)After you have lost the others,
Will say again in your ears,
‘The place is too small for me;
Give me a place where I may dwell.’
21 Then you will say in your heart,
‘Who has begotten these for me,
Since I have lost my children and am desolate,
A captive, and wandering to and fro?
And who has brought these up?
There I was, left alone;
But these, where were they?’ ”
22 (FG)Thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations,
And set up My [ae]standard for the peoples;
They shall bring your sons in their [af]arms,
And your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders;
23 (FH)Kings shall be your foster fathers,
And their queens your nursing mothers;
They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth,
And (FI)lick up the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord,
(FJ)For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.”
25 But thus says the Lord:
“Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away,
And the prey of the terrible be delivered;
For I will contend with him who contends with you,
And I will save your children.
26 I will (FL)feed those who oppress you with their own flesh,
And they shall be drunk with their own (FM)blood as with sweet wine.
All flesh (FN)shall know
That I, the Lord, am your Savior,
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
The Servant, Israel’s Hope
50 Thus says the Lord:
“Where is (FO)the certificate of your mother’s divorce,
Whom I have put away?
Or which of My (FP)creditors is it to whom I have sold you?
For your iniquities (FQ)you have sold yourselves,
And for your transgressions your mother has been put away.
2 Why, when I came, was there no man?
Why, when I called, was there none to answer?
Is My hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem?
Or have I no power to deliver?
Indeed with My (FR)rebuke I dry up the sea,
I make the rivers a wilderness;
Their fish stink because there is no water,
And die of thirst.
3 (FS)I clothe the heavens with blackness,
(FT)And I make sackcloth their covering.”
4 “The(FU) Lord God has given Me
The tongue of the learned,
That I should know how to speak
A word in season to him who is (FV)weary.
He awakens Me morning by morning,
He awakens My ear
To hear as the learned.
5 The Lord God (FW)has opened My ear;
And I was not (FX)rebellious,
Nor did I turn away.
6 (FY)I gave My back to those who struck Me,
And (FZ)My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard;
I did not hide My face from shame and (GA)spitting.
7 “For the Lord God will help Me;
Therefore I will not be disgraced;
Therefore (GB)I have set My face like a flint,
And I know that I will not be ashamed.
8 (GC)He is near who justifies Me;
Who will contend with Me?
Let us stand together.
Who is [ah]My adversary?
Let him come near Me.
9 Surely the Lord God will help Me;
Who is he who will condemn Me?
(GD)Indeed they will all grow old like a garment;
(GE)The moth will eat them up.
10 “Who among you fears the Lord?
Who obeys the voice of His Servant?
Who (GF)walks in darkness
And has no light?
(GG)Let him trust in the name of the Lord
And rely upon his God.
11 Look, all you who kindle a fire,
Who encircle yourselves with sparks:
Walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks you have kindled—
(GH)This you shall have from My hand:
You shall lie down (GI)in torment.
The Lord Comforts Zion(GJ)
51 “Listen to Me, (GK)you who [ai]follow after righteousness,
You who seek the Lord:
Look to the rock from which you were hewn,
And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug.
2 (GL)Look to Abraham your father,
And to Sarah who bore you;
(GM)For I called him alone,
And (GN)blessed him and increased him.”
3 For the Lord will (GO)comfort Zion,
He will comfort all her waste places;
He will make her wilderness like Eden,
And her desert (GP)like the garden of the Lord;
Joy and gladness will be found in it,
Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.
4 “Listen to Me, My people;
And give ear to Me, O My nation:
(GQ)For law will proceed from Me,
And I will make My justice rest
(GR)As a light of the peoples.
5 (GS)My righteousness is near,
My salvation has gone forth,
(GT)And My arms will judge the peoples;
(GU)The coastlands will wait upon Me,
And (GV)on My arm they will trust.
6 (GW)Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
And look on the earth beneath.
For (GX)the heavens will vanish away like smoke,
(GY)The earth will grow old like a garment,
And those who dwell in it will die in like manner;
But My salvation will be (GZ)forever,
And My righteousness will not be [aj]abolished.
7 “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness,
You people (HA)in whose heart is My law:
(HB)Do not fear the reproach of men,
Nor be afraid of their insults.
8 For (HC)the moth will eat them up like a garment,
And the worm will eat them like wool;
But My righteousness will be forever,
And My salvation from generation to generation.”
9 (HD)Awake, awake, (HE)put on strength,
O arm of the Lord!
Awake (HF)as in the ancient days,
In the generations of old.
(HG)Are You not the arm that cut (HH)Rahab apart,
And wounded the (HI)serpent?
10 Are You not the One who (HJ)dried up the sea,
The waters of the great deep;
That made the depths of the sea a road
For the redeemed to cross over?
11 So (HK)the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness;
Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
12 “I, even I, am He (HL)who comforts you.
Who are you that you should be afraid
(HM)Of a man who will die,
And of the son of a man who will be made (HN)like grass?
13 And (HO)you forget the Lord your Maker,
(HP)Who stretched out the heavens
And laid the foundations of the earth;
You have feared continually every day
Because of the fury of the oppressor,
When he has prepared to destroy.
(HQ)And where is the fury of the oppressor?
14 The captive exile hastens, that he may be loosed,
(HR)That he should not die in the pit,
And that his bread should not fail.
15 But I am the Lord your God,
Who (HS)divided the sea whose waves roared—
The Lord of hosts is His name.
16 And (HT)I have put My words in your mouth;
(HU)I have covered you with the shadow of My hand,
(HV)That I may [ak]plant the heavens,
Lay the foundations of the earth,
And say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’ ”
God’s Fury Removed
17 (HW)Awake, awake!
Stand up, O Jerusalem,
You who (HX)have drunk at the hand of the Lord
The cup of His fury;
You have drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling,
And drained it out.
18 There is no one to guide her
Among all the sons she has brought forth;
Nor is there any who takes her by the hand
Among all the sons she has brought up.
19 (HY)These two things have come to you;
Who will be sorry for you?—
Desolation and destruction, famine and sword—
(HZ)By whom will I comfort you?
20 (IA)Your sons have fainted,
They lie at the head of all the streets,
Like an antelope in a net;
They are full of the fury of the Lord,
The rebuke of your God.
21 Therefore please hear this, you afflicted,
And drunk (IB)but not with wine.
22 Thus says your Lord,
The Lord and your God,
Who (IC)pleads the cause of His people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
The cup of trembling,
The dregs of the cup of My fury;
You shall no longer drink it.
23 (ID)But I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you,
Who have said to [al]you,
‘Lie down, that we may walk over you.’
And you have laid your body like the ground,
And as the street, for those who walk over.”
God Redeems Jerusalem
52 Awake, awake!
Put on your strength, O Zion;
Put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city!
For the uncircumcised (IE)and the unclean
Shall no longer come to you.
2 (IF)Shake yourself from the dust, arise;
Sit down, O Jerusalem!
(IG)Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion!
3 For thus says the Lord:
4 For thus says the Lord God:
“My people went down at first
Into (IJ)Egypt to [am]dwell there;
Then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.
5 Now therefore, what have I here,” says the Lord,
“That My people are taken away for nothing?
Those who rule over them
[an]Make them wail,” says the Lord,
“And My name is (IK)blasphemed continually every day.
6 Therefore My people shall know My name;
Therefore they shall know in that day
That I am He who speaks:
‘Behold, it is I.’ ”
7 (IL)How beautiful upon the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who proclaims peace,
Who brings glad tidings of good things,
Who proclaims salvation,
Who says to Zion,
(IM)“Your God reigns!”
8 Your watchmen shall lift up their voices,
With their voices they shall sing together;
For they shall see eye to eye
When the Lord brings back Zion.
9 Break forth into joy, sing together,
You waste places of Jerusalem!
For the Lord has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 (IN)The Lord has [ao]made bare His holy arm
In the eyes of (IO)all the nations;
And all the ends of the earth shall see
The salvation of our God.
11 (IP)Depart! Depart! Go out from there,
Touch no unclean thing;
Go out from the midst of her,
(IQ)Be clean,
You who bear the vessels of the Lord.
12 For (IR)you shall not go out with haste,
Nor go by flight;
(IS)For the Lord will go before you,
(IT)And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
The Sin-Bearing Servant
13 Behold, (IU)My Servant shall [ap]deal prudently;
(IV)He shall be exalted and [aq]extolled and be very high.
14 Just as many were astonished at you,
So His (IW)visage[ar] was marred more than any man,
And His form more than the sons of men;
15 (IX)So shall He [as]sprinkle many nations.
Kings shall shut their mouths at Him;
For (IY)what had not been told them they shall see,
And what they had not heard they shall consider.
The Sin-Bearing Messiah
53 Who (IZ)has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no [at]form or [au]comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no [av]beauty that we should desire Him.
3 (JA)He is despised and [aw]rejected by men,
A Man of [ax]sorrows and (JB)acquainted with [ay]grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and (JC)we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely (JD)He has borne our [az]griefs
And carried our [ba]sorrows;
Yet we [bb]esteemed Him stricken,
[bc]Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was (JE)wounded[bd] for our transgressions,
He was [be]bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His (JF)stripes[bf] we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord [bg]has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet (JG)He opened not His mouth;
(JH)He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
8 He was (JI)taken from [bh]prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For (JJ)He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9 (JK)And [bi]they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any (JL)deceit in His mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to [bj]bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul (JM)an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
11 [bk]He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge (JN)My righteous (JO)Servant shall (JP)justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
12 (JQ)Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
(JR)And He shall divide the [bl]spoil with the strong,
Because He (JS)poured out His soul unto death,
And He was (JT)numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And (JU)made intercession for the transgressors.
A Perpetual Covenant of Peace
54 “Sing, O (JV)barren,
You who have not borne!
Break forth into singing, and cry aloud,
You who have not labored with child!
For more are the children of the desolate
Than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge(JW) the place of your tent,
And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;
Do not spare;
Lengthen your cords,
And strengthen your stakes.
3 For you shall expand to the right and to the left,
And your descendants will (JX)inherit the nations,
And make the desolate cities inhabited.
4 “Do(JY) not fear, for you will not be ashamed;
Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame;
For you will forget the shame of your youth,
And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.
5 (JZ)For your Maker is your husband,
The Lord of hosts is His name;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;
He is called (KA)the God of the whole earth.
6 For the Lord (KB)has called you
Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Like a youthful wife when you were refused,”
Says your God.
7 “For(KC) a mere moment I have forsaken you,
But with great mercies (KD)I will gather you.
8 With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;
(KE)But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,”
Says the Lord, your Redeemer.
9 “For this is like the waters of (KF)Noah to Me;
For as I have sworn
That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,
So have I sworn
That I would not be angry with (KG)you, nor rebuke you.
10 For (KH)the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
(KI)But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”
Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.
11 “O you afflicted one,
Tossed with tempest, and not comforted,
Behold, I will lay your stones with (KJ)colorful gems,
And lay your foundations with sapphires.
12 I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
Your gates of crystal,
And all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children shall be (KK)taught by the Lord,
And (KL)great shall be the peace of your children.
14 In righteousness you shall be established;
You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
15 Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me.
Whoever assembles against you shall (KM)fall for your sake.
16 “Behold, I have created the blacksmith
Who blows the coals in the fire,
Who brings forth an [bm]instrument for his work;
And I have created the [bn]spoiler to destroy.
17 No weapon formed against you shall (KN)prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
(KO)And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the Lord.
An Invitation to Abundant Life
55 “Ho! (KP)Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
(KQ)Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
2 Why do you [bo]spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
3 Incline your ear, and (KR)come to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live;
(KS)And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—
The (KT)sure mercies of David.
4 Indeed I have given him as (KU)a witness to the people,
(KV)A leader and commander for the people.
5 (KW)Surely you shall call a nation you do not know,
(KX)And nations who do not know you shall run to you,
Because of the Lord your God,
And the Holy One of Israel;
(KY)For He has glorified you.”
6 (KZ)Seek the Lord while He may be (LA)found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
7 (LB)Let the [bp]wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man (LC)his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
(LD)And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
8 “For(LE) My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
9 “For(LF) as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 “For (LG)as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
11 (LH)So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me [bq]void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall (LI)prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
12 “For(LJ) you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall (LK)break forth into singing before you,
And (LL)all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 (LM)Instead of (LN)the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
And it shall be to the Lord (LO)for a name,
For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
Salvation for the Gentiles
56 Thus says the Lord:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
(LP)For My salvation is about to come,
And My righteousness to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man who does this,
And the son of man who lays hold on it;
(LQ)Who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3 Do not let (LR)the son of the foreigner
Who has joined himself to the Lord
Speak, saying,
“The Lord has utterly separated me from His people”;
Nor let the (LS)eunuch say,
“Here I am, a dry tree.”
4 For thus says the Lord:
“To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And hold fast My covenant,
5 Even to them I will give in (LT)My house
And within My walls a place (LU)and a name
Better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give [br]them an everlasting name
That shall not be cut off.
6 “Also the sons of the foreigner
Who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him,
And to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants—
Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And holds fast My covenant—
7 Even them I will (LV)bring to My holy mountain,
And make them joyful in My (LW)house of prayer.
(LX)Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
Will be (LY)accepted on My altar;
For (LZ)My house shall be called a house of prayer (MA)for all nations.”
8 The Lord God, (MB)who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says,
(MC)“Yet I will gather to him
Others besides those who are gathered to him.”
Israel’s Irresponsible Leaders
9 (MD)All you beasts of the field, come to devour,
All you beasts in the forest.
10 His watchmen are (ME)blind,
They are all ignorant;
(MF)They are all dumb dogs,
They cannot bark;
[bs]Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
11 Yes, they are (MG)greedy[bt] dogs
Which (MH)never[bu] have enough.
And they are shepherds
Who cannot understand;
They all look to their own way,
Every one for his own gain,
From his own territory.
12 “Come,” one says, “I will bring wine,
And we will fill ourselves with intoxicating (MI)drink;
(MJ)Tomorrow will be (MK)as today,
And much more abundant.”
Israel’s Futile Idolatry
57 The righteous perishes,
And no man takes it to heart;
(ML)Merciful men are taken away,
(MM)While no one considers
That the righteous is taken away from [bv]evil.
2 He shall enter into peace;
They shall rest in (MN)their beds,
Each one walking in his uprightness.
3 “But come here,
(MO)You sons of the sorceress,
You offspring of the adulterer and the harlot!
4 Whom do you ridicule?
Against whom do you make a wide mouth
And stick out the tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
Offspring of falsehood,
5 Inflaming yourselves with gods (MP)under every green tree,
(MQ)Slaying the children in the valleys,
Under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth (MR)stones of the stream
Is your portion;
They, they, are your lot!
Even to them you have poured a drink offering,
You have offered a grain offering.
Should I receive comfort in (MS)these?
7 “On(MT) a lofty and high mountain
You have set (MU)your bed;
Even there you went up
To offer sacrifice.
8 Also behind the doors and their posts
You have set up your remembrance;
For you have uncovered yourself to those other than Me,
And have gone up to them;
You have enlarged your bed
And [bw]made a covenant with them;
(MV)You have loved their bed,
Where you saw their [bx]nudity.
9 (MW)You went to the king with ointment,
And increased your perfumes;
You sent your (MX)messengers far off,
And even descended to Sheol.
10 You are wearied in the length of your way;
(MY)Yet you did not say, ‘There is no hope.’
You have found the life of your hand;
Therefore you were not grieved.
11 “And (MZ)of whom have you been afraid, or feared,
That you have lied
And not remembered Me,
Nor taken it to your heart?
Is it not because (NA)I have [by]held My peace from of old
That you do not fear Me?
12 I will declare your righteousness
And your works,
For they will not profit you.
13 When you cry out,
Let your collection of idols deliver you.
But the wind will carry them all away,
A breath will take them.
But he who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land,
And shall inherit My holy mountain.”
Healing for the Backslider
14 And one shall say,
(NB)“Heap it up! Heap it up!
Prepare the way,
Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.”
15 For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, (NC)whose name is Holy:
(ND)“I dwell in the high and holy place,
(NE)With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
(NF)To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
16 (NG)For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would fail before Me,
And the souls (NH)which I have made.
17 For the iniquity of (NI)his covetousness
I was angry and struck him;
(NJ)I hid and was angry,
(NK)And he went on [bz]backsliding in the way of his heart.
18 I have seen his ways, and (NL)will heal him;
I will also lead him,
And restore comforts to him
And to (NM)his mourners.
19 “I create (NN)the fruit of the lips:
Peace, peace (NO)to him who is far off and to him who is near,”
Says the Lord,
“And I will heal him.”
20 (NP)But the wicked are like the troubled sea,
When it cannot rest,
Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
21 “There(NQ) is no peace,”
Says my God, “for the wicked.”
Fasting that Pleases God
58 “Cry aloud, [ca]spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
(NR)Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching God.
3 ‘Why(NS) have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?
Why have we (NT)afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’
“In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And [cb]exploit all your laborers.
4 (NU)Indeed you fast for strife and debate,
And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You will not fast as you do this day,
To make your voice heard on high.
5 Is (NV)it a fast that I have chosen,
(NW)A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And (NX)to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the Lord?
6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To (NY)loose the bonds of wickedness,
(NZ)To undo the [cc]heavy burdens,
(OA)To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
7 Is it not (OB)to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are [cd]cast out;
(OC)When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from (OD)your own flesh?
8 (OE)Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
(OF)The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
“If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The [ce]pointing of the finger, and (OG)speaking wickedness,
10 If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your [cf]darkness shall be as the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
12 Those from among you
(OH)Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of [cg]Streets to Dwell In.
13 “If (OI)you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the Lord honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
14 (OJ)Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord;
And I will cause you to (OK)ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
(OL)The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Separated from God
59 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not (OM)shortened,
That it cannot save;
Nor His ear heavy,
That it cannot hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will (ON)not hear.
3 For (OO)your hands are defiled with [ch]blood,
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken lies,
Your tongue has muttered perversity.
4 No one calls for justice,
Nor does any plead for truth.
They trust in (OP)empty words and speak lies;
(OQ)They conceive [ci]evil and bring forth iniquity.
5 They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web;
He who eats of their eggs dies,
And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out.
6 (OR)Their webs will not become garments,
Nor will they cover themselves with their works;
Their works are works of iniquity,
And the act of violence is in their hands.
7 (OS)Their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed (OT)innocent blood;
(OU)Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
Wasting and (OV)destruction are in their paths.
8 The way of (OW)peace they have not known,
And there is no justice in their ways;
(OX)They have made themselves crooked paths;
Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.
Sin Confessed
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
Nor does righteousness overtake us;
(OY)We look for light, but there is darkness!
For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
10 (OZ)We grope for the wall like the blind,
And we grope as if we had no eyes;
We stumble at noonday as at twilight;
We are as dead men in desolate places.
11 We all growl like bears,
And (PA)moan sadly like doves;
We look for justice, but there is none;
For salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our (PB)transgressions are multiplied before You,
And our sins testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And as for our iniquities, we know them:
13 In transgressing and lying against the Lord,
And departing from our God,
Speaking oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and uttering (PC)from the heart words of falsehood.
14 Justice is turned back,
And righteousness stands afar off;
For truth is fallen in the street,
And equity cannot enter.
15 So truth fails,
And he who departs from evil makes himself a (PD)prey.
The Redeemer of Zion
Then the Lord saw it, and [cj]it displeased Him
That there was no justice.
16 (PE)He saw that there was no man,
And (PF)wondered that there was no intercessor;
(PG)Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
17 (PH)For He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing,
And was clad with zeal as a cloak.
18 (PI)According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay,
Fury to His adversaries,
Recompense to His enemies;
The coastlands He will fully repay.
19 (PJ)So shall they fear
The name of the Lord from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the enemy comes in (PK)like a flood,
The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.
20 “The(PL) Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,”
Says the Lord.
21 “As(PM) for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.”
The Gentiles Bless Zion
60 Arise, (PN)shine;
For your light has come!
And (PO)the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The (PP)Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
4 “Lift(PQ) up your eyes all around, and see:
They all gather together, (PR)they come to you;
Your sons shall come from afar,
And your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
5 Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy;
Because (PS)the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.
6 The multitude of camels shall cover your land,
The dromedaries of Midian and (PT)Ephah;
All those from (PU)Sheba shall come;
They shall bring (PV)gold and incense,
And they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord.
7 All the flocks of (PW)Kedar shall be gathered together to you,
The rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;
They shall ascend with (PX)acceptance on My altar,
And (PY)I will glorify the house of My glory.
8 “Who are these who fly like a cloud,
And like doves to their roosts?
9 (PZ)Surely the coastlands shall wait for Me;
And the ships of Tarshish will come first,
(QA)To bring your sons from afar,
(QB)Their silver and their gold with them,
To the name of the Lord your God,
And to the Holy One of Israel,
(QC)Because He has glorified you.
10 “The(QD) sons of foreigners shall build up your walls,
(QE)And their kings shall minister to you;
For (QF)in My wrath I struck you,
(QG)But in My favor I have had mercy on you.
11 Therefore your gates (QH)shall be open continually;
They shall not be shut day or night,
That men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles,
And their kings in procession.
12 (QI)For the nation and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish,
And those nations shall be utterly ruined.
13 “The(QJ) glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
The cypress, the pine, and the box tree together,
To beautify the place of My sanctuary;
And I will make (QK)the place of My feet glorious.
14 Also the sons of those who afflicted you
Shall come (QL)bowing to you,
And all those who despised you shall (QM)fall prostrate at the soles of your feet;
And they shall call you The City of the Lord,
(QN)Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
15 “Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
So that no one went through you,
I will make you an eternal excellence,
A joy of many generations.
16 You shall drink the milk of the Gentiles,
(QO)And milk the breast of kings;
You shall know that (QP)I, the Lord, am your Savior
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
17 “Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
Instead of iron I will bring silver,
Instead of wood, bronze,
And instead of stones, iron.
I will also make your officers peace,
And your magistrates righteousness.
18 Violence shall no longer be heard in your land,
Neither [ck]wasting nor destruction within your borders;
But you shall call (QQ)your walls Salvation,
And your gates Praise.
God the Glory of His People
19 “The (QR)sun shall no longer be your light by day,
Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you;
But the Lord will be to you an everlasting light,
And (QS)your God your glory.
20 (QT)Your sun shall no longer go down,
Nor shall your moon withdraw itself;
For the Lord will be your everlasting light,
And the days of your mourning shall be ended.
21 (QU)Also your people shall all be righteous;
(QV)They shall inherit the land forever,
(QW)The branch of My planting,
(QX)The work of My hands,
That I may be glorified.
22 (QY)A little one shall become a thousand,
And a small one a strong nation.
I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time.”
The Good News of Salvation
61 “The (QZ)Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord (RA)has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me (RB)to [cl]heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim (RC)liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 (RD)To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And (RE)the day of vengeance of our God;
(RF)To comfort all who mourn,
3 To [cm]console those who mourn in Zion,
(RG)To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
(RH)The planting of the Lord, (RI)that He may be glorified.”
4 And they shall (RJ)rebuild the old ruins,
They shall raise up the former desolations,
And they shall repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
5 (RK)Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,
And the sons of the foreigner
Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
6 (RL)But you shall be named the priests of the Lord,
They shall call you the servants of our God.
(RM)You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles,
And in their glory you shall boast.
7 (RN)Instead of your shame you shall have double honor,
And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion.
Therefore in their land they shall possess double;
Everlasting joy shall be theirs.
8 “For (RO)I, the Lord, love justice;
(RP)I hate robbery [cn]for burnt offering;
I will direct their work in truth,
(RQ)And will make with them an everlasting covenant.
9 Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles,
And their offspring among the people.
All who see them shall acknowledge them,
(RR)That they are the posterity whom the Lord has blessed.”
10 (RS)I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For (RT)He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
(RU)As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its bud,
As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth,
So the Lord God will cause (RV)righteousness and (RW)praise to spring forth before all the nations.
Assurance of Zion’s Salvation
62 For Zion’s sake I will not [co]hold My peace,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
And her salvation as a lamp that burns.
2 (RX)The Gentiles shall see your righteousness,
And all (RY)kings your glory.
(RZ)You shall be called by a new name,
Which the mouth of the Lord will name.
3 You shall also be (SA)a crown of glory
In the hand of the Lord,
And a royal diadem
In the hand of your God.
4 (SB)You shall no longer be termed (SC)Forsaken,[cp]
Nor shall your land any more be termed (SD)Desolate;[cq]
But you shall be called [cr]Hephzibah, and your land [cs]Beulah;
For the Lord delights in you,
And your land shall be married.
5 For as a young man marries a virgin,
So shall your sons marry you;
And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
(SE)So shall your God rejoice over you.
6 (SF)I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
They shall [ct]never hold their peace day or night.
You who [cu]make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent,
7 And give Him no rest till He establishes
And till He makes Jerusalem (SG)a praise in the earth.
8 The Lord has sworn by His right hand
And by the arm of His strength:
“Surely I will no longer (SH)give your grain
As food for your enemies;
And the sons of the foreigner shall not drink your new wine,
For which you have labored.
9 But those who have gathered it shall eat it,
And praise the Lord;
Those who have brought it together shall drink it (SI)in My holy courts.”
10 Go through,
Go through the gates!
(SJ)Prepare the way for the people;
Build up,
Build up the highway!
Take out the stones,
(SK)Lift up a banner for the peoples!
11 Indeed the Lord has proclaimed
To the end of the world:
(SL)“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Surely your salvation is coming;
Behold, His (SM)reward is with Him,
And His [cv]work before Him.’ ”
12 And they shall call them The Holy People,
The Redeemed of the Lord;
And you shall be called Sought Out,
A City Not Forsaken.
The Lord in Judgment and Salvation
63 Who is this who comes from Edom,
With dyed garments from Bozrah,
This One who is [cw]glorious in His apparel,
Traveling in the greatness of His strength?—
“I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”
2 Why (SN)is Your apparel red,
And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress?
3 “I have (SO)trodden the winepress alone,
And from the peoples no one was with Me.
For I have trodden them in My anger,
And trampled them in My fury;
Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments,
And I have stained all My robes.
4 For the (SP)day of vengeance is in My heart,
And the year of My redeemed has come.
5 (SQ)I looked, but (SR)there was no one to help,
And I wondered
That there was no one to uphold;
Therefore My own (SS)arm brought salvation for Me;
And My own fury, it sustained Me.
6 I have trodden down the peoples in My anger,
Made them drunk in My fury,
And brought down their strength to the earth.”
God’s Mercy Remembered
7 I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord
And the praises of the Lord,
According to all that the Lord has bestowed on us,
And the great goodness toward the house of Israel,
Which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies,
According to the multitude of His lovingkindnesses.
8 For He said, “Surely they are My people,
Children who will not lie.”
So He became their Savior.
9 (ST)In all their affliction He was [cx]afflicted,
(SU)And the Angel of His Presence saved them;
(SV)In His love and in His pity He redeemed them;
And (SW)He bore them and carried them
All the days of old.
10 But they (SX)rebelled and (SY)grieved His Holy Spirit;
(SZ)So He turned Himself against them as an enemy,
And He fought against them.
11 Then he (TA)remembered the days of old,
Moses and his people, saying:
“Where is He who (TB)brought them up out of the sea
With the [cy]shepherd of His flock?
(TC)Where is He who put His Holy Spirit within them,
12 Who led them by the right hand of Moses,
(TD)With His glorious arm,
(TE)Dividing the water before them
To make for Himself an everlasting name,
13 (TF)Who led them through the deep,
As a horse in the wilderness,
That they might not stumble?”
14 As a beast goes down into the valley,
And the Spirit of the Lord causes him to rest,
So You lead Your people,
(TG)To make Yourself a glorious name.
A Prayer of Penitence
15 (TH)Look down from heaven,
And see (TI)from Your habitation, holy and glorious.
Where are Your zeal and Your strength,
The yearning (TJ)of Your heart and Your mercies toward me?
Are they restrained?
16 (TK)Doubtless You are our Father,
Though Abraham (TL)was ignorant of us,
And Israel does not acknowledge us.
You, O Lord, are our Father;
Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.
17 O Lord, why have You (TM)made us stray from Your ways,
And hardened our heart from Your fear?
Return for Your servants’ sake,
The tribes of Your inheritance.
18 (TN)Your holy people have possessed it but a little while;
(TO)Our adversaries have trodden down Your sanctuary.
19 We have become like those of old, over whom You never ruled,
Those who were never called by Your name.
A Prayer for Help
64 Oh, that You would [cz]rend the heavens!
That You would come down!
That the mountains might shake at Your (TP)presence—
2 As fire burns brushwood,
As fire causes water to boil—
To make Your name known to Your adversaries,
That the nations may tremble at Your presence!
3 When (TQ)You did awesome things for which we did not look,
You came down,
The mountains shook at Your presence.
4 For since the beginning of the world
(TR)Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear,
Nor has the eye seen any God besides You,
Who acts for the one who waits for Him.
5 You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness,
Who remembers You in Your ways.
You are indeed angry, for we have sinned—
(TS)In these ways we continue;
And we need to be saved.
6 But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all (TT)our righteousnesses are like [da]filthy rags;
We all (TU)fade as a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind,
Have taken us away.
7 And there is no one who calls on Your name,
Who stirs himself up to take hold of You;
For You have hidden Your face from us,
And have [db]consumed us because of our iniquities.
8 But now, O Lord,
You are our Father;
We are the clay, and You our (TV)potter;
And all we are the work of Your hand.
9 Do not be furious, O Lord,
Nor remember iniquity forever;
Indeed, please look—we all are Your people!
10 Your holy cities are a wilderness,
Zion is a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and beautiful [dc]temple,
Where our fathers praised You,
Is burned up with fire;
And all (TW)our pleasant things [dd]are laid waste.
12 (TX)Will You restrain Yourself because of these things, O Lord?
(TY)Will You [de]hold Your peace, and afflict us very severely?
The Righteousness of God’s Judgment
65 “I was (TZ)sought by those who did not ask for Me;
I was found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’
To a nation that (UA)was not called by My name.
2 (UB)I have stretched out My hands all day long to a (UC)rebellious people,
Who (UD)walk in a way that is not good,
According to their own thoughts;
3 A people (UE)who provoke Me to anger continually to My face;
(UF)Who sacrifice in gardens,
And burn incense on altars of brick;
4 (UG)Who sit among the graves,
And spend the night in the tombs;
(UH)Who eat swine’s flesh,
And the broth of [df]abominable things is in their vessels;
5 (UI)Who say, ‘Keep to yourself,
Do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These [dg]are smoke in My nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
6 “Behold, (UJ)it is written before Me:
(UK)I will not keep silence, (UL)but will repay—
Even repay into their bosom—
7 Your iniquities and (UM)the iniquities of your fathers together,”
Says the Lord,
(UN)“Who have burned incense on the mountains
(UO)And blasphemed Me on the hills;
Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”
8 Thus says the Lord:
“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it,
For (UP)a blessing is in it,’
So will I do for My servants’ sake,
That I may not destroy them (UQ)all.
9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
And from Judah an heir of My mountains;
My (UR)elect shall inherit it,
And My servants shall dwell there.
10 (US)Sharon shall be a fold of flocks,
And (UT)the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
For My people who have (UU)sought Me.
11 “But you are those who forsake the Lord,
Who forget (UV)My holy mountain,
Who prepare (UW)a table for [dh]Gad,
And who furnish a drink offering for [di]Meni.
12 Therefore I will number you for the sword,
And you shall all bow down to the slaughter;
(UX)Because, when I called, you did not answer;
When I spoke, you did not hear,
But did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight.”
13 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, My servants shall eat,
But you shall be hungry;
Behold, My servants shall drink,
But you shall be thirsty;
Behold, My servants shall rejoice,
But you shall be ashamed;
14 Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart,
But you shall cry for sorrow of heart,
And (UY)wail for [dj]grief of spirit.
15 You shall leave your name (UZ)as a curse to (VA)My chosen;
For the Lord God will slay you,
And (VB)call His servants by another name;
16 (VC)So that he who blesses himself in the earth
Shall bless himself in the God of truth;
And (VD)he who swears in the earth
Shall swear by the God of truth;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My eyes.
The Glorious New Creation
17 “For behold, I create (VE)new heavens and a new earth;
And the former shall not be remembered or [dk]come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing,
And her people a joy.
19 (VF)I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
And joy in My people;
The (VG)voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her,
Nor the voice of crying.
20 “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days,
Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days;
For the child shall die one hundred years old,
(VH)But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.
21 (VI)They shall build houses and inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They shall not build and another inhabit;
They shall not plant and (VJ)another eat;
For (VK)as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people,
And (VL)My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
23 They shall not labor in vain,
(VM)Nor bring forth children for trouble;
For (VN)they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord,
And their offspring with them.
24 “It shall come to pass
That (VO)before they call, I will answer;
And while they are still speaking, I will (VP)hear.
25 The (VQ)wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
The lion shall eat straw like the ox,
(VR)And dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,”
Says the Lord.
True Worship and False
66 Thus says the Lord:
(VS)“Heaven is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.
Where is the house that you will build Me?
And where is the place of My rest?
2 For all those things My hand has made,
And all those things exist,”
Says the Lord.
(VT)“But on this one will I look:
(VU)On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,
And who trembles at My word.
3 “He(VV) who kills a bull is as if he slays a man;
He who sacrifices a lamb, as if he (VW)breaks a dog’s neck;
He who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine’s blood;
He who burns incense, as if he blesses an idol.
Just as they have chosen their own ways,
And their soul delights in their abominations,
4 So will I choose their delusions,
And bring their fears on them;
(VX)Because, when I called, no one answered,
When I spoke they did not hear;
But they did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight.”
The Lord Vindicates Zion
5 Hear the word of the Lord,
You who tremble at His word:
“Your brethren who (VY)hated you,
Who cast you out for My name’s sake, said,
(VZ)‘Let the Lord be glorified,
That (WA)we may see your joy.’
But they shall be ashamed.”
6 The sound of noise from the city!
A voice from the temple!
The voice of the Lord,
Who fully repays His enemies!
7 “Before she was in labor, she gave birth;
Before her pain came,
She delivered a male child.
8 Who has heard such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day?
Or shall a nation be born at once?
For as soon as Zion was in labor,
She gave birth to her children.
9 Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” says the Lord.
“Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?” says your God.
10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem,
And be glad with her, all you who love her;
Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her;
11 That you may feed and be satisfied
With the consolation of her bosom,
That you may drink deeply and be delighted
With the abundance of her glory.”
12 For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, (WB)I will extend peace to her like a river,
And the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream.
Then you shall (WC)feed;
On her sides shall you be (WD)carried,
And be dandled on her knees.
13 As one whom his mother comforts,
So I will (WE)comfort you;
And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”
The Reign and Indignation of God
14 When you see this, your heart shall rejoice,
And (WF)your bones shall flourish like grass;
The hand of the Lord shall be known to His servants,
And His indignation to His enemies.
15 (WG)For behold, the Lord will come with fire
And with His chariots, like a whirlwind,
To render His anger with fury,
And His rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by (WH)His sword
The Lord will judge all flesh;
And the slain of the Lord shall be (WI)many.
17 “Those(WJ) who sanctify themselves and purify themselves,
To go to the gardens
[dl]After an idol in the midst,
Eating swine’s flesh and the abomination and the mouse,
Shall [dm]be consumed together,” says the Lord.
18 “For I know their works and their (WK)thoughts. It shall be that I will (WL)gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. 19 (WM)I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and [dn]Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. (WN)And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. 20 Then they shall (WO)bring all your brethren (WP)for an offering to the Lord out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. 21 And I will also take some of them for (WQ)priests and Levites,” says the Lord.
22 “For as (WR)the new heavens and the new earth
Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the Lord,
“So shall your descendants and your name remain.
23 And (WS)it shall come to pass
That from one New Moon to another,
And from one Sabbath to another,
(WT)All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord.
24 “And they shall go forth and look
Upon the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their (WU)worm does not die,
And their fire is not quenched.
They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 45:1 strengthened or sustained
- Isaiah 45:2 Tg. I will trample down the walls; Vg. I will humble the great ones of the earth
- Isaiah 45:2 DSS, LXX mountains
- Isaiah 45:13 Or make all his ways straight
- Isaiah 45:18 Or empty, a waste
- Isaiah 45:19 Or in a waste place
- Isaiah 45:24 Or Only in the Lord are all righteousness and strength
- Isaiah 46:3 Lit. the belly
- Isaiah 46:8 be men, take courage
- Isaiah 46:13 delay
- Isaiah 47:1 dainty
- Isaiah 47:10 led you astray
- Isaiah 47:11 Lit. to cover it or atone for it
- Isaiah 47:13 Lit. viewers of the heavens
- Isaiah 47:13 Lit. those giving knowledge for new moons
- Isaiah 47:15 own side or way
- Isaiah 48:4 Heb. hard
- Isaiah 48:9 delay
- Isaiah 48:16 Heb. verb is sing.; or Has sent Me and His Spirit
- Isaiah 49:1 Lit. inward parts
- Isaiah 49:4 justice
- Isaiah 49:4 recompense
- Isaiah 49:5 Qr., DSS, LXX gathered to Him; Kt. not gathered
- Isaiah 49:7 Lit. his or its
- Isaiah 49:7 Lit. who is despised of soul
- Isaiah 49:8 favorable
- Isaiah 49:8 keep
- Isaiah 49:8 inheritances
- Isaiah 49:15 Lit. From having compassion
- Isaiah 49:17 DSS, LXX, Tg., Vg. builders
- Isaiah 49:22 banner
- Isaiah 49:22 Lit. bosom
- Isaiah 49:24 So with MT, Tg.; DSS, Syr., Vg. of the mighty; LXX unjustly
- Isaiah 50:8 Lit. master of My judgment
- Isaiah 51:1 pursue
- Isaiah 51:6 broken
- Isaiah 51:16 establish
- Isaiah 51:23 Lit. your soul
- Isaiah 52:4 As resident aliens
- Isaiah 52:5 DSS Mock; LXX Marvel and wail; Tg. Boast themselves; Vg. Treat them unjustly
- Isaiah 52:10 Revealed His power
- Isaiah 52:13 prosper
- Isaiah 52:13 Lit. be lifted up
- Isaiah 52:14 appearance
- Isaiah 52:15 Or startle
- Isaiah 53:2 Stately form
- Isaiah 53:2 splendor
- Isaiah 53:2 Lit. appearance
- Isaiah 53:3 Or forsaken
- Isaiah 53:3 Lit. pains
- Isaiah 53:3 Lit. sickness
- Isaiah 53:4 Lit. sicknesses
- Isaiah 53:4 Lit. pains
- Isaiah 53:4 reckoned
- Isaiah 53:4 Struck down
- Isaiah 53:5 Or pierced through
- Isaiah 53:5 crushed
- Isaiah 53:5 Blows that cut in
- Isaiah 53:6 Lit. has caused to land on Him
- Isaiah 53:8 confinement
- Isaiah 53:9 Lit. he or He
- Isaiah 53:10 crush
- Isaiah 53:11 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; DSS, LXX From the labor of His soul He shall see light
- Isaiah 53:12 plunder
- Isaiah 54:16 Or weapon
- Isaiah 54:16 destroyer
- Isaiah 55:2 Lit. weigh out silver
- Isaiah 55:7 Lit. man of iniquity
- Isaiah 55:11 empty, without fruit
- Isaiah 56:5 Lit. him
- Isaiah 56:10 Or Dreaming
- Isaiah 56:11 Lit. strong of soul
- Isaiah 56:11 Lit. do not know satisfaction
- Isaiah 57:1 Lit. the face of evil
- Isaiah 57:8 Lit. cut
- Isaiah 57:8 Lit. hand, a euphemism
- Isaiah 57:11 remained silent
- Isaiah 57:17 Or turning back
- Isaiah 58:1 do not hold back
- Isaiah 58:3 Lit. drive hard
- Isaiah 58:6 Lit. bonds of the yoke
- Isaiah 58:7 wandering
- Isaiah 58:9 Lit. sending out of
- Isaiah 58:10 Or gloom
- Isaiah 58:12 Lit. Paths
- Isaiah 59:3 bloodshed
- Isaiah 59:4 trouble
- Isaiah 59:15 Lit. it was evil in His eyes
- Isaiah 60:18 devastation
- Isaiah 61:1 Lit. bind up
- Isaiah 61:3 Lit. appoint
- Isaiah 61:8 Or in
- Isaiah 62:1 keep silent
- Isaiah 62:4 Heb. Azubah
- Isaiah 62:4 Heb. Shemamah
- Isaiah 62:4 Lit. My Delight Is in Her
- Isaiah 62:4 Lit. Married
- Isaiah 62:6 not be silent
- Isaiah 62:6 remember
- Isaiah 62:11 recompense
- Isaiah 63:1 Or adorned
- Isaiah 63:9 Kt., LXX, Syr. not afflicted
- Isaiah 63:11 MT, Vg. shepherds
- Isaiah 64:1 tear open
- Isaiah 64:6 Lit. a filthy garment
- Isaiah 64:7 Lit. caused us to melt
- Isaiah 64:11 Lit. house
- Isaiah 64:11 have become a ruin
- Isaiah 64:12 keep silent
- Isaiah 65:4 Unclean meats, Lev. 7:18; 19:7
- Isaiah 65:5 Cause My wrath to smoke
- Isaiah 65:11 Lit. Troop or Fortune; a pagan deity
- Isaiah 65:11 Lit. Number or Destiny; a pagan deity
- Isaiah 65:14 Or a broken spirit
- Isaiah 65:17 Lit. come upon the heart
- Isaiah 66:17 Lit. After one
- Isaiah 66:17 come to an end
- Isaiah 66:19 So with MT, Tg.; LXX Put (cf. Jer. 46:9)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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