Chronological
God's promises to his people
40 Your God says, ‘Comfort my people.
Yes, comfort them.
2 Speak kindly to the people in Jerusalem.
Tell them that their time of trouble has now finished.
Their punishment has been enough.
The Lord has made them pay for their sins.
He has made them pay twice.’
3 Somebody's voice is shouting,
‘Prepare a way in the wilderness for the Lord.
Make a straight road in the desert for our God.
4 Raise up every valley,
and bring down every mountain and hill.
The rough ground and the ground that has rocks
will become flat.
5 Then the great glory of the Lord will appear!
All people will see it at the same time.
The Lord himself has promised this.’
6 A voice is saying, ‘Shout!’
But I say, ‘What should I shout?’
‘Shout that all people are like grass.
Their promises are like the flowers in a field.
7 Grass quickly dies,
and flowers fall to the ground.
The Lord causes this to happen,
when he sends a wind to blow on them.
It is true. People are like grass.
8 Grass quickly dies,
and flowers fall to the ground.
But God's promise will be true for ever.’
9 Zion, you have good news to tell to people!
So go up onto a high mountain.
Yes, Jerusalem, shout the good news!
Shout aloud, and do not be afraid.
Say to the towns in Judah, ‘Here is your God!’
10 Look! The Almighty Lord is coming with power.
He will use his great strength to rule the people.
Look again! He is bringing his gifts with him.
He brings the prize that he has won in battle.
11 He takes care of his people,
like a shepherd who takes care of his sheep.[a]
He picks up the young lambs
and he carries them near to his heart.
He carefully leads the mother sheep that have lambs.
12 Nobody has done what God has done!
He measured all the water of the seas in one hand.
He used his hand to measure the whole sky.
He carefully weighed the soil of the earth.
He carefully weighed the mountains in his scales,
and the hills too.
13 Nobody understands the mind of the Lord.
Nobody can be his advisor,
to tell him what he should do.
14 He does not ask anyone to be his guide.
Nobody can teach him the proper way to do things.
Nobody can give him knowledge.
Nobody can teach him how to understand things.
15 The Lord looks at the nations
as if they are a little bit of water in a bucket.
They are like dust on his scales.
He weighs the islands as he would weigh dust.
16 All the trees from Lebanon's forests are not enough
to make a fire for his altar.
All its animals are not enough to offer to him
as burnt offerings.
17 All the nations in the world are not important to the Lord.
He sees them as empty and useless.
18 You cannot find anyone else who is like God.
There is no image that you can make to be like him.
19 A worker may use special skill to make an idol.
Another worker may cover it with gold.
He may use silver chains to make it beautiful.
20 A poor person may choose special wood for his idol.
He chooses wood that will not quickly become spoiled.
Then he finds a worker to make an idol for him.
He makes it so that it will not fall over!
21 You must surely know what is true!
You must have heard about it.
Somebody must have told you these things
from the beginning.
You should have understood it all
since the time that God made the earth.
22 God sits high above on his throne
where the earth and the sky meet.
The people on the earth seem like grasshoppers to him.
He hangs out the sky like a curtain.
He makes it like a tent for him to live in.
23 He takes away the power of kings.
He causes the rulers of the world to be useless.
24 They are like plants that soon disappear.
Somebody plants them in the ground.
But while their roots are still growing into the soil,
God blows on them and they become dry.
Then the wind carries them away like straw.
25 The Holy God says,
‘You cannot find anyone who is like me.
Nobody is the same as me.’
26 Look up at the sky!
Think about the one who made all the stars.
God is the one who brought together that great army!
He knows how many they are
and he knows each of their names!
When he calls them, each one is there,
because he is so strong and powerful.
27 You Israelites, descendants of Jacob, say,
‘The Lord does not know about our troubles.
He does not bring justice to us.’
Why do you say that?
28 You must surely know what is true!
You must have heard about it.
The Lord is the God who lives for ever.
He made the whole earth, near and far.
He never becomes tired or weak.
He knows and he understands everything.
29 He makes tired people strong again.
When people have become weak,
he gives them more strength.
30 Even young people become tired and weak.
Even strong young men may slip and fall down.
31 But people who wait for the Lord to help them
will receive new strength.
They will rise up high,
as if they have the wings of eagles.
They will run and they will not become tired.
They will walk and they will not become weak.
God judges the nations
41 ‘You islands, be quiet as you listen to me.
The nations need to come and stand in front of me.
So they must be brave and speak to me.
We must meet together to decide who is right.
2 Tell me, who has woken up that king in the east?
Who has chosen that king to serve him?
He has given that king power over many nations,
so that the kings of those nations must obey him.
He uses that king's weapons to destroy other nations.
He blows them away like dust or straw.
3 That king chases quickly after them,
and nothing hurts him.
His feet do not seem to touch the ground!
4 Tell me, who has caused these things to happen?
Who has decided what should happen,
from the beginning, century after century?
It is I, the Lord!
I was there at the beginning,
and I will always be there, through to the end.
5 The people on the islands see what I am doing,
and they are afraid.
People all over the world shake with fear.
They join together and they come near.
6 They help each other,
and they say to one another, “Be strong!” ’
7 The man who makes things with wood speaks to the man who works with gold and the man who works with iron. They help each other to work well. They say, ‘We have done a good job.’ Then they use nails to fix the idol that they have made, so that it does not fall over!
8 ‘But you, Israel, are my servant.
Yes, I have chosen you, descendants of Jacob.
You are descendants of my friend, Abraham.
9 I led you back from the ends of the earth.
I called you to come from places far away.
I have said to you, “You are my servant.
I have chosen you. I have not thrown you away.
10 I am with you,
so do not be afraid.
I am your God,
so do not be upset.
I will make you strong
and I will help you.
My powerful right hand will keep you safe.”
11 Listen to this! Everyone who has been angry with you
will now become completely ashamed.
Those who have attacked you will disappear and die.
12 Even if you look for your enemies,
you will not find them.
They will all disappear!
13 Yes, I am the Lord, your God.
I will hold on to your right hand.
I say to you, “Do not be afraid. I will help you.”
14 Do not be afraid, you Israelites, descendants of Jacob.
You may seem unimportant, like a worm,
but I myself will help you.’
That is what the Lord says.
He is your Redeemer, the Holy God of Israel.
15 ‘Look at this! I will cause you to destroy your enemies,
like a heavy weight that threshes grain.[b]
You will have new sharp metal points that are like teeth.
You will thresh the mountains
and you will break them into pieces.
You will make the hills become like straw.
16 You will throw them into the air,
and the wind will blow them away in all directions!
You will be happy with what the Lord has done for you.
You will boast that the Holy God of Israel is your God.
17 Poor and helpless people look for water to drink,
but there is none.
They are so thirsty that their tongues are dry.
But I, the Lord, will answer their prayers.
I, the God of Israel, will not leave them alone.
18 I will make rivers run over the dry hills.
I will make springs of water in the valleys.
I will make pools of water in the desert.
The dry land will become a place of streams.
19 Many trees will grow in the wilderness.
Cedar, acacia, myrtle and olive trees will grow there.
In the dry valleys
there will be pine, fir and cypress trees.[c]
20 I will do this so that people see it happen.
They will watch carefully and they will understand.
They will know that the Lord's power
has caused it to happen.
They will know that the Holy God of Israel
has created it.’
False gods have no power
21 The Lord, Israel's King, says,
‘Come and show me what you can do!
Tell me clearly what power you have!
22 Bring your idols into court.
Let them tell us what will happen in future years.
Let them tell us what happened in the past.
Then we can think about those things.
We will understand what happened in the end.
Or ask them to tell us about future events!
23 If they can tell us what will happen in future years,
we will know that they really are gods.
Tell them to do something,
a good thing or a bad thing.
That would really surprise us,
or even frighten us!
24 But no! Your idols are useless.
There is nothing that they can do.
Anybody who chooses to worship them
has turned against God!
25 I have woken up a ruler,
who is coming with his army from the north.
He comes from a land in the east, where the sun rises,
and he will use my name to call to me.
He will walk over rulers of other nations
as if they are mud.
He will push them down with his feet,
like a potter who prepares his clay.
26 Tell me, who decided in the beginning,
that all these things must happen?
Who told us about them before they happened?
Then we could say, “He was right!”
None of your idols said anything about it!
Nobody heard them say a word!
27 I, the Lord, was the first person
to tell the good news to Zion.
I sent someone to Jerusalem to say,
“Look, they have arrived!”
28 I looked among your idols,
to see who might be a good advisor.
But none of them could help.
None of them could answer my questions.
29 Look! All the idols are useless.
They can do nothing.
Their images are as weak as a breath of wind.’
The Lord's special Servant[d]
42 ‘Here is my servant.
I give him strength.
I have chosen him.
He makes me very happy.
I have put my Spirit on him.
He will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry out.
He will not shout.
He will not speak loudly in the streets.
3 He will not hurt weak people,
like someone who breaks a weak reed.
He will not destroy helpless people,
like someone who puts out a weak flame.
He will be kind to people,
and he will judge them in a fair way.
4 He will remain strong and brave,
until he brings justice to the whole world.
People who are in lands far away
will wait for him to teach them.’
5 The Lord is God. He is the God who created the sky. He hung it up like a curtain. He created the earth and everything that lives on it. He gives life and breath to all the people who live on it. The Lord says to his servant:
6 ‘I have chosen you to bring righteousness.
I will take hold of your hand,
and I will keep you safe.
Through you, I will make a covenant with my people,
and you will bring light to the other nations.
7 You will cause blind people to see.
You will cause prisoners to be free.
You will bring out into the open
people who sit in dark prisons.
8 I am the Lord. That is my name.
I will not let anyone else share my glory.
I will not let people praise idols.
I am the only one that they must praise.
9 Everything that I promised in the past has happened
as I said that it would happen.
Now I will tell you about new things.
Before they start to happen,
I will tell you about them.’
10 Sing a new song to the Lord!
All over the earth, people should praise him.
Praise him, you people who travel over the sea
and everything that lives in the sea.
Praise him, you people who live in lands far away.
11 People who live in the towns of the desert
should shout aloud to praise him.
Kedar's people should praise him
in the places where they live.
The people who live in Sela should sing aloud with joy.
They should shout from the tops of the mountains.
12 They should all honour the Lord
as he deserves.
Those who live in lands far away
should praise him for what he has done.
13 The Lord marches out to battle,
like a brave soldier.
He is angry with his enemies,
and he is ready to attack them.
He shouts loudly as he attacks,
and he shows his power over them.
14 The Lord says,
‘I have been quiet for a long time.
I have held back my anger.
But now I am ready to deliver!
I will cry out and shout and groan,
like a woman who is ready to give birth.
15 I will destroy the mountains and the hills.
I will cause the plants that grow on them to die.
I will cause the rivers to become dry islands.
I will cause the pools of water to become dry.
16 I will lead my blind people
along ways that they did not know before.
I will be their guide,
as they walk along paths that are new to them.
I will change the dark places that are in front of them,
so that they become places with light.
And I will cause the rough ground to become flat.
Those are the things that I will do for them.
I will not leave my people alone.
17 But I will push away people who trust idols to help them.
Those people will become ashamed.
They say to images that they have made,
“You are our gods.”
18 Listen to me, you deaf people!
Look at this, you blind people!
19 Who is blind?
Nobody is as blind as my servant.[e]
Who is deaf?
Nobody is as deaf as the one who takes my message.
The people that I agreed a covenant with are blind!
Yes, the servant of the Lord is truly blind!
20 You Israelites have seen many things,
but you do not understand them.
You have opened your ears to listen,
but you have not really heard anything.’
21 The Lord always does what is right. So he has made his law great and important. He is happy when people respect his law.
22 But enemies have robbed God's people and they have taken away all their valuable things. Their enemies have caught them in traps and they have made them prisoners. There is nobody who will rescue them. Their enemies have stored them safely, and nobody says, ‘Send them back.’
23 Will any of you listen to my message?
Will you think carefully about it in the future?
24 Who put Jacob's descendants
under the power of their enemies?
Who gave the Israelites
to people who would rob them?
It was the Lord!
He is the one that we have not obeyed.
His people did not live in the way that he wanted.
They did not obey his law.
25 So the Lord was very angry with them.
He punished them with a cruel war.
His anger was like a fire all round them,
but they did not understand what he was doing.
His anger burned them,
but they did not learn their lesson.
God redeems Israel
43 Israelites, descendants of Jacob, the Lord created you, and he made you who you are. Now he says this to you:
‘Do not be afraid,
I have rescued you to belong to me.
I have called you by your name,
so now you are mine.
2 When you go through deep water,
I will be with you.
When you cross dangerous rivers,
you will not drown.
When you walk through fire,
it will not burn you.
The flames will not destroy you.[f]
3 I am the Lord, your God,
so I will rescue you.
I am Israel's Holy God, your Saviour.
I gave Egypt as the price to buy you back.
I gave Ethiopia and Seba to their enemies,
so that you could be free.
4 You are very valuable to me.
You are my special people, and I love you.
So I will give other people to their enemies,
to keep your lives safe.
Other nations will pay the price,
instead of you.
5 I am with you,
so do not be afraid.
I will bring your descendants from the east.
I will also bring you together from the west.
6 I will say to people in the north,
“Give them back!”
And I will say to people in the south,
“Do not stop them!”
Bring my sons from places that are far away.
Bring my daughters from the ends of the earth.
7 Bring back everyone who belongs to me.
I created them,
so that they would bring honour to me.
I made them who they are.
Yes, I made them!
8 So bring the people to me.
They have eyes, but they are blind!
They have ears, but they are deaf!
9 Tell the people of all nations to come together.
Did any of their gods tell us what would happen?
If anyone heard them speak the truth,
they should bring those people to this court.
Then they can tell us that they were right.
People could say, “They spoke the truth.” ’
10 The Lord says to his people,
‘You are the people who must say that I am right.
I have chosen you as my servant.
I chose you so that you may know me,
and also believe in me.
Then you would understand that I am the true God.
There has never been any other god except me,
and there never will be.
11 I am the Lord, I alone.
There is no other saviour, except me.
12 I promised to save you,
and I did what I said I would do.
I told everyone what I had done.
There was no foreign god among you,
who did that for you.
So you are the people who must say
that I am the only true God.’
That is what the Lord says.
13 ‘Today and every day, I am God.
If I hold you in my hand,
nobody can take you away from my power.
When I do something,
nobody can change it.’
14 The Lord is your Redeemer, Israel's Holy God. He says this:
‘I will send an army to attack Babylon,
so that you, my people, will be safe.
I will cause all the Babylonians to run away.
They were proud of their great ships,
but now they will use them to escape from their enemies.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy God.
I am the one who created Israel.
I am your King.’
16 The Lord is the one who made a road through the sea for you to cross. You went on a dry path in the middle of the deep water. 17 He led the enemy's great army, with their chariots and their horses, to chase you. They all fell down and the water drowned them. Their lives finished, like the flame of a lamp that stops burning.
18 The Lord did all that for you, but now he says,
‘Forget those things that happened a long time ago.
Do not think about past events.
19 Look! Now I will do something that is new!
It is already beginning to happen.
Surely, you can recognize it.
Yes, I will make a road through the desert.
I will make streams in the wilderness.
20 The wild animals in the desert praise me,
including the jackals and the owls.
They praise me because I put water in the desert,
and streams in the wilderness.
I am giving water to the people that I have chosen,
so that they will not be thirsty.
21 They are the people that I made for myself,
so that they would praise me aloud.
22 But you Israelites, Jacob's descendants,
you did not call to me to help you.
You became tired of serving me.
23 You did not bring sheep to me as burnt offerings.
You did not make sacrifices to me,
to show that you respect me.
I did not make it difficult for you,
when I asked you to bring offerings to me.
When I asked you to burn incense to worship me,
that should not have made you tired.
24 You did not buy any spices
to offer them to me.
You did not bring me the fat from your sacrifices
to make me happy.
Instead, you have made it difficult for me,
because of all your sins.
All the evil things that you do
have caused me to become very tired.
25 But I am the one who removes your sins
when you do not obey me.
I, the Lord, do that, because of who I am.
I do not hold your sins in my mind.
26 So let us talk together about what has happened.
Show me why you think that you are right!
27 Your first ancestor did not obey me.[g]
Your leaders and teachers turned against me.
28 So I caused the priests of your temple
to become ashamed.
I caused enemies to destroy Israel.
I let them insult Jacob's descendants.’
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