Beginning
The Inheritance of the Slaves of Yahweh
54 “(A)Shout for joy, O barren woman, who has not given birth;
Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not been in [a]labor;
For (B)more numerous are the sons of the (C)desolate one
Than the sons of the married woman,” says Yahweh.
2 “(D)Enlarge the place of your tent;
[b]Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not hold back;
Lengthen your (E)cords
And strengthen your (F)pegs.
3 For you will (G)spread abroad to the right and to the left.
And your seed will (H)possess nations
And will (I)resettle the desolate cities.
4 “Do not be afraid, for you will (J)not be put to shame;
And do not feel dishonored, for you will not be humiliated;
But you will forget the (K)shame of your virginity,
And the (L)reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
5 For your (M)husband is your Maker,
Whose name is Yahweh of hosts;
And your (N)Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
Who is called the (O)God of all the earth.
6 For Yahweh has called you,
Like a wife (P)forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,”
Says your God.
7 “[c]For a (Q)brief moment I forsook you,
But with great compassion I will (R)gather you.
8 In [d]a (S)flood of fury
I hid My face from you for a moment,
But with everlasting (T)lovingkindness I will (U)have compassion on you,”
Says Yahweh your (V)Redeemer.
9 “For [e]this is like the days of Noah to Me,
When I swore that the waters of Noah
Would (W)not [f]overflow the earth again;
So I have sworn that I will (X)not be furious with you
Nor will I rebuke you.
10 For the (Y)mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,
And My (Z)covenant of peace will not be shaken,”
Says (AA)Yahweh who has compassion on you.
11 “O (AB)afflicted one, storm-tossed, and (AC)not comforted,
Behold, I will lay your stones in antimony,
And your foundations I will (AD)set in [g](AE)sapphires.
12 Moreover, I will make your battlements of [h]rubies,
And your gates of [i]crystal,
And your entire [j]wall of [k]precious stones.
13 (AF)All your sons will be [l]taught of Yahweh;
And the peace of your sons will be (AG)great.
14 In (AH)righteousness you will be established;
You will be far from (AI)oppression, for you will (AJ)not fear,
And from (AK)terror, for it will not come near you.
15 If anyone fiercely attacks you it will not be from Me.
(AL)Whoever attacks you will fall because of you.
16 Behold, I Myself have created the craftsman who blows the fire of coals
And brings out a weapon for its work;
And I have created the bringer of ruin to wreak destruction.
17 (AM)No weapon that is formed against you will succeed;
And (AN)every tongue that [m]accuses you in judgment you will condemn.
This is the inheritance of the [n]slaves of Yahweh,
And their (AO)righteousness is from Me,” declares Yahweh.
Seek Yahweh While He May Be Found
55 “Ho! Every one who (AP)thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have (AQ)no [o]money come, buy and eat.
Come, buy (AR)wine and milk
(AS)Without money and without cost.
2 Why do you [p]spend money for what is (AT)not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and (AU)eat what is good,
And (AV)delight your soul in richness.
3 (AW)Incline your ear and come to Me.
Listen, that your soul may (AX)live;
And I will cut (AY)an everlasting covenant with you,
According to the (AZ)faithful lovingkindnesses of David.
4 Behold, I have given (BA)him as a witness to the peoples,
A (BB)ruler and commander for the peoples.
5 Behold, you will call a (BC)nation you do not know,
And a nation which knows you not will (BD)run to you,
Because of Yahweh your God, even the Holy One of Israel;
For He has (BE)adorned you with beautiful glory.”
6 (BF)Seek Yahweh while He may be found;
(BG)Call upon Him while He is near.
7 (BH)Let the wicked forsake his way
And the unrighteous man his (BI)thoughts;
And let him (BJ)return to Yahweh,
And He will have (BK)compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will (BL)abundantly pardon.
8 “For My thoughts are not (BM)your thoughts,
Nor are (BN)your ways My ways,” declares Yahweh.
9 “For (BO)as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the (BP)rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth
And making it bear and sprout,
And giving (BQ)seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 So will My (BR)word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will (BS)not return to Me empty,
Without (BT)accomplishing what pleases Me,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
12 For you will go out with (BU)gladness
And be led forth with (BV)peace;
The (BW)mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
And all the (BX)trees of the field will clap their hands.
13 Instead of the (BY)thorn bush the (BZ)cypress will come up,
And instead of the (CA)nettle the myrtle will come up,
And [q]it will be to Yahweh for His [r](CB)renown,
For an everlasting (CC)sign which (CD)will not be cut off.”
Salvation for the Foreigner
56 Thus says Yahweh,
“(CE)Keep justice and do righteousness,
For My (CF)salvation is about to come
And My righteousness to be revealed.
2 How (CG)blessed is the man who does this,
And the son of man who (CH)takes hold of it,
Who (CI)keeps from profaning the sabbath,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3 Let not the (CJ)foreigner who has joined himself to Yahweh say,
“Yahweh will surely separate me from His people.”
Nor let the (CK)eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”
4 For thus says Yahweh,
“To the eunuchs who (CL)keep My sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And (CM)hold fast My covenant,
5 To them I will give in My (CN)house and within My (CO)walls a [s]memorial,
And a name better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give [t]them an everlasting (CP)name which (CQ)will not be cut off.
6 “Also the (CR)foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh,
To minister to Him, and to love the name of Yahweh,
To be His [u]slaves, every one who (CS)keeps from profaning the sabbath
And takes hold of My covenant,
7 Even (CT)those I will bring to My (CU)holy mountain
And (CV)make them glad in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on (CW)My altar;
For (CX)My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”
8 Lord Yahweh, who (CY)gathers the banished of Israel, declares,
“Yet (CZ)others I will gather to [v]them, to those already gathered.”
9 All you (DA)beasts of the field,
All you beasts in the forest,
Come to eat.
10 His (DB)watchmen are (DC)blind;
All of them know nothing.
All of them are mute dogs unable to bark,
[w]Dreamers lying down, who love to slumber;
11 And the dogs have a (DD)strong [x]appetite; they do not know satisfaction.
And they are shepherds who (DE)do not know understanding;
They have all (DF)turned to their own way,
Each one to his greedy gain, to the last one.
12 “Come,” they say, “let [y]us take (DG)wine, and let us drink heavily of strong drink;
And (DH)tomorrow will be like today—[z]beyond exceedingly great.”
Evil Leaders Rebuked
57 The righteous man perishes, and no man (DI)puts it upon his heart;
And men of lovingkindness are gathered away, while no one understands.
For the righteous man is gathered away from (DJ)evil,
2 He enters into peace;
They rest in their [aa]beds,
Each one who (DK)walked in his upright way.
3 “But draw near, you sons of a (DL)soothsayer,
(DM)Seed of an adulterer and [ab]a (DN)prostitute.
4 Against whom do you jest?
Against whom do you open wide your mouth
And stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of (DO)transgression,
Seed of lying,
5 Who inflame yourselves among the [ac](DP)oaks,
(DQ)Under every green tree,
Who (DR)slaughter the children in the [ad]ravines,
Under the clefts of the cliffs?
6 Among the [ae](DS)smooth stones of the [af]ravine
Is your portion, [ag]they are your lot;
Even to them you have (DT)poured out a drink offering;
You have made a grain offering.
Shall I [ah](DU)relent concerning these things?
7 Upon a mountain (DV)lofty and lifted up
You have (DW)made your bed.
You also went up there to offer sacrifice.
8 Behind the door and the doorpost
You have set up your memorial;
Indeed, far removed from Me, you have (DX)uncovered yourself,
And have gone up and made your bed wide,
And you have cut a covenant for yourself with them;
You have loved their [ai]bed;
You have looked on their [aj]manhood.
9 You have journeyed to the king with oil
And increased your perfumes;
You have (DY)sent your envoys a great distance
And made them go down to Sheol.
10 You were tired out by the length of your road,
Yet you did not say, ‘(DZ)It is hopeless.’
You found [ak]renewed strength;
Therefore you did not [al]faint.
11 “Of (EA)whom were you anxious and fearful
When you lied and did (EB)not remember Me,
Nor even (EC)put Me upon your heart?
Was I not silent even for a long time
So you do not fear Me?
12 I will (ED)declare your righteousness and your (EE)deeds,
But they will not profit you.
13 When you cry out, (EF)let your collection of idols deliver you.
But the wind will lift all of them up,
And a breath will take them away.
But he who (EG)takes refuge in Me will (EH)inherit the land
And will (EI)possess My holy mountain.”
Yahweh Revives the Spirit of the Lowly
14 And it will be said,
“(EJ)Build up, build up, prepare the way,
[am]Remove every stumbling block out of the way of My people.”
15 For thus says the One (EK)high and lifted up
Who (EL)dwells forever, whose name is Holy,
“I (EM)dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the (EN)crushed and lowly of spirit
In order to (EO)revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the crushed.
16 For I will (EP)not contend forever,
(EQ)Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would grow faint before Me,
And the (ER)breath of those whom I have made.
17 Because of the iniquity of his (ES)greedy gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on (ET)turning away, in the way of his heart.
18 I have seen his ways, but I will (EU)heal him;
I will (EV)lead him and (EW)pay him and his mourners in full with comfort,
19 Creating the [an](EX)praise of the lips.
(EY)Peace, peace to him who is (EZ)far and to him who is near,”
Says Yahweh, “and I will heal him.”
20 But the (FA)wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up refuse and mud.
21 “(FB)There is no peace,” says (FC)my God, “for the wicked.”
Fasting as Yahweh Chooses
58 “(FD)Call out from your throat, do not hold back;
Raise your voice like a trumpet,
And declare to My people their (FE)transgression
And to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they (FF)seek Me day by day and find pleasure in knowing My ways,
As a nation that has done (FG)righteousness
And (FH)has not forsaken the judgment of their God.
They ask Me for righteous judgments;
They find pleasure in (FI)the nearness of God.
3 ‘Why have we (FJ)fasted and You do not see?
Why have we afflicted our souls and You do not know?’
Behold, on the (FK)day of your fast you find your desire,
And oppress all your workers.
4 Behold, you fast for contention and (FL)quarreling and to strike with a wicked fist.
You do not fast like you do today to (FM)make your voice heard on high.
5 Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to afflict himself?
Is it for bowing [ao]one’s head like a reed
And for spreading out (FN)sackcloth and ashes as a bed?
Will you call this a fast, even an (FO)acceptable day to Yahweh?
6 Is this not the fast which I choose,
To (FP)loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To release the bands of [ap]the yoke,
And to (FQ)let the oppressed go free
And (FR)break every [aq]yoke?
7 Is it not to (FS)divide your bread [ar]with the hungry
And (FT)bring the afflicted homeless into the house;
When you see the (FU)naked, you cover him;
And not to (FV)hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then your (FW)light will break out like the dawn,
And your (FX)recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your (FY)righteousness will go before you;
The glory of (FZ)Yahweh will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will (GA)call, and Yahweh will answer;
You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you (GB)remove the [as]yoke from your midst,
The [at](GC)pointing of the finger and (GD)speaking wickedness,
10 And if you [au](GE)offer your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the soul of the afflicted,
Then your (GF)light will rise in darkness
And your thick darkness will become like midday.
11 And (GG)Yahweh will continually guide you,
And (GH)satisfy your soul in scorched places,
And (GI)fortify your bones;
And you will be like a (GJ)watered garden,
And like a (GK)spring of water whose waters do not [av]fail.
12 Those from among you will (GL)rebuild the ancient waste places;
You will (GM)raise up the foundations of past generation upon generation;
And you will be called the repairer of the (GN)breach,
The restorer of the paths for one to inhabit.
Keeping the Sabbath
13 “If because of the sabbath, you (GO)turn your foot
From doing your own desire on My holy day,
And call the sabbath a (GP)delight, the holy day of Yahweh honorable,
And honor it, by not doing your (GQ)own ways,
By not finding your own desire
And (GR)speaking your own word,
14 Then you will take (GS)delight in Yahweh,
And I will make you ride (GT)on the heights of the earth;
And I will feed you with the inheritance of Jacob your father,
For the (GU)mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”
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