40 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. ² Speak ye ^[a]comfortably to Jerusalem; and cry unto her, that her ^[b]warfare is accomplished, that her ^[c]iniquity is pardoned, that she hath received of Jehovah’s hand double for all her sins.

³ The voice of one ^[d]that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; make level in the desert a highway for our God. ⁴ Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain: ⁵ and the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.

⁶ The voice of one saying, Cry. And one said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. ⁷ The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it; surely the people is grass. ⁸ The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand forever.

^9 [e]O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up on a high mountain; ^[f]O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, 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 Jehovah will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him: Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. ¹¹ He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and will gently lead those that have their 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 ^[g]directed the Spirit of Jehovah, or being his counsellor hath taught him? ¹⁴ With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding? ¹⁵ Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are accounted as the small dust of the balance: behold, ^[h]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 the nations are as nothing before him; they are accounted by him as ^[i]less than nothing, and ^[j]vanity.

¹⁸ To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? ¹⁹ The image, a workman hath cast it, and the goldsmith overlayeth it with gold, and casteth for it silver chains. ²⁰ He that is too impoverished for such an oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilful workman to ^[k]set up 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 ^[l]understood from the foundations of the earth? ²² It is he that sitteth above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as ^[m]a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in; ²³ that bringeth princes to nothing; that maketh the judges of the earth as ^[n]vanity. ^24 [o]Yea, they have not been planted; yea, they have not been sown; yea, their stock hath not taken root in the earth: moreover he bloweth upon them, and they wither, and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble. ²⁵ To whom then will ye liken me, that I should be equal to him? saith the Holy One. ²⁶ Lift up your eyes on high, ^[p]and see who hath created these, that bringeth out their host by number; he calleth them all by name; by the greatness of his might, and for that he is strong in power, not one is lacking.

²⁷ Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from Jehovah, and the justice due to me is passed away from my God? ²⁸ Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard? ^[q]The everlasting God, Jehovah, 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 him that hath 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 for Jehovah shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.

41 Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the peoples renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak; let us come near together to judgment. ² Who hath raised up one from the east, ^[r]whom he calleth in righteousness to his foot? he giveth nations before him, and maketh him rule over kings; ^[s]he giveth them as the dust to his sword, as the driven stubble to his bow. ³ He pursueth them, and passeth on safely, even by a way that he had not gone with his feet. ⁴ Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, Jehovah, the first, and with the last, I am he. ⁵ The isles have seen, and fear; the ends of the earth tremble; they draw near, and come. ⁶ They help every one his neighbor; and every one saith to his brother, Be of good courage. ⁷ So the carpenter encourageth the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smiteth the anvil, saying of the soldering, It is good; and he fasteneth it with nails, that it should not be moved.

⁸ But thou, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend, ⁹ thou whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from the corners thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee and not cast thee away; ¹⁰ fear thou not, for I am with thee; ^[t]be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. ¹¹ Behold, all they that are incensed against thee shall be put to shame and confounded: they that strive with thee shall be as nothing, and shall perish. ¹² Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contend with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. ¹³ For I, Jehovah thy God, will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. ¹⁴ Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith Jehovah, and ^[u]thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁵ Behold, I have made thee to be a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth; thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. ¹⁶ Thou shalt winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; and thou shalt rejoice in Jehovah, thou shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁷ The poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst; I, Jehovah, will answer them, I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. ¹⁸ I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. ¹⁹ I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, and the myrtle, and the ^[v]oil-tree; I will set in the desert the ^[w]fir-tree, the ^[x]pine, and the box-tree together: ²⁰ that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of Jehovah hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.

²¹ Produce your cause, saith Jehovah; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. ²² Let them bring forth, and declare unto us what shall happen: declare ye the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or show us things to come. ²³ Declare the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may ^[y]be dismayed, and behold it together. ²⁴ Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work is of nought; an abomination is he that chooseth you.

²⁵ I have raised up one from the north, and he is come; from the rising of the sun one that calleth upon my name: and he shall come upon ^[z]rulers as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay. ²⁶ Who hath declared it from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is right? yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that showeth, yea, there is none that heareth your words. ²⁷ I am the first that saith unto Zion, Behold, behold them; and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings. ²⁸ And when I look, there is no man: even among them there is no counsellor, that, when I ask of them, can answer a word. ^29 [aa]Behold, all of them, their works are vanity and nought; their molten images are wind and confusion.

42 Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delighteth: I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the ^[ab]Gentiles. ² He will not cry, nor lift up his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street. ³ A bruised reed will he not break, and a dimly burning wick will he not quench: he will bring forth justice in truth. ⁴ He will not ^[ac]fail nor be ^[ad]discouraged, till he have set justice in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his law.

⁵ Thus saith God Jehovah, he that created the heavens, and stretched them forth; he that spread abroad the earth and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: ⁶ I, Jehovah, have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will ^[ae]keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; ⁷ to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house. ⁸ I am Jehovah, that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise unto graven images. ⁹ Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.

¹⁰ Sing unto Jehovah a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth; ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein, the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. ¹¹ Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit; let the inhabitants of Sela sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. ¹² Let them give glory unto Jehovah, and declare his praise in the islands. ¹³ Jehovah will go forth as a mighty man; he will stir up his zeal like a man of war: he will cry, yea, he will shout aloud; he will do mightily against his enemies.

¹⁴ I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry out like a travailing woman; I will ^[af]gasp and pant together. ¹⁵ I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and will dry up the pools. ¹⁶ And I will bring the blind by a way that they know not; in paths that they know not will I lead them; I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things will I do, ^[ag]and I will not forsake them. ¹⁷ They shall be turned back, they shall be utterly put to shame, that trust in graven images, that say unto molten images, Ye are our gods.

¹⁸ Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. ¹⁹ Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I send? who is blind as he that is ^[ah]at peace with me, and blind as Jehovah’s servant? ²⁰ Thou seest many things, but thou observest not; his ears are open, but he heareth not. ²¹ It pleased Jehovah, for his righteousness’ sake, to ^[ai]magnify the law, and make it honorable. ²² But this is a people robbed and plundered; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison-houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.

²³ Who is there among you that will give ear to this? that will hearken and hear for the time to come? ²⁴ Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not Jehovah? he against whom we have sinned, and in whose ways they would not walk, neither were they obedient unto his ^[aj]law. ²⁵ Therefore he poured upon him the fierceness of his anger, and the strength of battle; and it set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.

43 But now thus saith Jehovah that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed thee; I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine. ² When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. ³ For I am Jehovah thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour; I have given Egypt as thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in thy stead. ⁴ Since thou hast been precious in my sight, ^[ak]and honorable, and I have loved thee; therefore will I give men in thy stead, and peoples instead of thy life. ⁵ Fear not; for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; ⁶ I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back; bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the end of the earth; ⁷ every one that is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory, whom I have formed, yea, whom I have made.

⁸ Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. ^9 [al]Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the peoples be assembled: who among them can declare this, and show us former things? let them bring their witnesses, that they may be justified; ^[am]or let them hear, and say, It is truth. ¹⁰ Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. ¹¹ I, even I, am Jehovah; and besides me there is no saviour. ¹² I have declared, and I have saved, and I have showed; and there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and I am God. ¹³ Yea, ^[an]since the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who can hinder it?

¹⁴ Thus saith Jehovah, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and I will bring down ^[ao]all of them as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships of their rejoicing. ¹⁵ I am Jehovah, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. ¹⁶ Thus saith Jehovah, who maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; ^17 [ap]who bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the mighty man (they lie down together, they shall not rise; they are extinct, they are quenched as a wick): ¹⁸ Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. ¹⁹ Behold, I will do a new thing; now shall it spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. ²⁰ The beasts of the field shall honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen, ²¹ the people which I formed for myself, ^[aq]that they might set forth my praise.

²² Yet thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel. ²³ Thou hast not brought me of thy sheep for burnt-offerings; neither hast thou honored me with thy sacrifices. I have not burdened thee with ^[ar]offerings, nor wearied thee with frankincense. ²⁴ Thou hast bought me no ^[as]sweet cane with money, neither hast thou ^[at]filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices; but thou hast burdened me with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.

²⁵ I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake; and I will not remember thy sins. ²⁶ Put me in remembrance; let us plead together: set thou forth thy cause, that thou mayest be justified. ²⁷ Thy first father sinned, and thy ^[au]teachers have transgressed against me. ²⁸ Therefore I ^[av]will profane the ^[aw]princes of the sanctuary; and I ^[ax]will make Jacob a ^[ay]curse, and Israel a reviling.

44 Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant, and Israel, who I have chosen: ² Thus saith Jehovah that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, who will help thee: Fear not, O Jacob my servant; and thou, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. ³ For I will pour water upon ^[az]him that is thirsty, and streams upon the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: ⁴ and they shall spring up among the grass, as willows by the watercourses. ⁵ One shall say, I am Jehovah’s; and another shall ^[ba]call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall ^[bb]subscribe with his hand unto Jehovah, and ^[bc]surname himself by the name of Israel.

⁶ Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God. ^7 [bd]And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I established the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and that shall come to pass, let them ^[be]declare. ⁸ Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have I not declared unto thee of old, and showed it? and ye are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? yea, there is no Rock; I know not any.

⁹ They that fashion a graven image are all of them ^[bf]vanity; and the things that they delight in shall not profit; and their own witnesses see not, nor know: that they may be put to shame. ¹⁰ Who hath fashioned a god, or molten an image that is profitable for nothing? ¹¹ Behold, ^[bg]all his fellows shall be put to shame; and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; they shall fear, they shall be put to shame together.

¹² The smith ^[bh]maketh an axe, and worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with his strong arm: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth; he drinketh no water, and is faint. ¹³ The carpenter stretcheth out a line; he marketh it out with ^[bi]a pencil; he shapeth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compasses, and shapeth it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. ¹⁴ He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the holm-tree and the oak, and strengtheneth for himself one among the trees of the forest: he planteth ^[bj]a fir-tree, and the rain doth nourish it. ¹⁵ Then shall it be for a man to burn; and he taketh thereof, and warmeth himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread: yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto. ¹⁶ He burneth ^[bk]part thereof in the fire; with ^[bl]part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied; yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire. ¹⁷ And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image; he falleth down unto it and worshippeth, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god.

¹⁸ They know not, neither do they consider: for he hath ^[bm]shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand. ¹⁹ And none calleth to mind, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree? ²⁰ He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside; and he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

²¹ Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. ²² I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee. ²³ Sing, O ye heavens, for Jehovah hath done it; shout, ye lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob, and will glorify himself in Israel.

²⁴ Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb: I am Jehovah, that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth ^[bn](who is with me?); ²⁵ that frustrateth the signs of the ^[bo]liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish; ²⁶ that confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith of Jerusalem, She shall be inhabited; and of the cities of Judah, They shall be built, and I will raise up the waste places thereof; ²⁷ that saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers; ²⁸ That saith of ^[bp]Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying of Jerusalem, She shall be built; ^[bq]and of the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

45 Thus saith Jehovah to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him, and I will loose the loins of kings; to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut: ² I will go before thee, and make the rough places smooth; I will break in pieces the doors of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron; ³ and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that it is I, Jehovah, who call thee by thy name, even the God of Israel. ⁴ For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel my chosen, I have called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. ⁵ I am Jehovah, and there is none else; besides me there is no God. I will gird thee, though thou hast not known me; ⁶ that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none besides me: I am Jehovah, and there is none else. ⁷ I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I am Jehovah, that doeth all these things.

⁸ Distil, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, that ^[br]it may ^[bs]bring forth salvation, and let it cause righteousness to spring up together; I, Jehovah, have created it.

⁹ Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? ¹⁰ Woe unto him that saith unto a father, What begettest thou? or to a woman, With what travailest thou?

¹¹ Thus saith Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: Ask me of the things that are to come; concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands, command ye me. ¹² I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens; and all their host have I commanded. ¹³ I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will make straight all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let my exiles go free, not for price nor reward, saith Jehovah of hosts.

¹⁴ Thus saith Jehovah, The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall go after thee, in chains they shall come over; and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God. ¹⁵ Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. ¹⁶ They shall be put to shame, yea, confounded, all of them; they shall go into confusion together that are makers of idols. ¹⁷ But Israel shall be saved by Jehovah with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be put to shame nor confounded world without end.

¹⁸ For thus saith Jehovah that created the heavens, the God that formed the earth and made it, that established it and created it not ^[bt]a waste, that formed it to be inhabited: I am Jehovah; and there is none else. ¹⁹ I have not spoken in secret, in a place of the land of darkness; I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me ^[bu]in vain: I, Jehovah, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.

²⁰ Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that carry the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. ²¹ Declare ye, and ^[bv]bring it forth; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath showed this from ancient time? who hath declared it of old? have not I, Jehovah? and there is no God else besides me, a just God and a Saviour; there is none besides me. ²² Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else. ²³ By myself have I sworn, ^[bw]the word is gone forth from my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. ²⁴ Only in Jehovah, it is said of me, is righteousness and strength; even to him shall men come; and all they that were incensed against him shall be put to shame. ²⁵ In Jehovah shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.

46 Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth; their idols are upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: the things that ye carried about are made a load, a burden to the weary beast. ² They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.

³ Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, that have been borne by me from their birth, that have been carried from the womb; ⁴ and even to old age I am he, and even to hoar hairs will I carry you; I have made, and I will bear; yea, I will carry, and will deliver. ⁵ To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like? ⁶ Such as lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, they hire a goldsmith, and he maketh it a god; they fall down, yea, they worship. ⁷ They bear it upon the shoulder, they carry it, and set it in its place, and it standeth, from its place shall it not remove: yea, one may cry unto it, yet can it not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.

⁸ Remember this, and ^[bx]show yourselves men; bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors. ⁹ Remember the former things of old: ^[by]for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me; ¹⁰ declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done; saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure; ¹¹ calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man of ^[bz]my counsel from a far country; yea, I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed, I will also do it.

¹² Hearken unto me, ye stout-hearted, that are far from righteousness: ¹³ I bring near my righteousness, it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry; and I will ^[ca]place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.

47 Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. ² Take the millstones, and grind meal; remove thy veil, strip off the train, uncover the leg, pass through the rivers. ³ Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and will spare no man. ⁴ Our Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. ⁵ Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for thou shalt no more be called The mistress of kingdoms. ⁶ I was wroth with my people, I profaned mine inheritance, and gave them into thy hand: thou didst show them no mercy; upon the aged hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke. ⁷ And thou saidst, I shall be mistress for ever; so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end thereof.

⁸ Now therefore hear this, thou that art given to pleasures, that ^[cb]sittest securely, that sayest in thy heart, I am, and there is none else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children: ⁹ but these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood; in their full measure shall they come upon thee, in the multitude of thy sorceries, and the great abundance of thine enchantments. ¹⁰ For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness; thou hast said, None seeth me; thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee, and thou hast said in thy heart, I am, and there is none else besides me. ¹¹ Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know ^[cc]the dawning thereof: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it away: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou knowest not.

¹² Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast labored from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest ^[cd]prevail. ¹³ Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels: let now the ^[ce]astrologers, the star-gazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from the things that shall come upon thee. ¹⁴ Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: it shall not be a coal to warm at, nor a fire to sit before. ¹⁵ Thus shall the things be unto thee wherein thou hast labored: they that have trafficked with thee from thy youth shall wander every one to ^[cf]his quarter; there shall be none to save thee.

48 Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah; who swear by the name of Jehovah, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness ² (for they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; Jehovah of hosts is his name): ³ I have declared the former things from of old; yea, they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them: suddenly I did them, and they came to pass. ⁴ Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass; ⁵ therefore I have declared it to thee from of old; before it came to pass I showed it thee; lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them. ⁶ Thou hast heard it; behold all this; and ye, will ye not declare it? ^[cg]I have showed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, which thou hast not known. ⁷ They are created now, and not from of old; and before this day thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them. ⁸ Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from of old thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou didst deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb. ⁹ For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. ¹⁰ Behold, I have refined thee, but not as silver; I have ^[ch]chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. ¹¹ For mine own sake, for mine own sake, will I do it; for how should my name be profaned? and my glory will I not give to another.

¹² Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel my called: I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. ¹³ Yea, my hand hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spread out the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. ¹⁴ Assemble yourselves, all ye, and hear; who among them hath declared these things? ^[ci]He whom Jehovah loveth shall perform his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans. ¹⁵ I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him; I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous. ¹⁶ Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; from the beginning I have not spoken in secret; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord Jehovah hath sent me, and his Spirit.

¹⁷ Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am Jehovah thy God, who teacheth thee to profit, who leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. ^18 [cj]Oh that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea: ¹⁹ thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like ^[ck]the grains thereof: his name would not be cut off nor destroyed from before me.

²⁰ Go ye forth from Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans; with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth: say ye, Jehovah hath redeemed his servant Jacob. ²¹ And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts; he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them; he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out. ²² There is no peace, saith Jehovah, to the wicked.