Chapter 42

God’s Promise concerning His Servant

1 “aBehold, My bServant, whom I 1uphold;

My cchosen one in whom My dsoul delights.

I have put My eSpirit upon Him;

He will bring forth fjustice to the 2nations.

2 “He will not cry out or raise His voice,

Nor make His voice heard in the street.

3 “A bruised reed He will not break

And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;

He will faithfully bring forth ajustice.

4 “He will not be adisheartened or crushed

Until He has established justice in the earth;

And the bcoastlands will wait expectantly for His 1law.”

5 Thus says God the Lord,

Who acreated the heavens and bstretched them out,

Who spread out the cearth and its 1offspring,

Who dgives breath to the people on it

And spirit to those who walk in it,

6 “I am the Lord, I have acalled You in righteousness,

I will also bhold You by the hand and cwatch over You,

And I will appoint You as a dcovenant to the people,

As a elight to the nations,

7 To aopen blind eyes,

To bbring out prisoners from the dungeon

And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.

8 “aI am the Lord, that is bMy name;

I will not give My cglory to another,

Nor My praise to 1graven images.

9 “Behold, the aformer things have come to pass,

Now I declare bnew things;

Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”

10 Sing to the Lord a anew song,

Sing His praise from the bend of the earth!

cYou who go down to the sea, and dall that is in it.

You eislands, and those who dwell on them.

11 Let the awilderness and its cities lift up their voices,

The settlements where bKedar inhabits.

Let the inhabitants of cSela sing aloud,

Let them shout for joy from the tops of the dmountains.

12 Let them agive glory to the Lord

And declare His praise in the bcoastlands.

13 aThe Lord will go forth like a warrior,

He will arouse His bzeal like a man of war.

He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry.

He will cprevail against His enemies.

The Blindness of the People

14 “aI have kept silent for a long time,

I have kept still and restrained Myself.

Now like a woman in labor I will groan,

I will both gasp and pant.

15 “I will alay waste the mountains and hills

And wither all their vegetation;

I will bmake the rivers into coastlands

And dry up the ponds.

16 “I will alead the blind by a way they do not know,

In paths they do not know I will guide them.

I will bmake darkness into light before them

And crugged places into plains.

These are the things I will do,

And I will dnot leave them undone.”

17 They will be turned back and be autterly put to shame,

Who trust in 1idols,

Who say to molten images,

“You are our gods.”

18 aHear, you deaf!

And look, you blind, that you may see.

19 Who is blind but My aservant,

Or so deaf as My bmessenger whom I send?

Who is so blind as he that is 1cat peace with Me,

Or so blind as the servant of the Lord?

20 aYou have seen many things, but you do not observe them;

Your ears are open, but none hears.

21 The Lord was pleased for His righteousness’ sake

To make the law agreat and glorious.

22 But this is a people plundered and despoiled;

All of them are atrapped in 1caves,

Or are bhidden away in prisons;

They have become a prey with none to deliver them,

And a spoil, with none to say, “Give them back!”

23 Who among you will give ear to this?

Who will give heed and listen hereafter?

24 Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to plunderers?

Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned,

And in whose ways they awere not willing to walk,

And whose law they did not bobey?

25 So He poured out on him the heat of His anger

And the afierceness of battle;

And it set him aflame all around,

Yet he did not recognize it;

And it burned him, but he 1bpaid no attention.

Chapter 43

Israel Redeemed

1 But now, thus says the Lord, your aCreator, O Jacob,

And He who bformed you, O Israel,

“Do not cfear, for I have dredeemed you;

I have ecalled you by name; you are fMine!

2 “When you apass through the waters, bI will be with you;

And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.

When you cwalk through the fire, you will not be scorched,

Nor will the flame burn you.

3 “For aI am the Lord your God,

The Holy One of Israel, your bSavior;

I have given Egypt as your ransom,

1cCush and Seba in your place.

4 “Since you are aprecious in My sight,

Since you are bhonored and I clove you,

I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.

5 “Do not fear, for aI am with you;

I will bring byour offspring from the east,

And cgather you from the west.

6 “I will say to the anorth, ‘Give them up!’

And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’

Bring My bsons from afar

And My daughters from the cends of the earth,

7 Everyone who is acalled by My name,

And whom I have bcreated for My cglory,

dWhom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

Israel Is God’s Witness

8 Bring out the people who are ablind, even though they have eyes,

And the deaf, even though they have ears.

9 All the nations have agathered together

So that the peoples may be assembled.

Who among them can bdeclare this

And proclaim to us the former things?

Let them present ctheir witnesses dthat they may be justified,

Or let them hear and say, “It is true.”

10 “You are aMy witnesses,” declares the Lord,

“And bMy servant whom I have chosen,

So that you may know and believe Me

And understand that cI am He.

dBefore Me there was no God formed,

And there will be none after Me.

11 “I, even I, am the Lord,

And there is no asavior bbesides Me.

12 “It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed,

And there was no astrange god among you;

So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,

“And I am God.

13 “Even 1afrom eternity bI am He,

And there is cnone who can deliver out of My hand;

dI act and who can reverse it?”

Babylon to Be Destroyed

14 Thus says the Lord your aRedeemer, the Holy One of Israel,

“For your sake I have sent to Babylon,

And will bring them all down as fugitives,

1Even the bChaldeans, into the cships 2in which they rejoice.

15 “I am the Lord, your Holy One,

aThe Creator of Israel, your bKing.”

16 Thus says the Lord,

Who amakes a way through the sea

And a path through the mighty waters,

17 Who brings forth the achariot and the horse,

The army and the mighty man

(They will lie down together and not rise again;

They have been bquenched and extinguished like a wick):

18 “aDo not call to mind the former things,

Or ponder things of the past.

19 “Behold, I will do something anew,

Now it will spring forth;

Will you not be aware of it?

I will even bmake a roadway in the wilderness,

Rivers in the desert.

20 “The beasts of the field will glorify Me,

The ajackals and the ostriches,

Because I have bgiven waters in the wilderness

And rivers in the desert,

To give drink to My chosen people.

21 “The people whom aI formed for Myself

bWill declare My praise.

The Shortcomings of Israel

22 “Yet you have not called on Me, O Jacob;

But you have become aweary of Me, O Israel.

23 “You have anot brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings,

Nor have you bhonored Me with your sacrifices.

I have not cburdened you with 1offerings,

Nor wearied you with dincense.

24 “You have bought Me not 1asweet cane with money,

Nor have you 2filled Me with the fat of your sacrifices;

Rather you have burdened Me with your sins,

You have bwearied Me with your iniquities.

25 “I, even I, am the one who awipes out your transgressions bfor My own sake,

And I will cnot remember your sins.

26 “1Put Me in remembrance, alet us argue our case together;

State your cause, bthat you may be proved right.

27 “Your afirst 1forefather sinned,

And your 2bspokesmen have 3transgressed against Me.

28 “So I will 1pollute the 2princes of the sanctuary,

And I will consign Jacob to the aban and Israel to brevilement.

Chapter 44

The Blessings of Israel

1 “But now listen, O Jacob, My aservant,

And Israel, whom I have chosen:

2 Thus says the Lord who made you

And aformed you from the womb, who bwill help you,

‘cDo not fear, O Jacob My servant;

And you dJeshurun whom I have chosen.

3 ‘For aI will pour out water on 1the thirsty land

And streams on the dry ground;

I will bpour out My Spirit on your coffspring

And My blessing on your descendants;

4 And they will spring up 1among the grass

Like apoplars by streams of water.’

5 “This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;

And that one 1will call on the name of Jacob;

And another will awrite 2on his hand, ‘Belonging to the Lord,’

And will name Israel’s name with honor.

6 “Thus says the Lord, the aKing of Israel and his bRedeemer, the Lord of hosts:

‘I am the cfirst and I am the last,

And there is no God dbesides Me.

7 ‘Who is like Me? aLet him proclaim and declare it;

Yes, let him recount it to Me in order,

1From the time that I established the ancient 2nation.

And let them declare to them the things that are coming

And the events that are going to take place.

8 ‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid;

aHave I not long since announced it to you and declared it?

And byou are My witnesses.

Is there any God cbesides Me,

Or is there any other dRock?

I know of none.’ ”

The Folly of Idolatry

9 Those who fashion 1a graven image are all of them futile, and their precious things are of no profit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be aput to shame.

10 Who has fashioned a god or cast 1an idol to ano profit?

11 Behold, all his companions will be aput to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them together be put to shame.

12 The aman shapes iron into a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, 1fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and 2his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary.

13 aAnother shapes wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with red chalk. He works it with planes and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of bman, so that it may sit in a chouse.

14 Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a 1cypress or an oak and 2raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow.

15 Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also makes a fire to bake bread. He also amakes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and bfalls down before it.

16 Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.”

17 But the rest of it he amakes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also bprays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god.”

18 They do not aknow, nor do they understand, for He has bsmeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend.

19 No one 1recalls, nor is there aknowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then 2I make the rest of it into an babomination, 3I fall down before a block of wood!”

20 He 1afeeds on ashes; a bdeceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver 2himself, nor say, “cIs there not a lie in my right hand?”

God Forgives and Redeems

21 “aRemember these things, O Jacob,

And Israel, for you are bMy servant;

I have formed you, you are My servant,

O Israel, you will cnot be forgotten by Me.

22 “I have awiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud

And your sins like a 1heavy mist.

bReturn to Me, for I have credeemed you.”

23 aShout for joy, O heavens, for the Lord has done it!

Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth;

bBreak forth into a shout of joy, you mountains,

O forest, and every tree in it;

For cthe Lord has redeemed Jacob

And in Israel He dshows forth His glory.

24 Thus says the Lord, your aRedeemer, and the one who bformed you from the womb,

“I, the Lord, am the maker of all things,

cStretching out the heavens by Myself

And spreading out the earth 1all alone,

25 aCausing the 1omens of boasters to fail,

2Making fools out of diviners,

bCausing wise men to draw back

And 3turning their knowledge into foolishness,

26 aConfirming the word of His servant

And 1performing the purpose of His messengers.

It is I who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’

And of the bcities of Judah, ‘cThey shall be built.’

And I will raise up her ruins again.

27 “It is I who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Be dried up!’

And I will make your rivers adry.

28 “It is I who says of aCyrus, ‘He is My shepherd!

And he will perform all My desire.’

And 1he declares of Jerusalem, ‘bShe will be built,’

And of the temple, ‘2Your foundation will be laid.’ ”

Chapter 45

God Uses Cyrus

1 Thus says the Lord to aCyrus His anointed,

Whom I have taken by the right bhand,

To csubdue nations before him

And 1to dloose the loins of kings;

To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:

2 “I will go before you and amake the 1rough places smooth;

I will bshatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron cbars.

3 “I will give you the 1atreasures of darkness

And hidden wealth of secret places,

So that you may know that it is I,

The Lord, the God of Israel, who bcalls you by your name.

4 “For the sake of aJacob My servant,

And Israel My chosen one,

I have also bcalled you by your name;

I have given you a title of honor

Though you have cnot known Me.

5 “I am the Lord, and athere is no other;

bBesides Me there is no God.

I will 1cgird you, though you have not known Me;

6 That 1amen may know from the rising to the setting of the sun

That there is bno one besides Me.

I am the Lord, and there is no other,

7 The One aforming light and bcreating darkness,

Causing 1well-being and ccreating calamity;

I am the Lord who does all these.

God’s Supreme Power

8 “aDrip down, O heavens, from above,

And let the clouds pour down righteousness;

Let the bearth open up and salvation bear fruit,

cAnd righteousness spring up with it.

I, the Lord, have created it.

9 “Woe to the one who aquarrels with his 1Maker—

An earthenware vessel 2among the vessels of earth!

Will the bclay say to the 1potter, ‘What are you doing?’

Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?

10 “Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’

Or to a woman, ‘To what are you 1giving birth?’ ”

11 Thus says the aLord, the Holy One of Israel, and his 1bMaker:

“2cAsk Me about the things to come 3concerning My dsons,

And you shall commit to Me ethe work of My hands.

12 “It is I who amade the earth, and created man upon it.

I bstretched out the heavens with My hands

And I 1ordained call their host.

13 “I have aroused him in arighteousness

And I will bmake all his ways smooth;

He will cbuild My city and will let My exiles go dfree,

Without any payment or reward,” says the Lord of hosts.

14 Thus says the Lord,

“The 1products of aEgypt and the merchandise of 2bCush

And the Sabeans, men of stature,

Will ccome over to you and will be yours;

They will walk behind you, they will come over in dchains

And will ebow down to you;

They will make supplication to you:

‘3Surely, fGod is 4with you, and gthere is none else,

No other God.’ ”

15 Truly, You are a God who ahides Himself,

O God of Israel, bSavior!

16 They will be aput to shame and even humiliated, all of them;

The bmanufacturers of idols will go away together in humiliation.

17 Israel has been saved by the Lord

With an aeverlasting salvation;

You bwill not be put to shame or humiliated

To all eternity.

18 For thus says the Lord, who acreated the heavens (He is the God who bformed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it 1a cwaste place, but formed it to be dinhabited),

“I am the Lord, and ethere is none else.

19 “aI have not spoken in secret,

In 1some dark land;

I did not say to the 2boffspring of Jacob,

‘cSeek Me in 3a waste place’;

I, the Lord, dspeak righteousness,

eDeclaring things that are upright.

20 “aGather yourselves and come;

Draw near together, you fugitives of the nations;

bThey have no knowledge,

Who ccarry about 1their wooden idol

And dpray to a god who cannot save.

21 “aDeclare and set forth your case;

Indeed, let them consult together.

bWho has announced this from of old?

Who has long since declared it?

Is it not I, the Lord?

And there is cno other God besides Me,

A righteous God and a dSavior;

There is none except Me.

22 “aTurn to Me and bbe saved, all the ends of the earth;

For I am God, and there is no other.

23 “aI have sworn by Myself,

The bword has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness

And will not turn back,

That to Me cevery knee will bow, every tongue will dswear allegiance.

24 “They will say of Me, ‘Only ain the Lord are righteousness and strength.’

Men will come to Him,

And ball who were angry at Him will be put to shame.

25 “In the Lord all the offspring of Israel

Will be ajustified and will bglory.”

Chapter 46

Babylon’s Idols and the True God

1 aBel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over;

Their images are consigned to the beasts and the cattle.

The things 1that you carry are burdensome,

A load for the weary beast.

2 They stooped over, they have bowed down together;

They could not rescue the burden,

But 1have themselves agone into captivity.

3 “aListen to Me, O house of Jacob,

And all bthe remnant of the house of Israel,

You who have been cborne by Me from 1birth

And have been carried from the womb;

4 Even to your old age aI 1will be the same,

And even to your 2bgraying years I will bear you!

I have 3done it, and I will carry you;

And I will bear you and I will deliver you.

5 “aTo whom would you liken Me

And make Me equal and compare Me,

That we would be alike?

6 “Those who alavish gold from the purse

And weigh silver on the scale

Hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;

They bbow down, indeed they worship it.

7 “They alift it upon the shoulder and carry it;

They set it in its place and it stands there.

bIt does not move from its place.

Though one may cry to it, it ccannot answer;

It dcannot deliver him from his distress.

8 “aRemember this, and be 1assured;

bRecall it to 2mind, you ctransgressors.

9 “Remember the aformer things long past,

For I am God, and there is bno other;

I am God, and there is cno one like Me,

10 Declaring the end from the beginning,

And from ancient times things which have not been done,

Saying, ‘aMy purpose will be established,

And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;

11 Calling a abird of prey from the beast,

The man of 1My purpose from a far country.

Truly I have cspoken; truly I will bring it to pass.

I have planned it, surely I will do it.

12 “aListen to Me, you bstubborn-minded,

Who are cfar from righteousness.

13 “I abring near My righteousness, it is not far off;

And My salvation will not delay.

And I will grant bsalvation in Zion,

And My cglory for Israel.