Beginning
Jerusalem Will Have Many Children
54
You barren woman who never gave birth, shout for joy.
Burst forth with shouts of joy!
Cry aloud, you who have never been in labor,
because the deserted woman has more children
than the woman who is married, says the Lord.
2 Make more room for your tent.
Tell them to stretch out the curtains of your dwelling.
Do not hold back!
Make your tent ropes longer.
Make your tent stakes stronger,
3 because you will spread out to the right and to the left.
Your offspring will take possession of nations,
and they will repopulate devastated cities.
4 Do not be afraid,
because you will not be put to shame.
Do not be worried,
because you will not be embarrassed.
You will forget the shame of your youth,
and you will never remember the disgrace of your widowhood,
5 because your Maker is your husband.
The Lord of Armies is his name.
Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
He is called the God of all the earth.
6 Though you are like an abandoned wife with a wounded spirit,
though you are like the wife from a man’s youth who has been rejected,
the Lord is calling you back, says your God.
7 For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great compassion I am gathering you.
8 In a flood of anger I hid my face from you for a moment,
but in everlasting mercy I will have compassion on you,
says your Redeemer, the Lord.
9 To me this is like the time of the waters of Noah.
As I swore that the waters of Noah will never again cover the earth,
so I am swearing that I will not be angry at you,
and I will not rebuke you.
10 For even if the mountains are removed,
and the hills are overthrown,
my mercy will not be removed from you,
and my covenant of peace will not be overthrown,
says the Lord, who is showing you mercy.
11 Watch me, you afflicted woman, storm-tossed and not comforted,
I will set your precious stones in black mortar[a]
and lay down sapphires as your foundation.
12 I will decorate your parapets with rubies,
your gates with sparkling stones,
and your city boundaries with precious gems.[b]
13 All your children will be taught by the Lord,
and the peace and prosperity of your children will be great.
14 In righteousness you will be established.
Oppression will be far from you, so you will not be afraid.
Terror will be far from you. It will never come near you.
15 If anyone attacks you, because of me he will accomplish nothing.[c]
Whoever launches an attack against you will fall before you.
16 See, I myself created the craftsman
who blows on the charcoal in the fire
to produce weapons for their task.
I myself have created a destroyer to cause devastation.
17 Every weapon formed against you will fail,
and you will condemn every tongue that rises up to judge you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord.
Their righteousness is from me, declares the Lord.
Come to the Water
55
Hey,[d] all of you who are thirsty, come to the water,
even if you have no money!
Come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
2 Why do you spend money on something that is not bread?
Why do you waste your labor on something that does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good.
Satisfy your appetite with rich food.
3 Turn your ear toward me, and come to me.
Listen, so that you may continue to live.
The Creator’s Everlasting Covenant
Yes, I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
the faithful mercies promised to David.
4 Look, I appointed him as a witness for peoples,
a leader and commander of peoples.
5 Look, you will call out to a nation you do not know,
and a nation that does not know you will run to you,
on account of the Lord your God,
because of the Holy One of Israel,
for he has glorified you.
6 Seek the Lord while he may be found!
Call on him while he is near!
7 Let the wicked man abandon his way.
Let an evil man abandon his thoughts.
Let him turn to the Lord,
and he will show him mercy.
Let him turn to our God,
because he will abundantly pardon.
8 Certainly my plans are not your plans,
and your ways are not my ways, declares the Lord.
9 Just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways,
and my plans are higher than your plans.
10 Just as the rain and the snow come down from the sky
and do not return there
unless they first water the earth, make it give birth, and cause it to sprout,
so that it gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 in the same way my word that goes out from my mouth
will not return to me empty.
Rather, it will accomplish whatever I please,
and it will succeed in the purpose for which I sent it.
12 Yes, you will go out with joy,
and in peace you will be carried along.
The mountains and the hills will break out in shouts of joy before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
13 Instead of thorns, a fir tree will grow up.
Instead of briers, a myrtle tree will grow up.
This will make a name for the Lord.
It will serve as an everlasting sign that will not be cut off.
56 This is what the Lord says.
Protect justice, and carry out righteousness,
because my salvation is coming very soon.
My righteousness is ready to be revealed.
2 How blessed is everyone who does this,
who grabs hold of it,
who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
who holds back his hand from doing any evil.
The Lord Welcomes All People
3 Therefore, the foreigner who joins himself to the Lord should not say,
“The Lord will certainly exclude me from his people.”
The eunuch should not say,
“I am just a dried-up tree.”
4 Because this is what the Lord says:
“If the eunuchs keep my Sabbaths,
choose things that delight me,
and take hold of my covenant,
5 then I will set up in my house and on my walls
a monument and a name for them
that is better than that of sons and daughters.
I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off.”
6 Then the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
to minister to him and to love the name of the Lord
and to become his servants,
every one of them who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
those who take hold of my covenant—
7 I will bring them to my holy mountain,
and I will make them glad in my house of prayer.
Their whole burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be
acceptable on my altar.
For my house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples
of the world.
8 This is the declaration of God the Lord,
who gathers Israel’s dispersed people:
“I will gather still more people to my house besides
the ones already gathered.”
The Coming Judgment Against Israel’s Leaders
9 All you wild animals, come to eat—
all you animals in the forest.
10 His watchmen are blind, all of them.
They know nothing.
All of them are silent dogs.
They are not able to bark.
They are seers who lie down,
who love to sleep.
11 These dogs have a big appetite.
They are never satisfied.
These shepherds have no understanding.
All of them turn to their own ways.
Each one, without exception, turns to his own gain.
12 “Come on, I want to drink wine.
Let’s get drunk on beer.
Tomorrow will be another day, just like today,
another great day, better than ever.”
There Will Be Peace for the Righteous Even in Death
57
The righteous one perishes,
but no one takes it to heart.
Men of mercy[e] are being taken away,
but no one understands
that the righteous one is being spared from evil.
2 He will enter into peace.
They will rest on their beds.
He is walking in his uprightness.[f]
The Coming Judgment Against Israel’s Leaders
3 But you there, come closer,
you children of a witch,
you offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute.
4 Who are you mocking?[g]
Who are you making faces at and sticking out your tongue at?
Aren’t you all children born in rebellion,
the offspring of deceit,
5 you who are in heat among the oaks and under every green tree,
you who slaughter children in the ravines under the rugged cliffs?
6 Your chosen territory is among the smooth stones of the ravines.
They, yes, they, are your lot.
You even poured out a drink offering to them,
and you offered up a grain offering.
Since you have done these things, should I spare you?
7 Upon a mountain, high and lofty, you spread out your bed.
Yes, you went up there to offer a sacrifice.
8 Behind the door and doorpost you placed your memorial.
Yes, you deserted me and uncovered yourself.[h] You climbed right into bed.
You made room for them in your bed.
You committed yourself to them.
You loved their bed.
You stared at their bodies.[i]
9 You traveled to deliver offerings of fragrant oil to the king,[j]
and you made many offerings of incense.
You sent your messengers to a distant land.
You sent them as far as hell.[k]
10 Because of the length of your journey, you became weary,
but you did not say, “It is hopeless!”
So you found new strength, and you did not faint.
11 But who is making you so anxious and so afraid that you
practice deception?
You did not remember me
and did not keep me in your heart.
Is it because I have been silent for a long time
that you do not fear me?
12 I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,
but they will not benefit you.
13 When you cry out for help,
let your collections of idols deliver you.
But the wind will blow them all away.
A breeze will take them away.
But the one who takes refuge in me will inherit the land.
He will possess my holy mountain.
14 I will say,[l]
“Build up, build up the highway.
Prepare the way.
Remove the stumbling block from the way of my people.”
15 Certainly this is what the High and Lofty One says,
the one who dwells with his people forever,
and whose name is holy:
I dwell in a high and holy place,
yet also with the one who is crushed and lowly in spirit,
in order to revive the spirit of those who have been pushed down,
and to revive the hearts of those who have been crushed.
16 Surely I will not accuse forever,
and I will not always be angry,
because every spirit would grow weak in my presence,
and every breath of life, which I made, would fail.
17 Because of the guilt from their selfish gain, I was angry,
and I struck them and hid my face.
I was angry,
but the deserter[m] kept walking in the way his heart desired.
18 I saw his ways,
but I will heal him, and I will lead him,
and I will restore comfort to him
and to all who mourn with him.
19 I am the one who creates praise as the fruit of their lips.[n]
Peace, peace to the one far off and to the one nearby,
says the Lord,
and I will heal him.
20 But the wicked are like the tossing sea,
which is not able to rest.
Its waters toss up dirt and mud.
21 There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked.
Fast for the Right Reasons
58
Cry out with a full-throated shout.
Do not hold back.
Shout like the blast of a ram’s horn.
Declare to my people their rebellious deeds.
Declare to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 They seek me day by day,
and they are delighted to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right,
as if they had not forsaken the just ways of their God.
They ask me for just verdicts.
They are delighted to approach God:
3 “Why do we fast, but you do not see?
Why do we afflict ourselves, but you are not aware?”
This is what you do!
On the same day when you fast, you do whatever you please,
and you oppress all your workers.
4 You fast so you can fight and quarrel,
so you can strike with a wicked fist.
You should not fast the way you are doing it today
if you expect God on high to hear your voice.
5 Is this the kind of fast that I would choose:
a day when a person afflicts himself
and bows his head like a reed
and makes his bed on sackcloth and ashes?
Do you call this a fast, a day to gain the Lord’s favor?
6 On the contrary, isn’t this the kind of fast that I would choose:
to loosen the chains of wickedness,
to tear apart the ropes of a yoke,
to release the oppressed so they go free,
and to tear every yoke to pieces?
7 Isn’t a true fast that you share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless and afflicted into a house?
Yes, when you see a naked person, you are to cover him,
and do not hide yourself from your own flesh and blood.
8 Then your light will break forth like dawn,
and your healing will spring up quickly.
Your righteousness will go out ahead of you,
and the Glory of the Lord will follow you.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer.
You will cry out, and he will say, “Here I am!”
If you remove the bar of the yoke from among you,
and if you stop finger-pointing and speaking wickedly,
10 if you offer your life for the hungry,
and if you satisfy the desires of the afflicted,
then your light will shine in the darkness,
and your darkest gloom will shine like the noonday sun.
11 Then the Lord will lead you continually.
He will satisfy your desire in arid places,
and he will strengthen your bones.
Then you will be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water, whose waters will not fail.
12 Then your ancient ruins will be rebuilt,
and you will restore the foundations from past generations.
Then you will be called the repairer of broken walls,
the restorer of streets to live on.
13 If you do not trample the Sabbath
by doing whatever you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight,
if you treat the holy day of the Lord as something to be honored,
if you honor it by not going your own way,[o]
by not pursuing pleasure or negotiating a deal,
14 then you will delight in the Lord.
I will cause you to ride over the heights of the land.
I will provide food for you from the land inherited from
your father Jacob.
Yes, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.