Beginning

36 And it was done in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, Sennacherib, the king of Assyrians, ascended on all the strong cities of Judah, and took them.

² And the king of Assyrians sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem, to king Hezekiah, with great power; and he stood at the water conduit of the higher cistern, in the way of the field of a fuller, or (a) tucker (and he stopped by the water conduit of the Upper Pool, on the way to the Fuller’s Field).

³ And Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that was on the house (who was over the king’s household), went out to him, and Shebna, the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the chancellor.

⁴ And Rabshakeh said to them, Say ye to Hezekiah, The great king, the king of Assyrians, saith these things, What is the trust, in which thou trustest?

⁵ either by what counsel either strength disposest thou for to rebel? on whom hast thou trust, for thou hast gone away from me?

⁶ Lo! thou trustest on this broken staff of (a) reed, on Egypt, on which if a man leaneth, either resteth, it shall enter into his hand, and shall pierce it; so doeth Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to all men that trust in him.

⁷ That if thou answerest to me, We trust in our Lord God; whether it is not he, whose high places and altars Hezekiah did away, and he said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar? (But if thou answerest to me, We trust in the Lord our God; was it not he, whose hill shrines and altars Hezekiah did away, and he said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar alone?)

⁸ And now betake thee to my lord, the king of Assyrians, and I shall give to thee two thousand horses, and thou mayest not give of thee riders of those horses (if thou can find enough riders for those horses).

⁹ And how shalt thou abide the face of the judge of one place of the less servants of my lord? That if thou trustest in Egypt, and in carts, and in knights; (And so how shalt thou stand before even the least of the servants of my lord? wilt thou still trust in the help of Egypt, and in their chariots, and in their horsemen?)

¹⁰ and now whether I ascended to this land without the Lord, that I should destroy it? The Lord said to me, Ascend thou on this land, and destroy thou it. (and now have I come against this land without the Lord’s consent, to destroy it? Nay! The Lord himself said to me, Go thou out against this land, and destroy thou it.)

¹¹ And Eliakim, and Shebna, and Joah, said to Rabshakeh, Speak thou to thy servants by the language of Syria, for we understand; speak thou not to us by the language of Jews, in the ears of the people, which is on the wall. (And Eliakim, and Shebna, and Joah, said to Rabshakeh, Speak thou to thy servants by the Syrian language, or in Aramaic, for we shall understand; speak thou not to us by the language of the Jews, or in Hebrew, in the hearing of all the people who be on the wall.)

¹² And Rabshakeh said to them, Whether my lord sent me to thy lord, and to thee, that I should speak all these words, and not rather to the men that sit on the wall, that they eat their turds, and drink the piss off their feet, with you? (And Rabshakeh said to them, Hath my lord sent me only to thy lord, and to thee, that I should speak all these words, and not rather to all those who sit on the wall, who shall have to eat their own turds, and drink their own piss from off their own feet, yea, like you will?)

¹³ And Rabshakeh stood, and cried with [a] great voice in the language of Jews, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyrians (the king of Assyria).

¹⁴ The king saith these things, Hezekiah deceive not you, for he may not deliver you; (The king saith these things, Let not Hezekiah deceive you, for he cannot save you;)

¹⁵ and Hezekiah give not to you trust on the Lord, and say, The Lord delivering shall deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyrians. (and let not Hezekiah make you to trust in the Lord, and say, The Lord rescuing shall save us; and this city shall not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.)

¹⁶ Do not ye hear Hezekiah. For why the king of Assyrians saith these things, Make ye blessing with me, and go ye out to me; and eat ye each man his vinery, and each man his fig tree, and drink ye each man the water of his cistern, (Do not ye listen to Hezekiah. For the king of Assyria saith these things, Make ye peace with me, and come ye out to me; and then each person shall eat the fruit of his own vine, and the figs from his own fig tree, and drink the water from his own cistern,)

¹⁷ till I come, and take away you to a land which is as your land; to a land of wheat and of wine, to a land of loaves and of vineries. (until I come, and take you away to a land which is like your land; to a land full of corn, or of grain, and wine, a land full of loaves and of vineyards.)

¹⁸ Hezekiah trouble not you, and say, The Lord shall deliver us. Whether the gods of folks delivered (to) each his land from the hand of the king of Assyrians? (Let not Hezekiah trouble you, and say, The Lord shall save us. Did any of the gods of these other nations rescue their lands from the hands, or the power, of the king of Assyria?)

¹⁹ Where is the god of Hamath, and of Arphad? Where is the god of Sepharvaim? Whether they delivered Samaria from mine hand?

²⁰ Who is of all [the] gods of these lands, that delivered his land from mine hand, (and so give thou reason to believe) that the Lord (shall) deliver Jerusalem from mine hand?

²¹ And they were still, and answered not to him a word (and did not answer a word to him). For why the king commanded to them, and said, Answer ye not to him.

²² And Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that was on the house, and Shebna, the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, chancellor, entered with rent clothes to Hezekiah, and told to him the words of Rabshakeh. (And then Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, who was over the king’s household, and Shebna, the writer, or the royal secretary, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the chancellor, entered to Hezekiah with torn clothes, and told him what Rabshakeh had said.)

37 And it was done, when king Hezekiah had heard, he rent his clothes, and he was wrapped in a sackcloth, and entered into the house of the Lord. (And it was done, when King Hezekiah had heard this, he tore his clothes, and wrapped himself in a sackcloth, and entered into the House of the Lord.)

² And he sent Eliakim, that was on the house, and Shebna, the scribe, and the elder men of (the) priests, covered with sackcloths, to Isaiah, the prophet, the son of Amoz. (And he sent Eliakim, who was over the king’s household, and Shebna, the writer, or the royal secretary, and the elders of the priests, covered in sackcloths, to the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz.)

³ And they said to him, Hezekiah saith these things, A day of tribulation, and of anguish, and of chastising, and of blasphemy is this day; for children came unto childbearing, and strength of childbearing is not (for the child is ready to be born, but there is no strength for giving birth).

⁴ Therefore raise thou [up] prayer for the remnants (of our people) that be found, if in any manner thy Lord God (shall) hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyrians, his lord, sent, for to blaspheme [the] living God, and to despise by the words, which thy Lord God heard (and to punish them for the words which the Lord thy God himself hath heard).

⁵ And the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah;

⁶ and Isaiah said to them, Ye shall say these things to your lord, The Lord saith these things, Dread thou not of the face of [the] words which thou heardest, by which the servants of the king of Assyrians blasphemed me. (and Isaiah said to them, Ye shall say these things to your lord, The Lord saith these things, Fear thou not the words which thou hast heard, by which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.)

⁷ Lo! I shall give to him a spirit, and he shall hear a messenger; and he shall turn again to his land, and I shall make him to fall down by sword in his land.

⁸ Forsooth Rabshakeh turned again, and found the king of Assyrians fighting against Libnah; for he had heard, that the king was gone from Lachish. (And Rabshakeh turned back, and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah; for he had heard, that the king had left Lachish.)

⁹ And (then) the king heard (from) messengers saying of Tirhakah, king of Ethiopians, He is gone out to fight against thee. And when he had heard this thing, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, and said,

¹⁰ Ye shall say, speaking these things to Hezekiah, king of Judah, Thy God deceive not thee, in whom thou trustest, and sayest, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyrians. (Ye shall say these things to Hezekiah, the king of Judah, Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, by saying that Jerusalem shall not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.)

¹¹ Lo! thou heardest all things which the kings of Assyrians did to all lands which they destroyed; and mayest thou be delivered? (Lo! thou hast heard of all the things which the kings of Assyria did to all the lands which they destroyed; and can thou alone be rescued, or saved?)

¹² Whether the gods of folks delivered them, which my fathers destroyed (Did the gods of the nations whom my forefathers destroyed, save them); Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the sons of Eden, that were in Telassar?

¹³ Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena, and of Ivah?

¹⁴ And Hezekiah took the books from the hand of the messengers, and read them; and he went up into the house of the Lord, and spreaded abroad them before the Lord; (And Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers, and read it; and he went up into the House of the Lord, and spread it out before the Lord;)

¹⁵ and prayed to the Lord, and said,

¹⁶ Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that sittest on cherubim (Lord of hosts, God of Israel, who sittest between the cherubim), thou art God alone of all the realms of [the] earth; thou madest heaven and earth.

¹⁷ Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear; Lord, open thine eyes, and see; and hear thou all the words of Sennacherib, which he sent for to blaspheme (the) living God.

¹⁸ For verily, Lord, the kings of Assyrians made lands desert, and the countries of them, (For truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have made into desert, or laid waste, many lands, and all their countryside,)

¹⁹ and gave the gods of them to (the) fire; for they were not gods, but the works of men’s hands, wood and stones; and they all-brake those gods.

²⁰ And now, our Lord God, save thou us from the hand of him; and all [the] realms of earth know, that thou art the Lord God alone. (And now, Lord our God, save thou us from his hand, or from his power; and then all the kingdoms of the earth shall know, that thou art the Lord God alone.)

²¹ And Isaiah, the son of Amoz, sent to Hezekiah, and said, The Lord God of Israel saith these things, For which things thou prayedest me of Sennacherib, the king of Assyrians (the king of Assyria),

²² this is the word which the Lord spake on him, Thou virgin, the daughter of Zion, he despised thee, he scorned thee; thou virgin, the daughter of Jerusalem, he moved his head after thee. (this is the word which the Lord spoke about him, saying, O Sennacherib, the virgin, the daughter of Zion, despiseth thee, and she mocketh thee; the virgin, the daughter of Jerusalem, shaketh her head over thee.)

²³ (But) Whom despisest thou, and whom blasphemedest thou? and on whom raisedest thou thy voice, and raisedest the highness of thine eyes? To the Holy of Israel. (For whom hast thou despised, and whom hast thou blasphemed? and against whom hast thou raised up thy voice, and raised up the highness of thine eyes? To the Holy One of Israel.)

²⁴ By the hand of thy servants thou despisedest the Lord, and saidest, In the multitude of my carts (In the multitude of my chariots), I ascended [up]on the highnesses of (the) hills, on the yokes of Lebanon; and I shall cut down the high things of cedars thereof, and the chosen beeches thereof; and I shall enter into the highness of the top thereof, into the forest of Carmel thereof.

²⁵ I digged, and drank water; and I made dry with the step of my foot all the strands of [the] fields.

²⁶ Whether thou, Sennacherib, heardest not what things I did sometime? From eld days I formed that thing, and now I have brought (it to pass); and it is made into the drawing up by the root of (the) little hills fighting together, and of strong cities (In the old days, I formed that thing, and now I have brought it to pass; yea, bringing down strengthened cities into heaps of rubble).

²⁷ The dwellers of those cities trembled together with hand made short, and be ashamed; they be made as hay of the field, and as the grass of [the] pasture, and as herb of house roofs, either ridges, that dried up before that it waxed ripe. (The inhabitants of those cities trembled together with shortened hand, or powerless, and were ashamed; they were made like the hay of the field, and like the grass of the pasture, and like the herbs on the rooftops, that dried up before that they could ripen.)

²⁸ I knew thy dwelling (place), and thy going out, and thine entering (in), and thy strong vengeance against me.

²⁹ When thou were wroth against me, thy pride ascended into mine ears; therefore I shall set a ring in thy nostrils, and a bridle in thy lips; and I shall lead thee into the way, by which thou camest. (When thou were angry against me, thy pride came into my ears; and so I shall set a ring in thy nose, and a bridle upon thy lips, and I shall lead thee back by the way, by which thou camest.)

³⁰ Forsooth to thee, Hezekiah, this shall be a sign; eat thou in this year those things that grow by their free will, and in the second year eat thou apples; but in the third year, sow ye, and reap ye, and plant ye vineries (and plant ye vineyards), and eat ye the fruit of them.

³¹ And that that is saved of the house of Judah, and that, that is left, shall send [the] root beneath, and shall make fruit above;

³² for why (the) remnants (of the people) shall go out of Jerusalem, and salvation from the hill of Zion (and those who be saved, from Mount Zion); the fervent love of the Lord of hosts shall do this thing.

³³ Therefore the Lord saith these things of the king of Assyrians, He shall not enter into this city, and he shall not shoot there an arrow; and a shield shall not occupy it, and he shall not send [an heap of] earth in the compass thereof. (And so the Lord saith these things about the king of Assyria, He shall not enter into this city, and he shall not shoot an arrow there; and he shall not occupy it with his shield, and he shall not build up a heap of earth all around it.)

³⁴ In the way in which he came, he shall turn again by it (By the way in which he came, so he shall return); and he shall not enter into this city, saith the Lord.

³⁵ And I shall defend this city, that I save it, for me, and for David, my servant. (And I shall defend this city, so that I save it, for me, and for my servant David.)

³⁶ Forsooth the angel of the Lord went out, and killed an hundred thousand and fourscore and five thousand in the tents of (the) Assyrians; and they rose early, and lo! all men were [the] carrions of dead men (all the men were corpses).

³⁷ And Sennacherib went out of Judah, and went away. And Sennacherib, the king of Assyrians, turned again, and dwelled in Nineveh (And Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, returned home, and lived in Nineveh).

³⁸ And it was done, when he worshipped Nisroch, his god, in the temple, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, killed him with sword, and fled into the land of Ararat, that is, Armenia; and Esarhaddon, his son, reigned for him.

38 In those days Hezekiah was sick unto the death; and Isaiah, the prophet, the son of Amoz, entered to him, and said to him, The Lord saith these things, Dispose thy house, for thou shalt die, and thou shalt not live. (In those days Hezekiah was sick unto the death; and the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, went to him, and said to him, The Lord saith these things, Set thy affairs in order, for soon thou shalt die, and thou shalt not live.)

² And Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed the Lord,

³ and said, Lord, I beseech; have thou mind, I beseech, how I went before thee in truth, and in perfect heart, and I did that that was good before thine eyes. And Hezekiah wept with great weeping. (and said, Lord, I beseech thee; remember, I beseech thee, how I went before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and I did what was good before thine eyes. And Hezekiah wept with a great weeping.)

⁴ And the word of the Lord was made to Isaiah, and said,

⁵ Go thou, and say to Hezekiah, The Lord God of David, thy father, saith these things, I have heard thy prayer, and I saw thy tears. Lo! I shall add on(to) thy days fifteen years;

⁶ and I shall deliver thee and this city from the hand of the king of Assyrians, and I shall defend it.

⁷ Forsooth this shall be to thee a sign of the Lord, that the Lord shall do this word, which he hath spoken. (For this shall be a sign to thee from the Lord, that the Lord shall do this thing, which he hath spoken.)

⁸ Lo! I shall make the shadow of lines, by which it went down in the horologe of Ahaz, in the sun, to turn again backward by ten lines. And the sun turned again by ten lines, by [the] degrees by which it had gone down. (Lo! I shall make the shadow, cast by the sun, which went down on the stairway of Ahaz, to turn backward, or to go up, ten steps. And so the sun went back up ten steps on the stairway, on which it had just gone down.)

⁹ The scripture of Hezekiah, king of Judah, when he had been sick, and had recovered of his sickness.

¹⁰ I said, in the middle of my days, I shall go to the gates of hell. I sought the residue of my years; (I said, in the middle of my days, I shall go now to the gates of Sheol, that is, to the gates of the land of the dead/I shall go now to the gates of the grave; I shall be deprived of the rest of my years;)

¹¹ I said, I shall not see the Lord God in the land of livers; I shall no more behold a man, and a dweller of rest. (I said, I shall no longer see the Lord God in the land of the living; I shall no longer see any person, or any other inhabitant of this world.)

¹² My generation is taken away, and is folded together from me, as the tabernacle of shepherds is folded together. My life is cut down as of a web; he cutted down me, the while I was woven yet. (My source of life is folded up, and taken away from me, like a shepherd’s tent is folded up. My life is cut down like a web; he cut me down, while I was still weaving it.)

¹³ From the morrowtide till to the eventide (I felt like) thou shalt end me; I hoped till to the morrowtide; as a lion, so he all-brake my bones. From the morrowtide till to the eventide (I felt like) thou shalt end me; (From the morning until the evening I felt like thou shalt end me; then I was in pain until the morning again; like a lion, thou hast broken all my bones. From the morning until the evening I felt like thou shalt end me;)

¹⁴ as the young of a swallow, so I shall cry; I shall bethink as a culver (I shall moan like a dove). Mine eyes beholding on high, be made feeble. Lord, I suffer violence, answer thou for me;

¹⁵ what shall I say, either what shall he answer to me, when he hath done (this)? I shall bethink to thee all my years, in the bitterness of my soul. (what shall I say, or what shall he answer to me, when he himself hath done this? I shall think about thee all my years, in the bitterness of my soul.)

¹⁶ Lord, if men liveth so (Lord, if people so liveth), and the life of my spirit is in such things, (then) thou shalt chastise me, and shalt quicken me.

¹⁷ Lo! my bitterness is most bitter in peace (Lo! peace was my bitterness, and it was most bitter); forsooth thou hast delivered my soul, that it perished not; thou hast cast away behind thy back all my sins.

¹⁸ For not hell shall acknowledge to thee, neither death shall praise thee; they that go down into the pit, shall not abide thy truth. (For Sheol, or the grave, shall not acknowledge thee, nor shall death praise thee; and they who go down into the pit, shall not wait for thy truth.)

¹⁹ A living man, a living man, he shall acknowledge to thee, as and I today; the father shall make known thy truth to [the] sons. (But a living man, yea, a living man, he shall acknowledge thee, like I do today; and the father shall make thy truth known to his children.)

²⁰ Lord, make thou me safe, and we shall sing our psalms in all the days of our life in the house of the Lord. (Lord, thou hast saved me, and so we shall sing our songs all the days of our lives in the House of the Lord.)

²¹ And Isaiah commanded, that they should take a gobbet of figs, and make a plaster on the wound; and it should be healed. (For Isaiah had commanded, that they should take a piece of figs, and put a plaster on the wound; and then he would be healed.)

²² And Hezekiah said, What sign shall be, that I shall ascend into the house of the Lord? (And then Hezekiah had said, What shall be the sign, that I shall go up into the House of the Lord again?)

39 In that time Merodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, the king of Babylon, sent books and gifts to Hezekiah; for he had heard, that Hezekiah had been sick, and was recovered. (At that time Merodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, the king of Babylon, sent letters and gifts to Hezekiah; for he had heard, that Hezekiah had been sick, but now had recovered.)

² Forsooth Hezekiah was glad on them, and showed to them the cell(s) of sweet smelling spices, and of silver, and of gold, and of smelling things, and of best ointment, and all the shops of his purtenance of household, and all things that were found in his treasures; no word was, which Hezekiah showed not to them in his house, and in all his power. (And Hezekiah welcomed the messengers, and showed them the rooms for the sweet smelling spices, and the rooms for the silver, and the gold, and the best perfumes, and all the shops of his purtenance of household, and everything that was found among his treasures; yea, there was nothing, which Hezekiah did not show them in his house, and of all his power.)

³ Soothly Isaiah, the prophet, entered to king Hezekiah (And the prophet Isaiah went in to King Hezekiah), and said to him, What said these men, and from whence came they to thee? And Hezekiah said, From a far land they came to me, from Babylon.

⁴ And Isaiah said, What saw they in thine house? And Hezekiah said, They saw all things that be in mine house; nothing was in my treasures, which I showed not to them.

⁵ And Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Hear thou the word of the Lord of hosts.

⁶ Lo! days shall come, and all things that be in thine house, and which things thy fathers treasured till to this day (and which things thy forefathers treasured unto this day), shall be taken away into Babylon; not anything shall be left, saith the Lord.

⁷ And they shall take [away] of thy sons, that shall go out of thee, which thou shalt engender; and they shall be honest servants and chaste in the palace of the king of Babylon. (And they shall take away some of thy sons, who shall go out of thee, whom thou shalt beget; and they shall be made honest and chaste servants, that is, they shall be made eunuchs, to serve in the palace of the king of Babylon.)

⁸ And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, The word of the Lord is good, which he spake. And Hezekiah said, Peace and truth be made only in my days. (And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, The word of the Lord is good, which he spoke. And Hezekiah said, Let there be only peace and truth in my days.)

40 My people, be ye comforted, be ye comforted, saith your Lord God. (My people, be ye comforted, yea, be ye comforted, saith the Lord your God.)

² Speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem, and call ye [to] it, for the malice thereof is [ful]filled, the wickedness thereof is forgiven; it hath received of the hand of the Lord double things for all his sins (it hath received from the hand of the Lord double for all of its sins).

³ The voice of a crier in desert [The voice of the (one) crying in (the) desert], Make ye ready the way of the Lord, make ye rightful the paths of our God in wilderness. (The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make ye right the paths in the desert for our God.)

⁴ Each valley shall be enhanced, and each mountain and little hill shall be made low; and shrewd things shall be into straight things, and sharp things shall be into plane ways. (Each valley shall be lifted up, and each mountain and little hill shall be made low; and depraved, or crooked, ways shall be made into straight ways, and sharp places shall be made into smooth places.)

⁵ And the glory of the Lord shall be showed, and each man shall see together, that the mouth of the Lord hath spoken. (And the glory of the Lord shall be shown, and all the people shall see it together, that the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.)

⁶ The voice of God, saying, Cry thou. And I said, What shall I cry? Each flesh is hay, and all the glory thereof is as the flower of the field. (The voice of God, saying, Cry thou. And I said, What shall I cry? And he saith, Each person is but a blade of grass, and all their life lasteth no longer than a flower in the field.)

⁷ The hay is dried up, and the flower fell down, for the spirit of the Lord blew therein. Verily the people is hay; (And the grass drieth up, and the flower falleth down, because the wind of the Lord bloweth there. Truly the people be but grass;)

⁸ the hay is dried up, and the flower fell down; but the word of the Lord dwelleth, either shall stand, without end. (and the grass drieth up, and the flower falleth down; but the word of the Lord shall stand forever.)

⁹ Thou that preachest to Zion, go upon an high hill; thou that preachest to Jerusalem, enhance thy voice in strength; enhance thou, do not thou dread; say thou to the cities of Judah, Lo! your God. (Thou who preachest to Zion, go up on a high mountain; thou who preachest to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; yea, lift thou it up, do not thou fear; say thou to the cities of Judah, Lo! your God.)

¹⁰ Lo! the Lord God shall come in strength, and his arm shall hold lordship; lo! his meed is with him, and his work is before him (lo! his reward is with him, and his work is in front of him).

¹¹ As a shepherd he shall feed his flock, he shall gather [the] lambs in(to) his arm(s), and he shall raise (them up) in(to) his bosom; he shall bear [the] sheep with lamb. (Like a shepherd he shall feed his flock, he shall gather the lambs into his arms, and he shall raise them up into his bosom; he shall gently lead the sheep that be with their young.)

¹² Who meted waters in a fist, and weighed (the) heavens with a span? Who weighed the heaviness of the earth with three fingers, and weighed [the] mountains in a weigh, and [the] little hills in a balance? (Who hath measured the waters with his fist, and weighed the heavens with the span of his hand? Who hath weighed the heaviness of the earth with three fingers, and weighed the mountains on a scale, and the little hills on a balance?)

¹³ Who helped the Spirit of the Lord, either who was his counsellor, and showed to him?

¹⁴ With whom took he counsel, and who learned him, and taught him the path of rightfulness, and learned him in knowing, and showed to him the way of prudence?

¹⁵ Lo! folks be as a drop of a bucket, and be areckoned as the tongue of a balance; lo! isles be as a little dust, (Lo! the nations be like a drop from a bucket, and be reckoned like the tongue of a balance; lo! the islands weigh but like a little dust,)

¹⁶ and the Lebanon shall not suffice to burn his sacrifice, and the beasts thereof shall not suffice to (a) burnt sacrifice. (and even all the mighty trees of Lebanon shall not suffice to burn his sacrifice, and even all its beasts shall not suffice for a burnt sacrifice.)

¹⁷ All folks be so before him, as if they be not; and they be reckoned as nothing and (as a) vain thing to him. (All the nations before him, be as if they be not; and they be reckoned as if they be nothing, yea, but like an empty and futile thing to him.)

¹⁸ To whom therefore made ye God like? either what image shall ye set to him (for comparison)?

¹⁹ Whether a smith shall weld together an image, either a goldsmith shall figure it in gold, and a worker in silver shall dight it with pieces of silver?

²⁰ A wise craftsman choose(th) a strong tree, and unable to be rotten; he seeketh how he shall ordain a simulacrum, that shall not be moved.

²¹ Whether ye know not? whether ye heard not? whether it was not told to you from the beginning? whether ye understood not (from) the foundaments of [the] earth?

²² Which sitteth on the compass of [the] earth, and the dwellers thereof be as locusts; which stretcheth forth heavens as nought, and spreadeth abroad those as a tabernacle to dwell (in). (It is he who sitteth above, or over, the roundness of the earth, and its inhabitants be like grasshoppers; it is he who stretcheth forth the heavens like a curtain, and spreadeth them abroad like a tent to live in.)

²³ Which giveth the searchers of privates, as if they be not, and [he] made the judges of [the] earth as a vain thing. (Who bringeth down the great, as if they be nothing, and who made the judges, or the rulers, of the earth but like an empty and futile thing to him.)

²⁴ And soothly when the stock of them is neither planted, neither is sown, neither is rooted in [the] earth, he blew suddenly on them, and they dried up, and a whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. (And truly when their stock is neither planted, nor is sown, nor is rooted in the earth, he shall suddenly blow on them, and they shall all be dried up, and then a whirlwind shall take them away like stubble.)

²⁵ And to what thing have ye likened me, and have made [me] even (to)? saith the Holy (One).

²⁶ Raise [up] your eyes on high, and see ye, who made these things of nought; which leadeth out in number the knighthood of them, and calleth all by name, for the multitude of his strength, and stalworthness, and might; neither one residue thing was. (Raise up your eyes on high, and see ye, who made these things out of nothing; who leadeth their host out in number, and calleth all of them by name, for the multitude of his strength, and stalwartness, and might, and not one of them is missing.)

²⁷ Why sayest thou, Jacob, and speakest thou, Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my doom (is) passed (over) from my God? (Why sayest thou, Jacob, yea, why sayest thou, Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my cause is no longer God’s concern?)

²⁸ Whether thou knowest not, either heardest thou not? God, everlasting Lord, that made of nought the ends of [the] earth, shall not fail, neither shall travail, neither ensearching of his wisdom is. (Knowest thou not, or heardest thou not? God, the everlasting Lord, who made the ends of the earth out of nothing, shall not faint, nor grow tired, and there is no one who understandeth his wisdom.)

²⁹ That giveth strength to the weary, and strength to them that be not, and multiplieth stalworthness. (He who giveth strength to the weary, and strength to those who have it not, and multiplieth stalwartness.)

³⁰ (Some) Young men shall fail, and shall travail, and (other) young men shall fall down in their sickness.

³¹ But they that hope in the Lord, shall change strength, they shall take feathers as eagles; they shall run, and shall not travail; they shall go, and shall not fail. (But they who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall grow wings like eagles; they shall run, and shall not labour, or struggle; they shall go, and shall not faint.)

41 Isles, be still to me, and folks change strength; nigh they, and then speak they; nigh we together to doom. (Ye islands, be silent before me, and let the people renew their strength; come they, and then speak they; yea, come we together for judgement.)

² Who raised the just man from the east, and called him to follow himself? He shall give folks in his sight, and he shall wield kings; he shall give (them) as dust to his sword, and as stubble ravished of the wind to his bow. (Who raised up the just one from the east, and made him to triumph wherever he went? He shall take hold of the nations before him, and also their kings; he shall make them to be like the dust to his sword, and like stubble blown by the wind to his bow.)

³ He shall pursue them, he shall go in peace; a path shall not appear in his feet. (He shall swiftly pursue them, but he shall be safe; and no path shall be made by his feet.)

⁴ Who wrought and did these things? calling generations at the beginning (calling the generations from the beginning). (I did, for) I am the Lord; and I am the first, and the last.

⁵ Isles saw, and dreaded; the last parts of [the] earth were astonied; they came nigh, and nighed. (The islands saw it, and feared, or were afraid; the ends of the earth were astonished; they came together, and came near.)

⁶ Each man shall help his neighbour, and shall say to his brother, Be thou comforted (Be thou encouraged).

⁷ A smith of metal smiting with an hammer comforted him that polished, either made fair, in that time, saying, It is good to [the] glue; and he fastened him with nails, that he should not be moved. (A metalsmith striking with a hammer encouraged him who polished, or who made beautiful, at that time, saying, It is ready for the glue; and then he fastened it with nails, so that it could not be moved.)

⁸ And thou, Israel (But thou, Israel), (art) my servant, Jacob, whom I chose, the seed of Abraham, my friend,

⁹ in whom I took thee; from the last parts of [the] earth, and from the far parts thereof I called thee; and I said to thee, Thou art my servant; I chose thee, and casted not away thee. (I have taken thee up from the ends of the earth, and I have called thee from the far parts of it; and I said to thee, Thou art my servant; I chose thee, and did not cast thee away.)

¹⁰ Dread thou not, for I am with thee; bow thou not away, for I am thy God. I comforted thee, and helped thee; and the right hand of my just man uptook thee. (Fear thou not, for I am with thee; turn thou not away, for I am thy God. I shall strengthen thee, and I shall help thee, and I shall uphold thee with my just right hand.)

¹¹ Lo! all men shall be shamed, and shall be ashamed, that fight against thee; they shall be as if they be not, and men shall perish, that against-say thee. (Lo! all people shall be shamed, and shall be ashamed, who say against thee; and those who fight against thee shall perish, they shall be as if they be not.)

¹² Thou shalt seek them, and thou shalt not find thy rebel men; they shall be as if they be not, and as the wasting of a man fighting against thee.

¹³ For I am thy Lord God, taking thine hand, and saying to thee, Dread thou not, I helped thee. (For I am the Lord thy God, who taketh thy hand, and saith to thee, Fear thou not, I shall help thee.)

¹⁴ Do not thou, worm of Jacob, dread, ye that be (the) dead of Israel. I helped thee, saith the Lord, and thine again-buyer, the Holy of Israel. (Do not thou fear, O worm of Jacob, and ye louse of Israel. I shall help thee, saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.)

¹⁵ I have set thee as a new wain threshing, having sawing bills; thou shalt thresh mountains, and shalt make (them) small, and thou shalt set little hills as (but) dust. (I shall make thee like a new threshing wagon, having sawing bills; thou shalt thresh the mountains, and shalt make them small, and thou shalt turn the little hills into dust.)

¹⁶ Thou shalt winnow them, and the wind shall take them away, and a whirlwind shall scatter them; and thou shalt make full out joy in the Lord, and thou shalt be glad in the Holy (One) of Israel.

¹⁷ Needy men and poor seek waters, and those be not (The poor and the needy seek water, but there is none); the tongue of them dried (up) for thirst. I the Lord shall hear them, I (the) God of Israel shall not forsake them.

¹⁸ I shall open floods in high hills (I shall open rivers in the high hills), and wells in the midst of fields; I shall set the desert into ponds of waters, and the land without (a) way into rivers of waters.

¹⁹ I shall give in (the) wilderness a cedar, and a thorn, and a myrtle tree, and the tree of an olive; I shall set in the desert a fir tree, an elm, and a box tree together.

²⁰ That they see, and know, and bethink, and understand together; that the hand of the Lord did this thing, and the Holy of Israel made that of nought. (So that they see, and know, and think about, and altogether understand; that the hand of the Lord did this thing, yea, that the Holy One of Israel made it out of nothing.)

²¹ Make ye nigh your doom (Make ye your arguments now/State ye your case), saith the Lord; bring ye (it in), if in hap ye have anything, saith the King of Jacob.

²² Nigh, and tell to us, whatever things shall come (Come near, or come close, and tell us, what shall come); tell ye the former things that were, and we shall set (them in) our heart, and shall know (them); show ye to us the last things of them, and those things that shall come.

²³ Tell ye what things shall come in time to coming, and we shall know, that ye be gods; also do ye well, either evil, if ye may (and also do ye good, or evil, if ye can, to make us afraid, and in awe); and speak we, and see we (it) together.

²⁴ Lo! ye be of nought, and your work is of that that is not; he that choose you, is abomination. (Lo! ye be nothing, and your work is nothing; he who chooseth you, is an abomination.)

²⁵ I (have) raised (up one) from the north, and he shall come from the rising of the sun; he shall call (on) my name. And he shall bring magistrates as clay, and as a potter defouling [the] earth (And he shall trample upon the magistrates like upon the earth, or upon the dirt, yea, like a potter defiling, or treading upon, his clay).

²⁶ Who told (out) from the beginning, (so) that we (can) know, and from the beginning, (so) that we (can) say, Thou art just? none is telling, neither before-saying, neither hearing your words.

²⁷ The first shall say to Zion, Lo! I am present; and I shall give a gospeller to Jerusalem. (The first shall say to Zion, Lo! I am here; and I shall bring a messenger of good news, or of glad tidings, to Jerusalem.)

²⁸ And I saw, and none was of these, that took counsel, and he that was asked, answered (not) a word. (And I saw, and there was no one who gave any advice, and he who was asked, answered not a word.)

²⁹ Lo! all men be unjust, and their works be wind and vain; the simulacra of them be wind, and (a) void thing. (Lo! all people be unrighteous, and their works be but wind, and in vain, or empty and futile; and their idols be but wind, and empty things too.)