53 Who has believed our message,

and to whom has the arm of Yahweh been revealed?

2 Fora he wentb up like a shoot before him,

and like a root from dry ground.

He had no form and no majesty thatc we should see him,

and no appearance thatd we should take pleasure in him.

3 He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of suffering, and acquainted withe sickness,

and like ⌊one from whom others hide their faces⌋,f he was despised,

and we did not hold him in high regard.

4 However, he was the one who lifted up our sicknesses,

and he carried our pain,

yetg we ourselves assumed him stricken,

struck down by God and afflicted.

5 Buth he was piercedi for our transgressions,

crushed because of our iniquities;

the chastisement forj our peacek was upon him,

and by his woundsl ⌊we were healed⌋.m

6 All of us have wandered about like sheep;

we each have turned to his own way;

and Yahweh let fall on him

the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,

yetn he did not open his mouth;

he was brought like a lamb to the slaughter,

and like a sheep is dumb before its shearers,

soo he did not open his mouth.

8 He was taken by restraint of justice,

and who concerned himself with his generation?

For he was cut off from the land of the living;

he received a blow because of the transgression of my people.

9 He madep his grave with the wicked,

and with the rich in his death,

although he had done no violence,

and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10 Yetq Yahweh was pleased to crush him;

he ⌊made him sick⌋.r

If hes placest his life a guilt offering,u

he will see offspring.

He will prolong days,

and the will of Yahweh will succeed in his hand.

11 From the trouble of his lifev he will see;w

he will be satisfied.

In his knowledge, the righteous one, my servant, shall declare many righteous,x

and he is the one who will bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore, I will divide to him a portion among the many,y

and with the strong ones he will divide bounty,

⌊because⌋z he poured his life out to death

and was counted with the transgressors;

anda he was the one who bore the sin of many

and will intercede for the transgressors.

The Fertile Wife of Yahweh

54 “Sing for joy, barren woman; who has not borne!

Burst forth into rejoicing and rejoice, she who has not been in labor!

For the children of the desolate woman are more than the children of the married woman,” says Yahweh.

2 “Enlarge the site of your tent,

and let them stretch out the tent curtains of your dwelling place.

You must not spare; make your tent cords long

and strengthen your pegs,

3 for you will spread out to the right and to the left.

And your descendantsa will be heir to the nations,

and they will inhabit desolate towns.

4 You must not fear, for you will not be ashamed,

and you must not be confounded, for you will not feel abashed,

for you will forget the shame of your youth,

and you will no longer remember the disgrace of your widowhood.

5 For your husbandb is your maker,c his name is Yahweh of hosts;

and your redeemer is the holy one of Israel, he is called the God of all of the earth.

6 For Yahweh has called you like a wife forsaken and hurt of spirit,

liked the wife of childhood when she is rejected, says your God.

7 I abandoned you ⌊for a short⌋e moment,

butf I will gather you with great compassion.

8 I hid my face from you for a moment, in the flowing of anger,

butg I will have compassion on you with everlasting faithfulness” says your redeemer, Yahweh.

9 “For this is like the waters of Noah to me,

when I swore ⌊that the waters of Noah would never again pass⌋h over the earth,

so I swore ⌊that I would not be⌋i angry at you and rebuke you.

10 For the mountains may depart,

and the hills may sway,

butj my faithfulness shall not depart from you,

and my covenant of peace shall not sway,”

says Yahweh, who has compassion on you,

11 “O afflicted one, driven away, who is not consoled.

Look! I am about to set your stones in hard mortar,

and I will lay your foundation with sapphires.

12 And I will ⌊make⌋k your battlements of ruby,

and your gates of stones of beryl,

and all your wall of precious stones.

13 And all your children shall be pupils of Yahweh,

and the peace of your children shall be great.

14 In righteousness you shall be established.

Be far from oppression, for you shall not fear,

and from terror, for it shall not come near you.

15 If indeed one attacks, it is not from me;

whoever attacks you shall fall because of you.

16 Look! I myself have created the craftsman who blowsl the fire of coals,

and who producesm a weapon for his work;

alson I myself have created the destroyer to destroy.

17 Every weapon formed against you shall not succeed,

and you shall declare guilty every tongue that rises against you for judgment.

This is the inheritance of the servants of Yahweh,

and their ⌊legal right⌋o from me,”

⌊declares⌋p Yahweh.

Invitation to True Rewards

55 “Ho! Everyone thirsty, come to the waters!

And whoever has no money, come, buy and eat,

and come, buy without money,

wine and milk without price!

2 Why do you weigh out money for what is not food,

and your labor for ⌊what cannot satisfy⌋?a

Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,

and let your soul take pleasure in ⌊rich⌋b food.

3 Extend your ear, and come to me!

Listen so thatc your soul may live,

and I will ⌊make⌋d an everlasting covenant withe you,

the enduring proofs of ⌊the mercies shown to⌋f David.

4 Look! I madeg him a witness to the peoples,

a leader and a commander for the peoples.

5 Look! You shall call a nation that you do not know,

and a nation that does not know you shall run to you,

because of Yahweh your God,

and the holy one of Israel, for he has glorified you.”

6 Seek Yahweh ⌊while he lets himself be found⌋;h

call him ⌊while he is⌋i near.

7 Let the wicked forsake his way,

and the man of sin his thoughts.

And let him return to Yahweh, thatj he may take pity on him,

and to our God, for he will ⌊forgive manifold⌋.k

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

and your ways are not my ways,”

⌊declares⌋l Yahweh.

9 “For as the heavens are ⌊higher⌋m than the earth,

so my ways are ⌊higher⌋n than your ways,

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10 For just as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,

and they do not return there

except they have watered the earth thoroughly

and cause it to bring forth and sprout,

and give seed to the sower

and bread to the eater,

11 so shall be my word that goes out from my mouth.

It shall not return to me without success,

but shall accomplisho what I desire

and be successful in the thing for which I sent it.

12 For you shall go out in joy,

and you shall be led in peace.

The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you, rejoicing

and all the trees of the field shall clap hands.p

13 Instead of the thorn bush, the juniper shall go up;

instead of the brier, the myrtle shall go up,

and it shall serve as a memorial to Yahweh,

for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

Salvation for All Who Obey

56 Thus says Yahweh:

“Observe justice

and do righteousness,

for my salvation is close to coming,

and my justice to being revealed.

2 Happy is the man who does this,

and the son of humankind who keeps hold of it,

who keeps the Sabbath ⌊so as not to profane⌋a it,

and who keeps his hand from doing anyb evil.”

3 And do not let the ⌊foreigner⌋c who joins himself to Yahweh say, “Surely Yahweh will separate me from his people.”

And do not let the eunuch say, “Look! I am a dry tree!”

4 For thus says Yahweh, “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,

and choose that in which I delight,

and who keep hold of my covenant.

5 And I will give them a monument and a name in my house and within my walls,

better than sons and daughters;

I will give him an everlasting name

that shall not be cut off.

6 And the ⌊foreigners⌋d who join themselves to Yahweh to serve him

and to love the name of Yahweh, to become his servants,

every one who keeps the Sabbath, ⌊so as not to profane⌋e it,

and those who keep hold of my covenant,

7 I will bring them to ⌊my holy mountain⌋;f

I will make them merry in my house of prayer.

their burnt offerings and their sacrifices ⌊will be accepted⌋g on my altar,

for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples,”

8 ⌊declares⌋h the Lord Yahweh, who gathersi the scattered ones of Israel (still I will gather toj him, to his gathered ones).

Wicked Leaders

9 All wild animals in the field, come,

to devour,k all wild animals in the forest!

10 His watchmen are blind,

none of them know.

They are all dumb dogs;

they are unable to bark,

panting, lying down,

loving to slumber.

11 And the dogs ⌊have a greedy appetite⌋;l

they ⌊are never satisfied⌋.m

And they are the shepherds!

They do not haven understanding.

They all turn to their own way,

each one for his own gain, ⌊every one of them⌋.o

12 “Come, let me take wine,

and let us carouse with intoxicating drink,

and tomorrow will be like today,

⌊very great indeed⌋.”p

Idolatry is Adultery

57 The righteous one perishes, and there is no one who takesa it to heart.

And men of faithfulness are gathered, while there is no one who understands,

for the righteous is gathered from the presence of wickedness.

2 he enters into peace;

they will rest on their beds,

walking straight ahead of him.

3 “Butb you, come near here, you children of a soothsayer,

offspring of an adulterer and she who commits fornication.

4 At whom do you make fun?

At whom do you ⌊open⌋c your mouth and ⌊stick out⌋d your tongue?

Are you not children of transgression,

offspring of deception,

5 who burn with lust among the oaks,

under every leafy tree,

who slaughter children in the valleys,

under the clefts of the rocks?

6 Your portion is among the smooth stones of the valley;

they, they are your lot;

indeed, to them you have poured out a drink offering,

you have brought a food offering.

Shall I relent concerning these things?

7 You have set your bed upon a high and lofty mountain;

indeed, you went up there to slaughter sacrifice.

8 And you have set your symbol behind the door and the doorpost;

for you departe from me, and you go up;

you make your bed wide, and you ⌊make a deal with⌋f them,

you have loved their bed; you have seen their ⌊genitals⌋.g

9 And you climbed down to the king with oil,

and you made your perfumes numerous,

and you sent your envoys ⌊far away⌋,h

and you ⌊sent down deep⌋i to Sheol.

10 You grow weary by the greatness of your way,

but you did not say, ‘Despairing!’

You found the ⌊renewal⌋j of your ⌊strength⌋,k

therefore you do not grow weak.

11 And of whom were you afraid and feared, that you deceived

and did not remember me?

Did you not place it on your heart?

Have I not been silent, even from long ago,

and so you do not fear me?

12 I myself will declare your righteousness and your works,

butl they will not benefit you.

13 When ⌊you cry⌋,m let your collection deliver you,

and the wind will carry all of them away;

a breath will take them away.

Butn he who takes refuge in me shall take possession of the land,

and he shall inherit my ⌊holy mountain⌋.”o

Peace for the Contrite

14 And one shall say, “Build up, build up! Clear the way!

Remove the obstaclesp from the way of my people!”

15 For thus says the high and lofty one who resides forever, and whose name is holy:

“I reside in a high and holy place,

and with the ⌊contrite⌋q and humble of spirit,

to revive the spirit of the humble,

and to revive the heart of the ⌊contrite⌋.r

16 For I will not attack forever,

and I will not be angry forever,

for the spirit will grow faint before me,

and the breaths that I myself I have made.

17 I was angry because of his sin of gain, and I struck him;

I hid and I was angry, buts he walked apostate, in the wayst of his heart.

18 I have seen his ways, butu I will heal him;

and I will lead him and give him and his mourners comfort as a recompense,

19 creating fruit of lips.

Peace, peace to the far and near,” says Yahweh, “and I will heal him.

20 Butv the wicked are like the churning sea,

that is not able to keep quiet,

and its waters toss up mire and mud.

21 There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”