Comfort for God’s People

40 Comfort, comfort(A) my people,
    says your God.
Speak tenderly(B) to Jerusalem,
    and proclaim to her
that her hard service(C) has been completed,(D)
    that her sin has been paid for,(E)
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
    double(F) for all her sins.

A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
    the way(G) for the Lord[a];
make straight(H) in the desert
    a highway for our God.[b](I)
Every valley shall be raised up,(J)
    every mountain and hill(K) made low;
the rough ground shall become level,(L)
    the rugged places a plain.
And the glory(M) of the Lord will be revealed,
    and all people will see it together.(N)
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”(O)

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

“All people are like grass,(P)
    and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers(Q) and the flowers fall,
    because the breath(R) of the Lord blows(S) on them.
    Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers(T) fall,
    but the word(U) of our God endures(V) forever.(W)

You who bring good news(X) to Zion,
    go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,[c](Y)
    lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
    say to the towns of Judah,
    “Here is your God!”(Z)
10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes(AA) with power,(AB)
    and he rules(AC) with a mighty arm.(AD)
See, his reward(AE) is with him,
    and his recompense accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:(AF)
    He gathers the lambs in his arms(AG)
and carries them close to his heart;(AH)
    he gently leads(AI) those that have young.(AJ)

12 Who has measured the waters(AK) in the hollow of his hand,(AL)
    or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?(AM)
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
    or weighed the mountains on the scales
    and the hills in a balance?(AN)
13 Who can fathom the Spirit[d](AO) of the Lord,
    or instruct the Lord as his counselor?(AP)
14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
    and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,(AQ)
    or showed him the path of understanding?(AR)

15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
    they are regarded as dust on the scales;(AS)
    he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.(AT)
16 Lebanon(AU) is not sufficient for altar fires,
    nor its animals(AV) enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations(AW) are as nothing;(AX)
    they are regarded by him as worthless
    and less than nothing.(AY)

18 With whom, then, will you compare God?(AZ)
    To what image(BA) will you liken him?
19 As for an idol,(BB) a metalworker casts it,
    and a goldsmith(BC) overlays it with gold(BD)
    and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A person too poor to present such an offering
    selects wood(BE) that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
    to set up an idol(BF) that will not topple.(BG)

21 Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?(BH)
Has it not been told(BI) you from the beginning?(BJ)
    Have you not understood(BK) since the earth was founded?(BL)
22 He sits enthroned(BM) above the circle of the earth,
    and its people are like grasshoppers.(BN)
He stretches out the heavens(BO) like a canopy,(BP)
    and spreads them out like a tent(BQ) to live in.(BR)
23 He brings princes(BS) to naught
    and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.(BT)
24 No sooner are they planted,
    no sooner are they sown,
    no sooner do they take root(BU) in the ground,
than he blows(BV) on them and they wither,(BW)
    and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.(BX)

25 “To whom will you compare me?(BY)
    Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.(BZ)
26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:(CA)
    Who created(CB) all these?
He who brings out the starry host(CC) one by one
    and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,(CD)
    not one of them is missing.(CE)

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”?(CF)
28 Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?(CG)
The Lord is the everlasting(CH) God,
    the Creator(CI) of the ends of the earth.(CJ)
He will not grow tired or weary,(CK)
    and his understanding no one can fathom.(CL)
29 He gives strength(CM) to the weary(CN)
    and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men(CO) stumble and fall;(CP)
31 but those who hope(CQ) in the Lord
    will renew their strength.(CR)
They will soar on wings like eagles;(CS)
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.(CT)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 40:3 Or A voice of one calling in the wilderness: / “Prepare the way for the Lord
  2. Isaiah 40:3 Hebrew; Septuagint make straight the paths of our God
  3. Isaiah 40:9 Or Zion, bringer of good news, / go up on a high mountain. / Jerusalem, bringer of good news
  4. Isaiah 40:13 Or mind

40 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins.

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

10 Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

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

12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

13 Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him?

14 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?

15 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.

16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.

17 All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.

18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

19 The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.

20 He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.

21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?

22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

24 Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.

26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.

27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?

28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

52 Awake, awake,(A) Zion,
    clothe yourself with strength!(B)
Put on your garments of splendor,(C)
    Jerusalem, the holy city.(D)
The uncircumcised(E) and defiled(F)
    will not enter you again.(G)
Shake off your dust;(H)
    rise up,(I) sit enthroned, Jerusalem.
Free yourself from the chains on your neck,(J)
    Daughter Zion,(K) now a captive.

For this is what the Lord says:

“You were sold for nothing,(L)
    and without money(M) you will be redeemed.(N)

For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“At first my people went down to Egypt(O) to live;
    lately, Assyria(P) has oppressed them.

“And now what do I have here?” declares the Lord.

“For my people have been taken away for nothing,
    and those who rule them mock,[a]
declares the Lord.
“And all day long
    my name is constantly blasphemed.(Q)
Therefore my people will know(R) my name;(S)
    therefore in that day(T) they will know
that it is I who foretold(U) it.
    Yes, it is I.”

How beautiful on the mountains(V)
    are the feet of those who bring good news,(W)
who proclaim peace,(X)
    who bring good tidings,
    who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
    “Your God reigns!”(Y)
Listen! Your watchmen(Z) lift up their voices;(AA)
    together they shout for joy.(AB)
When the Lord returns(AC) to Zion,(AD)
    they will see it with their own eyes.
Burst into songs of joy(AE) together,
    you ruins(AF) of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted(AG) his people,
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.(AH)
10 The Lord will lay bare his holy arm(AI)
    in the sight of all the nations,(AJ)
and all the ends of the earth(AK) will see
    the salvation(AL) of our God.

11 Depart,(AM) depart, go out from there!
    Touch no unclean thing!(AN)
Come out from it and be pure,(AO)
    you who carry the articles(AP) of the Lord’s house.
12 But you will not leave in haste(AQ)
    or go in flight;
for the Lord will go before you,(AR)
    the God of Israel will be your rear guard.(AS)

The Suffering and Glory of the Servant

13 See, my servant(AT) will act wisely[b];
    he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.(AU)
14 Just as there were many who were appalled(AV) at him[c]
    his appearance was so disfigured(AW) beyond that of any human being
    and his form marred beyond human likeness(AX)
15 so he will sprinkle(AY) many nations,[d]
    and kings(AZ) will shut their mouths(BA) because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
    and what they have not heard, they will understand.(BB)

53 Who has believed our message(BC)
    and to whom has the arm(BD) of the Lord been revealed?(BE)
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,(BF)
    and like a root(BG) out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance(BH) that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering,(BI) and familiar with pain.(BJ)
Like one from whom people hide(BK) their faces
    he was despised,(BL) and we held him in low esteem.

Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,(BM)
yet we considered him punished by God,(BN)
    stricken by him, and afflicted.(BO)
But he was pierced(BP) for our transgressions,(BQ)
    he was crushed(BR) for our iniquities;
the punishment(BS) that brought us peace(BT) was on him,
    and by his wounds(BU) we are healed.(BV)
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,(BW)
    each of us has turned to our own way;(BX)
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity(BY) of us all.

He was oppressed(BZ) and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;(CA)
he was led like a lamb(CB) to the slaughter,(CC)
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression[e] and judgment(CD) he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;(CE)
    for the transgression(CF) of my people he was punished.[f]
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,(CG)
    and with the rich(CH) in his death,
though he had done no violence,(CI)
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.(CJ)

10 Yet it was the Lord’s will(CK) to crush(CL) him and cause him to suffer,(CM)
    and though the Lord makes[g] his life an offering for sin,(CN)
he will see his offspring(CO) and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper(CP) in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,(CQ)
    he will see the light(CR) of life[h] and be satisfied[i];
by his knowledge[j] my righteous servant(CS) will justify(CT) many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.(CU)
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[k](CV)
    and he will divide the spoils(CW) with the strong,[l]
because he poured out his life unto death,(CX)
    and was numbered with the transgressors.(CY)
For he bore(CZ) the sin of many,(DA)
    and made intercession(DB) for the transgressors.

The Future Glory of Zion

54 “Sing, barren woman,(DC)
    you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,(DD)
    you who were never in labor;(DE)
because more are the children(DF) of the desolate(DG) woman
    than of her who has a husband,(DH)
says the Lord.
“Enlarge the place of your tent,(DI)
    stretch your tent curtains wide,
    do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
    strengthen your stakes.(DJ)
For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
    your descendants(DK) will dispossess nations(DL)
    and settle in their desolate(DM) cities.

“Do not be afraid;(DN) you will not be put to shame.(DO)
    Do not fear disgrace;(DP) you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth(DQ)
    and remember no more the reproach(DR) of your widowhood.(DS)
For your Maker(DT) is your husband(DU)
    the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One(DV) of Israel is your Redeemer;(DW)
    he is called the God of all the earth.(DX)
The Lord will call you back(DY)
    as if you were a wife deserted(DZ) and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,(EA)
    only to be rejected,” says your God.
“For a brief moment(EB) I abandoned(EC) you,
    but with deep compassion(ED) I will bring you back.(EE)
In a surge of anger(EF)
    I hid(EG) my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness(EH)
    I will have compassion(EI) on you,”
    says the Lord your Redeemer.(EJ)

“To me this is like the days of Noah,
    when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.(EK)
So now I have sworn(EL) not to be angry(EM) with you,
    never to rebuke(EN) you again.
10 Though the mountains be shaken(EO)
    and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love(EP) for you will not be shaken(EQ)
    nor my covenant(ER) of peace(ES) be removed,”
    says the Lord, who has compassion(ET) on you.

11 “Afflicted(EU) city, lashed by storms(EV) and not comforted,(EW)
    I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,[m](EX)
    your foundations(EY) with lapis lazuli.(EZ)
12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
    your gates(FA) of sparkling jewels,
    and all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children will be taught by the Lord,(FB)
    and great will be their peace.(FC)
14 In righteousness(FD) you will be established:(FE)
Tyranny(FF) will be far from you;
    you will have nothing to fear.(FG)
Terror(FH) will be far removed;
    it will not come near you.
15 If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;
    whoever attacks you will surrender(FI) to you.

16 “See, it is I who created the blacksmith(FJ)
    who fans the coals into flame
    and forges a weapon(FK) fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer(FL) to wreak havoc;
17     no weapon forged against you will prevail,(FM)
    and you will refute(FN) every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants(FO) of the Lord,
    and this is their vindication(FP) from me,”
declares the Lord.

Invitation to the Thirsty

55 “Come, all you who are thirsty,(FQ)
    come to the waters;(FR)
and you who have no money,
    come, buy(FS) and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk(FT)
    without money and without cost.(FU)
Why spend money on what is not bread,
    and your labor on what does not satisfy?(FV)
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,(FW)
    and you will delight in the richest(FX) of fare.
Give ear and come to me;
    listen,(FY) that you may live.(FZ)
I will make an everlasting covenant(GA) with you,
    my faithful love(GB) promised to David.(GC)
See, I have made him a witness(GD) to the peoples,
    a ruler and commander(GE) of the peoples.
Surely you will summon nations(GF) you know not,
    and nations you do not know will come running to you,(GG)
because of the Lord your God,
    the Holy One(GH) of Israel,
    for he has endowed you with splendor.”(GI)

Seek(GJ) the Lord while he may be found;(GK)
    call(GL) on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake(GM) their ways
    and the unrighteous their thoughts.(GN)
Let them turn(GO) to the Lord, and he will have mercy(GP) on them,
    and to our God, for he will freely pardon.(GQ)

“For my thoughts(GR) are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”(GS)
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,(GT)
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.(GU)
10 As the rain(GV) and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,(GW)
    so that it yields seed(GX) for the sower and bread for the eater,(GY)
11 so is my word(GZ) that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,(HA)
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose(HB) for which I sent it.
12 You will go out in joy(HC)
    and be led forth in peace;(HD)
the mountains and hills
    will burst into song(HE) before you,
and all the trees(HF) of the field
    will clap their hands.(HG)
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
    and instead of briers(HH) the myrtle(HI) will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,(HJ)
    for an everlasting sign,
    that will endure forever.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 52:5 Dead Sea Scrolls and Vulgate; Masoretic Text wail
  2. Isaiah 52:13 Or will prosper
  3. Isaiah 52:14 Hebrew you
  4. Isaiah 52:15 Or so will many nations be amazed at him (see also Septuagint)
  5. Isaiah 53:8 Or From arrest
  6. Isaiah 53:8 Or generation considered / that he was cut off from the land of the living, / that he was punished for the transgression of my people?
  7. Isaiah 53:10 Hebrew though you make
  8. Isaiah 53:11 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text does not have the light of life.
  9. Isaiah 53:11 Or (with Masoretic Text) 11 He will see the fruit of his suffering / and will be satisfied
  10. Isaiah 53:11 Or by knowledge of him
  11. Isaiah 53:12 Or many
  12. Isaiah 53:12 Or numerous
  13. Isaiah 54:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

52 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.

Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.

For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.

For thus saith the Lord God, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

Now therefore, what have I here, saith the Lord, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the Lord; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.

Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.

Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.

10 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

11 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.

12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your reward.

13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.

14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:

15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

53 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul 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 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

54 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.

Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;

For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.

For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.

In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.

For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.

10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.

11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.

13 And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

14 In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.

15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.

16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.

55 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.

Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.