³ A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
    the way^(R) for the Lord^[a];
make straight^(S) in the desert
    a highway for our God.^[b](T)
4 Every valley shall be raised up,^(U)
    every mountain and hill^(V) made low;
the rough ground shall become level,^(W)
    the rugged places a plain.
⁵ And the glory^(X) of the Lord will be revealed,
    and all people will see it together.^(Y)
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”^(Z)

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

“All people are like grass,^(AA)
    and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
⁷ The grass withers^(AB) and the flowers fall,
    because the breath^(AC) of the Lord blows^(AD) on them.
    Surely the people are grass.
⁸ The grass withers and the flowers^(AE) fall,
    but the word^(AF) of our God endures^(AG) forever.^(AH)”

⁹ You who bring good news^(AI) to Zion,
    go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,^[c](AJ)
    lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
    say to the towns of Judah,
    “Here is your God!”^(AK)
10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes^(AL) with power,^(AM)
    and he rules^(AN) with a mighty arm.^(AO)
See, his reward^(AP) is with him,
    and his recompense accompanies him.
¹¹ He tends his flock like a shepherd:^(AQ)
    He gathers the lambs in his arms^(AR)
and carries them close to his heart;^(AS)
    he gently leads^(AT) those that have young.^(AU)

¹² Who has measured the waters^(AV) in the hollow of his hand,^(AW)
    or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?^(AX)
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
    or weighed the mountains on the scales
    and the hills in a balance?^(AY)
13 Who can fathom the Spirit^[d](AZ) of the Lord,
    or instruct the Lord as his counselor?^(BA)
14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
    and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,^(BB)
    or showed him the path of understanding?^(BC)

¹⁵ Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
    they are regarded as dust on the scales;^(BD)
    he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.^(BE)
16 Lebanon^(BF) is not sufficient for altar fires,
    nor its animals^(BG) enough for burnt offerings.
¹⁷ Before him all the nations^(BH) are as nothing;^(BI)
    they are regarded by him as worthless
    and less than nothing.^(BJ)

¹⁸ With whom, then, will you compare God?^(BK)
    To what image^(BL) will you liken him?
¹⁹ As for an idol,^(BM) a metalworker casts it,
    and a goldsmith^(BN) overlays it with gold^(BO)
    and fashions silver chains for it.
²⁰ A person too poor to present such an offering
    selects wood^(BP) that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
    to set up an idol^(BQ) that will not topple.^(BR)

²¹ Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?^(BS)
Has it not been told^(BT) you from the beginning?^(BU)
    Have you not understood^(BV) since the earth was founded?^(BW)
22 He sits enthroned^(BX) above the circle of the earth,
    and its people are like grasshoppers.^(BY)
He stretches out the heavens^(BZ) like a canopy,^(CA)
    and spreads them out like a tent^(CB) to live in.^(CC)
23 He brings princes^(CD) to naught
    and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.^(CE)
24 No sooner are they planted,
    no sooner are they sown,
    no sooner do they take root^(CF) in the ground,
than he blows^(CG) on them and they wither,^(CH)
    and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.^(CI)

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

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”?^(CQ)
28 Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?^(CR)
The Lord is the everlasting^(CS) God,
    the Creator^(CT) of the ends of the earth.^(CU)
He will not grow tired or weary,^(CV)
    and his understanding no one can fathom.^(CW)
29 He gives strength^(CX) to the weary^(CY)
    and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men^(CZ) stumble and fall;^(DA)
31 but those who hope^(DB) in the Lord
    will renew their strength.^(DC)
They will soar on wings like eagles;^(DD)
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.^(DE)

² “Who has stirred^(DK) up one from the east,^(DL)
    calling him in righteousness^(DM) to his service^[e]?^(DN)
He hands nations over to him
    and subdues kings before him.
He turns them to dust^(DO) with his sword,
    to windblown chaff^(DP) with his bow.^(DQ)
3 He pursues them and moves on unscathed,^(DR)
    by a path his feet have not traveled before.
⁴ Who has done this and carried it through,
    calling^(DS) forth the generations from the beginning?^(DT)
I, the Lord—with the first of them
    and with the last^(DU)—I am he.^(DV)”

⁵ The islands^(DW) have seen it and fear;
    the ends of the earth^(DX) tremble.
They approach and come forward;
⁶     they help each other
    and say to their companions, “Be strong!^(DY)”
⁷ The metalworker^(DZ) encourages the goldsmith,^(EA)
    and the one who smooths with the hammer
    spurs on the one who strikes the anvil.
One says of the welding, “It is good.”
    The other nails down the idol so it will not topple.^(EB)

⁸ “But you, Israel, my servant,^(EC)
    Jacob, whom I have chosen,^(ED)
    you descendants of Abraham^(EE) my friend,^(EF)
9 I took you from the ends of the earth,^(EG)
    from its farthest corners I called^(EH) you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’;^(EI)
    I have chosen^(EJ) you and have not rejected you.
¹⁰ So do not fear,^(EK) for I am with you;^(EL)
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen^(EM) you and help^(EN) you;
    I will uphold you^(EO) with my righteous right hand.^(EP)

¹¹ “All who rage^(EQ) against you
    will surely be ashamed and disgraced;^(ER)
those who oppose^(ES) you
    will be as nothing and perish.^(ET)
12 Though you search for your enemies,
    you will not find them.^(EU)
Those who wage war against you
    will be as nothing^(EV) at all.
¹³ For I am the Lord your God
    who takes hold of your right hand^(EW)
and says to you, Do not fear;
    I will help^(EX) you.
¹⁴ Do not be afraid,^(EY) you worm^(EZ) Jacob,
    little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help^(FA) you,” declares the Lord,
    your Redeemer,^(FB) the Holy One^(FC) of Israel.
¹⁵ “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,^(FD)
    new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains^(FE) and crush them,
    and reduce the hills to chaff.^(FF)
16 You will winnow^(FG) them, the wind will pick them up,
    and a gale^(FH) will blow them away.^(FI)
But you will rejoice^(FJ) in the Lord
    and glory^(FK) in the Holy One^(FL) of Israel.

¹⁷ “The poor and needy search for water,^(FM)
    but there is none;
    their tongues are parched with thirst.^(FN)
But I the Lord will answer^(FO) them;
    I, the God of Israel, will not forsake^(FP) them.
¹⁸ I will make rivers flow^(FQ) on barren heights,
    and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert^(FR) into pools of water,^(FS)
    and the parched ground into springs.^(FT)
19 I will put in the desert^(FU)
    the cedar and the acacia,^(FV) the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers^(FW) in the wasteland,
    the fir and the cypress^(FX) together,^(FY)
20 so that people may see and know,^(FZ)
    may consider and understand,^(GA)
that the hand^(GB) of the Lord has done this,
    that the Holy One^(GC) of Israel has created^(GD) it.

²¹ “Present your case,^(GE)” says the Lord.
    “Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.^(GF)
22 “Tell us, you idols,
    what is going to happen.^(GG)
Tell us what the former things^(GH) were,
    so that we may consider them
    and know their final outcome.
Or declare to us the things to come,^(GI)
23     tell us what the future holds,
    so we may know^(GJ) that you are gods.
Do something, whether good or bad,^(GK)
    so that we will be dismayed^(GL) and filled with fear.
²⁴ But you are less than nothing^(GM)
    and your works are utterly worthless;^(GN)
    whoever chooses you is detestable.^(GO)

²⁵ “I have stirred^(GP) up one from the north,^(GQ) and he comes—
    one from the rising sun who calls on my name.
He treads^(GR) on rulers as if they were mortar,
    as if he were a potter treading the clay.
²⁶ Who told of this from the beginning,^(GS) so we could know,
    or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?
No one told of this,
    no one foretold^(GT) it,
    no one heard any words^(GU) from you.
²⁷ I was the first to tell^(GV) Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’
    I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.^(GW)
28 I look but there is no one^(GX)—
    no one among the gods to give counsel,^(GY)
    no one to give answer^(GZ) when I ask them.
²⁹ See, they are all false!
    Their deeds amount to nothing;^(HA)
    their images^(HB) are but wind^(HC) and confusion.

⁹ The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,^(P)
    turned back on the day of battle;^(Q)
10 they did not keep God’s covenant^(R)
    and refused to live by his law.^(S)
11 They forgot what he had done,^(T)
    the wonders he had shown them.
¹² He did miracles^(U) in the sight of their ancestors
    in the land of Egypt,^(V) in the region of Zoan.^(W)
13 He divided the sea^(X) and led them through;
    he made the water stand up like a wall.^(Y)
14 He guided them with the cloud by day
    and with light from the fire all night.^(Z)
15 He split the rocks^(AA) in the wilderness
    and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
¹⁶ he brought streams out of a rocky crag
    and made water flow down like rivers.

¹⁷ But they continued to sin^(AB) against him,
    rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High.
¹⁸ They willfully put God to the test^(AC)
    by demanding the food they craved.^(AD)
19 They spoke against God;^(AE)
    they said, “Can God really
    spread a table in the wilderness?
²⁰ True, he struck the rock,
    and water gushed out,^(AF)
    streams flowed abundantly,
but can he also give us bread?
    Can he supply meat^(AG) for his people?”
²¹ When the Lord heard them, he was furious;
    his fire broke out^(AH) against Jacob,
    and his wrath rose against Israel,
²² for they did not believe in God
    or trust^(AI) in his deliverance.
²³ Yet he gave a command to the skies above
    and opened the doors of the heavens;^(AJ)
24 he rained down manna^(AK) for the people to eat,
    he gave them the grain of heaven.
²⁵ Human beings ate the bread of angels;
    he sent them all the food they could eat.
²⁶ He let loose the east wind^(AL) from the heavens
    and by his power made the south wind blow.
²⁷ He rained meat down on them like dust,
    birds^(AM) like sand on the seashore.
²⁸ He made them come down inside their camp,
    all around their tents.
²⁹ They ate till they were gorged—^(AN)
    he had given them what they craved.
³⁰ But before they turned from what they craved,
    even while the food was still in their mouths,^(AO)
31 God’s anger rose against them;
    he put to death the sturdiest^(AP) among them,
    cutting down the young men of Israel.

³² In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;^(AQ)
    in spite of his wonders,^(AR) they did not believe.^(AS)
33 So he ended their days in futility^(AT)
    and their years in terror.
³⁴ Whenever God slew them, they would seek^(AU) him;
    they eagerly turned to him again.
³⁵ They remembered that God was their Rock,^(AV)
    that God Most High was their Redeemer.^(AW)
36 But then they would flatter him with their mouths,^(AX)
    lying to him with their tongues;
³⁷ their hearts were not loyal^(AY) to him,
    they were not faithful to his covenant.
³⁸ Yet he was merciful;^(AZ)
    he forgave^(BA) their iniquities^(BB)
    and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger^(BC)
    and did not stir up his full wrath.
³⁹ He remembered that they were but flesh,^(BD)
    a passing breeze^(BE) that does not return.

⁴⁰ How often they rebelled^(BF) against him in the wilderness^(BG)
    and grieved him^(BH) in the wasteland!
⁴¹ Again and again they put God to the test;^(BI)
    they vexed the Holy One of Israel.^(BJ)
42 They did not remember^(BK) his power—
    the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,^(BL)
43 the day he displayed his signs^(BM) in Egypt,
    his wonders^(BN) in the region of Zoan.
⁴⁴ He turned their river into blood;^(BO)
    they could not drink from their streams.
⁴⁵ He sent swarms of flies^(BP) that devoured them,
    and frogs^(BQ) that devastated them.
⁴⁶ He gave their crops to the grasshopper,^(BR)
    their produce to the locust.^(BS)
47 He destroyed their vines with hail^(BT)
    and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
⁴⁸ He gave over their cattle to the hail,
    their livestock^(BU) to bolts of lightning.
⁴⁹ He unleashed against them his hot anger,^(BV)
    his wrath, indignation and hostility—
    a band of destroying angels.^(BW)
50 He prepared a path for his anger;
    he did not spare them from death
    but gave them over to the plague.
⁵¹ He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt,^(BX)
    the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.^(BY)
52 But he brought his people out like a flock;^(BZ)
    he led them like sheep through the wilderness.
⁵³ He guided them safely, so they were unafraid;
    but the sea engulfed^(CA) their enemies.^(CB)
54 And so he brought them to the border of his holy land,
    to the hill country his right hand^(CC) had taken.
⁵⁵ He drove out nations^(CD) before them
    and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance;^(CE)
    he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.

⁵⁶ But they put God to the test
    and rebelled against the Most High;
    they did not keep his statutes.
⁵⁷ Like their ancestors^(CF) they were disloyal and faithless,
    as unreliable as a faulty bow.^(CG)
58 They angered him^(CH) with their high places;^(CI)
    they aroused his jealousy with their idols.^(CJ)
59 When God heard^(CK) them, he was furious;^(CL)
    he rejected Israel^(CM) completely.
⁶⁰ He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,^(CN)
    the tent he had set up among humans.^(CO)
61 He sent the ark of his might^(CP) into captivity,^(CQ)
    his splendor into the hands of the enemy.
⁶² He gave his people over to the sword;^(CR)
    he was furious with his inheritance.^(CS)
63 Fire consumed^(CT) their young men,
    and their young women had no wedding songs;^(CU)
64 their priests were put to the sword,^(CV)
    and their widows could not weep.

⁶⁵ Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,^(CW)
    as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine.
⁶⁶ He beat back his enemies;
    he put them to everlasting shame.^(CX)
67 Then he rejected the tents of Joseph,
    he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;^(CY)
68 but he chose the tribe of Judah,^(CZ)
    Mount Zion,^(DA) which he loved.
⁶⁹ He built his sanctuary^(DB) like the heights,
    like the earth that he established forever.
⁷⁰ He chose David^(DC) his servant
    and took him from the sheep pens;
⁷¹ from tending the sheep^(DD) he brought him
    to be the shepherd^(DE) of his people Jacob,
    of Israel his inheritance.
⁷² And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;^(DF)
    with skillful hands he led them.