Beginning
Chapter 59
Sin and Repentance
1 Truly the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,
nor is his ear too dull to hear.
2 Rather, it is your iniquities that have been barriers
between you and your God.
Your sins have caused him to hide his face
so that he does not hear you.
3 For your hands are stained with blood
and your fingers with guilt.
Your lips utter lies
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one brings a suit justly
or pleads honestly in court.
They all rely on empty words and utter lies;
they conceive mischief and bring forth evil.
5 They hatch adders’ eggs
and weave the spider’s web;
whoever eats their eggs will die;
crush one and a viper emerges.
6 Their webs are useless for clothing;
what they make cannot serve to cover them.
Their works are deeds of evil,
and acts of violence flow from their hands.
7 Their feet rush headlong to do evil,
and they do not hesitate to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are those of iniquity;
their paths are marked by havoc and ruin.
8 They do not know the way of peace,
and justice is not seen along their paths.
The roads they follow are crooked,
and no one who travels on them knows any peace.
9 Therefore, justice is far removed from us,
and righteousness is far beyond our reach.
We look for light but behold only darkness,
for brightness but we walk in gloom.
10 Like blind men we grope along a wall,
feeling our way like those bereft of eyes.
We stumble at noon as if it were twilight;
in the midst of the strong we are like the dead.
11 All of us growl like bears;
like doves we continue to moan mournfully.
We wait for justice but receive none,
for deliverance but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions against you are numerous,
and our sins bear witness against us.
We are unable to forget our offenses,
and we are well aware of our iniquities:
13 our rebellion and our denial of the Lord
and our turning away from following him,
threatening acts of oppression and revolt,
and uttering lies conceived in our hearts.
14 Justice has been rebuffed
and righteousness stands at a distance.
For truth stumbles in the public square
and uprightness cannot enter.
15 Truth has disappeared,
and those who turn from evil are terrorized.
Zion’s Redeemer Comes
When the Lord witnessed this, he was displeased
that justice had ceased to exist.
16 He saw that no help was in sight,
and he was outraged that no one sought to intervene.
Therefore, his own arm effected the victory,
with his righteousness as his support.
17 He put on justice like a breastplate
and a helmet of salvation on his head.
He clothed himself with garments of vengeance
and wrapped himself in a cloak of zeal.
18 He will repay his enemies
according to their deeds:
wrath to his adversaries,
retribution to his enemies;
he will render requital
to the islands and the coastlands.
19 And so those in the west will fear the name of the Lord,
and those in the east his glory.
He will come like a pent-up stream
that is driven by the breath of the Lord.
20 He will come as a redeemer to Zion,
and to those in Jacob who cease to rebel.
This is the word of the Lord.
21 As for me, says the Lord,
this is my covenant with them:
my Spirit which rests upon you
and my words that I have put into your mouth
will not depart from your mouth
or out of the mouths of your children,
or out of the mouths of your children’s children,
says the Lord, from now on and forevermore.
Chapter 60
Zion’s Glory Dawns
1 [a]Arise and shine forth, for your light has come
and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
2 Even though darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness enshrouds the peoples,
upon you the Lord will shine,
and over you his glory will appear.
3 Nations will be guided by your light
and kings by the brightness of your radiance.
4 Raise your eyes and look around;
they are all assembling and returning to you.
Your sons are coming from far away,
and your daughters will be carried
in the arms of their nurses.
5 [b]Then you will be radiant at what you behold,
and your hearts will throb and rejoice.
For the riches of the sea will be brought to you,
and the wealth of the nations will come to you.
6 Droves of camels will cover your land,
the young camels from Midian and Ephah;
all from Sheba will come,
laden with gold and frankincense,
while the people proclaim the praises of the Lord.
7 All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you;
the rams of Nebaioth will serve your needs.
They will be acceptable offerings on my altar,
and I will enhance the splendor of my house.
8 Who are these that fly along like clouds
and like doves to their dovecotes?
9 All the vessels are assembled
from the seacoasts and the islands,
with the ships of Tarshish in the lead;
they are bringing your children from far away,
along with their silver and gold,
to pay honor to the name of the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has glorified you.
10 Foreigners will rebuild your walls,
and their kings will be your servants.
Although I struck you down in my wrath,
now in my mercy I will show you my favor.
11 Your gates will always be open;
day and night they will never be shut,
so that the wealth of the nations may be brought to you,
led by their kings in triumphal procession.
12 For the nation or the kingdom that refuses to serve you
will be totally destroyed
and suffer widespread devastation.
13 The glory of Lebanon will come to you,
the cypress, the plane tree, and the pine,
one and all,
to adorn my holy sanctuary
and to honor the place where I stand.[c]
14 The sons of those who oppressed you
will come forward and bend low before you,
and all those who despised you
will bow down at your feet;
they will call you “City of the Lord,”
“Zion of the Holy One of Israel.”
15 Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
with no one traveling through you,
I will make you an object of everlasting pride
and a source of never-ending joy.
16 You will suck the milk of nations
and be nursed at royal breasts.
Then you will know
that I, the Lord, am your Savior
and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
17 Instead of bronze I will bring you gold,
instead of iron I will bring you silver;
instead of wood, bronze,
and instead of stone, iron.
I will ensure that you will be governed in peace
and be ruled with righteousness.
18 No longer will violence appear in your land,
nor will devastation and ruin occur within your borders.
You will call your walls “Salvation”
and your gates “Praise.”
19 The sun will no longer serve
as the source of your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon
afford light to you during the night.
Rather, the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your splendor.
20 Never again will your sun go down,
nor will your moon withdraw its light.
For the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your days of mourning will be ended.
21 Your people will all be righteous
and possess the land forever.
They are the shoot that I have planted,
my handiwork to exhibit my glory.
22 The least of you will become a thousand,
and the weakest will become a mighty nation.
I am the Lord, and I will accomplish all this
at the appointed time.
Chapter 61
A Message of Consolation
1 [d]The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me
because the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to announce good news to the oppressed,
to strengthen the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom to those held in captivity
and release to those who have been imprisoned,
2 to proclaim a year of the Lord’s favor
and a day of vengeance for our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 to give to all those who mourn in Zion
a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
a glorious mantle instead of a spirit of despair.
And they will be called oaks of righteousness
planted by the Lord to show forth his glory.
Israel’s Reward
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and raise up sites that have long been desolate.
They will restore the ruined cities
that for generations have been merely ravaged wastes.
5 Strangers will come forth to shepherd your flocks;
foreigners will farm your land and dress your vines.
6 But you will be called priests of the Lord;
and you will be named ministers of our God.
You will enjoy the wealth of the nations,
and their former glory will be yours.
7 Because you endured a double measure of shame
and were regarded as deserving of dishonor and disgrace,
you will receive a double portion,
and everlasting joy will be yours.
8 For I, the Lord, love justice,
and I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
I will be faithful in rewarding such victims,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants will be renowned among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who behold them will acknowledge
that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.
10 I rejoice in the Lord with all my heart;
my soul exults in my God.
For he has clothed me in garments of salvation
and wrapped me in a robe of saving justice,
like a bridegroom adorned with a garland
or a bride bedecked with her jewels.
11 As the earth puts forth its shoots
and a garden causes its seeds to sprout,
so the Lord God will cause his justice and praise
to spring up in the sight of all the nations.
Chapter 62
Jerusalem, the Lord’s Spouse
1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet,
until her vindication shines forth like the dawn
and her salvation like a burning torch.
2 The nations will see your vindication
and all the kings your glory.
You will be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will reveal.
3 You will be a glorious crown in the hand of the Lord,
a royal diadem held by your God.
4 No longer will you be called “Forsaken,”
nor will your land be known by the name “Desolate.”
Rather you will be called “My Delight Is in Her,”
and your land will be known as “Married.”
For the Lord will take delight in you,
and your land will be his spouse.
5 As a young man marries a virgin,
so will your builder marry you,
and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride,
so will your God rejoice over you.
Zion Restored and Glorified
6 Upon your walls, O Jerusalem,
I have stationed sentinels.
Neither by day nor by night
will they be silent.
You whose responsibility is to call upon the Lord,
give yourselves no rest,
7 and also give no rest to him
until he restores Jerusalem
and makes her renowned throughout the earth.
8 The Lord has sworn by his right hand
and by his mighty arm:
Never again will I give your grain
to serve as food for your enemies,
nor shall foreigners drink the wine
for which you have toiled.
9 However, those who harvest the grain will eat it
and give praise to the Lord,
while those who gather the grapes will drink the wine
within my sacred courts.
10 Pass through, pass through the gates,
and clear a path for my people.
Build up, build up the highway;
clear it of stones
and lift up a standard over the nations.
11 The Lord has made this proclamation
to the farthest bounds of the earth:
Say to the daughter of Zion,
“See, your Savior comes!
His reward is with him
and his recompense precedes him.”[e]
12 They will be called “The Holy People,”
“The Redeemed of the Lord.”
And you will be called “Sought After,”
“A City No Longer Forsaken.”
Chapter 63
God’s Judgment of Edom
1 [f]Who is this that comes from Edom,
from Bozrah in crimson garments?
Who is this so magnificently attired,
marching with his mighty strength?
“It is I, proclaiming victory,
I who possess the power to save.”
2 Why are your robes red,
like the garments of those
who tread the winepress?
3 “I have trodden the winepress alone;
not one of the nations came to my aid.
I trod the nations in my anger
and trampled them in my wrath.
Their blood spurted out all over my garments
and stained all my robes.
4 I resolved in my heart on a day of vengeance,
and my year for redeeming was at hand.
5 I looked all around, but there was no one to help;
I was outraged that no one offered any assistance.
Even so, my own arm brought me victory
and my wrath sustained me.
6 I trampled down the peoples in my anger;
I crushed them in my wrath
and sent their blood streaming forth over the ground.”
A Plea for Deliverance[g]
7 I will recount the favors of the Lord,
the glorious deeds of the Lord,
because of all that the Lord has done for us
and the great kindness he has shown
to the house of Israel.
He has favored us with his mercy
and the abundance of his steadfast love.
8 For he said, “These are indeed my people,
children who will not betray me,”
and he became their Savior.
9 In all their difficulties
it was no messenger or an angel
but he himself who saved them.
In his love and his pity he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them
through all the days of old.
10 However, they rebelled
and grieved his Holy Spirit.
Therefore, he became their enemy
and he himself fought against them.
11 Then they remembered the days of old
and Moses his servant.
Where is he who brought up from the water
the shepherd of his flock?
Where is he who put his Holy Spirit
in their midst,
12 whose glorious arm led them
to march at the right hand of Moses,
who divided the waters before them
to win for himself everlasting renown,
13 and who led them through the depths?
Like horses in open country,
they did not stumble.
14 Like cattle descending into a valley,
the Spirit of the Lord afforded them rest.
15 Look down from heaven and see,
from your holy and glorious dwelling.
Where are your zeal and your might,
your compassion and your tender mercy?
Do not withhold them from me.
16 For you are our Father.
Although Abraham does not know us
and Israel[h] does not acknowledge us,
you, O Lord, are our Father;
forever you have been called our Redeemer.
17 Why, O Lord, do you allow us
to wander from your ways,
and harden our hearts
so that we do not fear you?
Return for the sake of your servants,
for the tribes that are your heritage.
18 For a brief period of time
your people possessed your holy place,
but now your enemies have trampled down your sanctuary.
19 For far too long we have been
like those whom you do not rule,
like those who do not bear your name.
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