Amplified Bible (AMP)

Lament for Babylon

1 “Come down and sit in the dust,

O virgin daughter of Babylon;

Sit on the ground [in abject humiliation]; there is no thronefor you,

O daughter of theChaldeans,

For you will no longer be called tender and delicate.

2 “Take millstones [as a female slave does] and grind meal;

Remove your veil, strip off the skirt,

Uncover the leg, cross the rivers [at the command of your captors].

3 “Your nakedness will be uncovered,

Your shame will also be exposed;

I will take vengeance and will spare no man.”

4 Our Redeemer [will do all this], the Lordof hosts is His name,

The Holy One of Israel.

5 “Sit in silence, and go into darkness,

O daughter of the Chaldeans;

For you will no longer be called

The queen of kingdoms.

6 “I was angry with My people,

I profaned [Judah] My inheritance

And gave them into your hand [Babylon].

You showed them no mercy;

You made your yoke very heavy on the aged.

7 “And you said, ‘I shall be a queen forevermore.’

You did not consider these things,

Nor did you [seriously] remember the [ultimate] outcome of such conduct.

8 “Now, then, hear this, you who live a luxuriant life,

You who dwell safelyandsecurely,

Who say in your heart (mind),

‘I am [the queen], and there is no one besides me.

I shall not sit as a widow,

Nor know the loss of children.’

9 “But these two things shall come to you abruptly, in one day:

Loss of children and widowhood.

They will come on you in full measure

In spite of your many [claims of power through your] sorceries,

In spite of the great power of your enchantments.

10 “For you [Babylon] have trustedandfelt confident in your wickedness; you have said,

‘No one sees me.’

Your wisdom and your knowledge have led you astray,

And you have said in your heart (mind),

‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’

11 “Therefore disaster will come on you;

You will not know how to make it disappear [with your magic].

And disaster will fall on you

For which you cannot atone [with all your offerings to your gods];

And destruction about which you do not know

Will come on you suddenly.

12 “Persist, then, [Babylon] in your enchantments

And your many sorceries

With which you have labored from your youth;

Perhaps you will be able to profit [from them],

Perhaps you may prevailandcause trembling.

13 “Youare wearied by your many counsels.

Just let the astrologers,

The stargazers,

Those who predict by the new moons [each month]

Stand up and save you from the things that will come upon you [Babylon].

14 “In fact, they are like stubble;

Fire burns them.

They cannot save themselves from the power of the flame [much less save the nation],

There is no blazing coal for warming

Nor fire before which to sit!

15 “This is how they have become to you, those [astrologers and sorcerers] with whom you have labored,

Those who have done business with you from your youth;

Each has wandered in his own way.

There is no one to save you.

Israel’s Obstinacy

1 “Hear this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel

And who come from theseed of Judah,

You who swear [allegiance] by the name of the Lord

And invoke the God of Israel,

Butnot in truth (sincerity) nor in righteousness [with moral and spiritual integrity].

2 “For they call themselves [citizens of Jerusalem] after the holy city

And depend on the God of Israel;

The Lordof hosts is His name.

3 “I have declared the former things [which happened to Israel] in times past;

They went forth from My mouth and I proclaimed them;

Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.

4 “Because I know that you are obstinate,

And your neck is an iron tendon

And your brow is bronze [both unyielding],

5 I have declared them to you long ago;

Before they came to pass I announced them to you,

So that you could not say, ‘My idol has done them,

And my carved image and my cast image have commanded them.’

6 “You have heard [these things foretold]; look at all this [that has been fulfilled].

And you, will you not declare it?

I proclaim to you [specific] new things from this time,

Evenhidden things which you have not known.

7 “They are created now [called into being by the prophetic word] and not long ago;

And before today you have not heard of them,

So that you will not say, ‘Oh yes! I knew them.’

8 “You have not heard, you have not known;

Even from long ago your ear has not been open.

For I [the Lord] knew that you [Israel] would act very treacherously;

You have been called a transgressoranda rebel from birth.

9 “For the sake of My Name I refrain from My wrath,

AndforMy praise I restrain Myself from you,

So that I do not cut you off.

10 “Indeed, I have refined you, but not assilver;

I have testedandchosen you in the furnace of affliction.

11 “For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it [I refrain and do not completely destroy you];

For how canMy Namebe defiledandprofaned [as it would if My chosen people were completely destroyed]?

And I will not give My glory to another [by permitting the worshipers of idols to triumph over you].

End of Captivity Promised

12 “Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called;

I am He, I am the First, I am the Last.

13 “My hand foundedandestablished the earth,

And My right hand spread out the heavens;

When I call to them, they stand together [in obedience to carry out My decrees].

14 “Assemble, all of you, and listen!

Who among them [the idols and Chaldean astrologers] has declared these things?

The Lordloves him (Cyrus of Persia); he will do His pleasureandpurpose against Babylon,

And his armwill be againstthe Chaldeans [who reign in Babylon].

15 “I, even I, have spoken; indeed, I have called Cyrus;

I have brought him, and will make his way successful.

16 “Come near to Me, listen to this:

From the beginning I have not spoken in secret,

From the time that it happened, I was there.

And now the Lord Godhas sent Me, and His [Holy] Spirit.”

17 This is what the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says,

“I am the Lordyour God, who teaches you to profit (benefit),

Who leads you in the way that you should go.

18 “Oh, that you had paid attention to My commandments!

Then your peaceandprosperity would have been like a [flowing] river,

And your righteousness [the holiness and purity of the nation] like the [abundant] waves of the sea.

19 “Your offspring would have been like the sand,

And your descendants [in number] like the grains of sand;

Their name would never be cut off or destroyed from My presence.”

20 Get out of Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans [who reign there]!

Declare with a voice of jubilation, proclaim this,

Send it out to the end of the earth;

Say, “The Lordhas redeemed His servant Jacob.”

21 They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts.

He made the waters flow out of the rock for them;

He split the rock and the waters flowed.

22 “There is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord.

Salvation Reaches to the End of the Earth

1 Listen toMe, O islandsandcoastlands,

And pay attention, you peoples from far away.

The Lordhas called Me from the womb;

From the body of My mother He has named Me.

2 He has made My mouth like a sharp sword,

In the shadow of His hand He has kept Me hidden;

And He has made Me a sharpened arrow,

In His quiver He has hidden Me.

3 And [the Lord] said to Me, “You are MyServant, Israel,

In Whom I will show My glory.”

4 Then I said, “I have labored in vain,

I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity (pride, uselessness);

However My justice is with the Lord,

And My reward is with My God.”

5 And now says the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,

To bring Jacob back to Him and that Israel might be gathered to Him,

–For I am honored in the eyes of the Lord,

And My God is My strength–

6 He says, “It is too trivial a thing that You should be My Servant

To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore thesurvivors of Israel;

I will also make You a light to the nations

That My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

7 This is what the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, Israel’s Holy One says,

To the thoroughly despised One,

To the One hated by the nation

To the Servant of rulers,

“Kings will see and arise,

Princes shall also bow down,

Because of the Lordwho is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”

8 This is what the Lordsays,

“In afavorable time I have answered You,

And in a day of salvation I have helped You;

And I will keep watch over You and give You for a covenant of the people,

To restore the land [from its present state of ruin] and to apportionandgive as inheritances the deserted hereditary lands,

9 Saying to those who are boundandcaptured, ‘Go forth,’

And to those who are in [spiritual] darkness, ‘Show yourselves [come into the light of the Savior].’

They will feed along the roads [on which they travel],

And their pastures will be on all the bare heights.

10 “They will not hunger or thirst,

Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down;

For He who has compassion on them will lead them,

And He will guide them to springs of water.

11 “And I will make all My mountains a roadway,

And My highways will be raised.

12 “In fact, these will come from far away;

And, lo, theseshall comefrom the north and from the west,

And these from the land ofAswan (southern Egypt).”

13 Shout for joy, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth,

And break forth into singing, O mountains!

For the Lordhas comforted His people

And will have compassion on His afflicted.

Promise to Zion

14 But Zion (Jerusalem in captivity) said, “The Lordhas abandoned me,

And my Lord has forgotten me.”

15 [The Lordanswered] “Can a woman forget her nursing child

And have no compassion on the son of her womb?

Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.

16 “Indeed, I have inscribed [a picture of] you on thepalmsof My hands;

Your city walls [Zion] are continually before Me.

17 “Yourbuilders hurry;

Your destroyers and devastators

Will go away from you.

18 “Lift up your eyes and look around [at the returning exiles];

All these gather together and they come to you [to rebuild you].

As I live,” declares the Lord,

“You [Zion] will indeed clothe yourself with all of them as jewels and tie them on as a bride.

19 “For your ruins and desolate places and your land [once the scene] of destruction–

Certainly now [in the coming years] will be too cramped for the inhabitants,

And those whoonceengulfed you will be far away.

20 “The children of your bereavement [those born in captivity] will yet say in your ears,

‘The place is too cramped for me’;

Make room for me that I may livehere.

21 “Then [Zion], you will say in your heart,

‘Who has borne me thesechildren,

Since I have been bereaved of my children

And am barren, an exile and a wanderer?

And who has reared these?

Indeed, I was left alone;

From where then did thesechildrencome?’”

22 This is what the Lord Godsays,

“Listen carefully, I will lift up My hand to the [Gentile] nations

And set up My banner to the peoples;

And they will bring your sons in the fold of their garments,

And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.

23 “Kings will be your attendants,

And their princesses your nurses.

They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth

And lick the dust of your feet;

And you shall know [with an understanding based on personal experience] that I am the Lord;

For they shall not be put to shame who waitandhope expectantly for Me.

24 “Can the spoils of war be taken from the mighty man,

Or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?”

25 Indeed, this is what the Lordsays,

“Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away,

And the tyrant’s spoils of war will be rescued;

For I will contend with your opponent,

And I will save your children.

26 “I will make those who oppress you consume their own flesh [in mutually destructive wars]

And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine;

And allmankind will know [with a knowledge grounded in personal experience] that I, the Lord, am your Savior

And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

God Helps His Servant

1 The Lorddeclares this;

“Where is the certificate of divorce

By which I have sent your mother away, [O Israel]?

Or to which one of My creditors did I sell you [as slaves]?

In fact, You were sold for your wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing],

And for your transgressions your mother was sent away.

2 “Why, when I came, was there no man [to greet Me]?

When I called, why was there no one to answer?

Is My hand really so short that it cannot redeem [My servants]?

Or have I no power to rescue?

Listen carefully, with My rebuke I dry up the sea,

I make the rivers into a desert;

Their fish stink because there is no water

And die of thirst.

3 “I clothe the heavens with the blackness [of storm clouds]

And make sackcloth [of mourning] their clothing.”

4 The Lord Godhas given Me [HisServant] the tongue of disciples [as One who is taught],

That I may know how to sustain the weary with a word.

He awakensMemorning by morning,

He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple [as One who is taught].

5 The Lord Godhas opened My ear,

And I have not been rebellious

Nor have I turned back.

6 I turned My back to those who strikeMe,

And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;

I did not hide My face from insults and spitting.

7 For the Lord Godhelps Me,

Therefore, I have not been ashamedorhumiliated.

Therefore, I have made My face like flint,

And I know that I shall not be put to shame.

8 He who declares Me in the right is near;

Who will [dare to] contend with Me?

Let us stand up to each other;

Who is My adversary?

Let him approach Me.

9 In fact, the Lord Godhelps Me;

Who is he who condemns Me [as guilty]?

Indeed, they will all wear out like a garment;

The moth will eat them.

10 Who is among you who fears the Lord,

Who obeys the voice of His Servant,

Yet who walks in darkness and has no light?

Let him trustandbe confident in the name of the Lordand let him rely on his God.

11 Listen carefully, all you who kindle your own fire [devising your own man-made plan of salvation],

Who surround yourselves with torches,

Walk by the light of your [self-made] fire

And among the torches that you have set ablaze.

But this you will have from My hand:

You will lie down in [a place of] torment.

Israel Exhorted

1 “Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness (right standing with God),

Who seekandinquire of the Lord:

Look to the rock from which you were cut

And to the excavation of the quarry from which you were dug.

2 “Look to Abraham your father

And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain;

For I called him whenhe was butone,

Then I blessed him and made him many.”

3 For the Lordwill comfort Zion [in her captivity];

He will comfort all her ruins.

And He will make her wilderness like Eden,

And her desert like the garden of the Lord;

Joy and gladness will be found in her,

Thanksgiving and the voice of a melody.

4 “Listen carefully to Me [says the Lord], O My people,

And hear Me, O My nation;

For a [divine] law will go forth from Me,

And I will quicklyestablishMy justice as a light to the peoples.

5 “My righteousness (justice) is near, My salvation has gone forth,

And My arms will judge the peoples;

The islandsandcoastlands will wait for Me,

And they will wait with hopeandconfident expectation for My arm.

6 “Lift up your eyes to the heavens,

Then look to the earth beneath;

For the heavens will be torn to piecesandvanish like smoke,

And the earth will wear out like a garment

And its inhabitants will die in like manner.

But My salvation will be forever,

And My righteousness (justice) [and faithfully fulfilled promise] will not be broken.

7 “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness (right standing with God),

The people in whose heart is My lawandinstruction;

Do not fear the reproachandtaunting of man,

Nor be distressed at their reviling.

8 “For the moth will eat them like a garment,

And the worm will eat them like wool.

But My righteousnessandjustice [faithfully promised] will exist forever,

And My salvation to all generations.”

9 Awake, awake, put on strengthandmight, O arm of the Lord;

Awake as in the ancient days, as in the generations of long ago.

Was it not You who cut Rahab (Egypt) in pieces,

Who pierced the dragon [of Egypt]?

10 Was it not You who dried up the [Red] Sea,

The waters of the great deep,

Who made the depths of the sea a pathway

For the redeemed to cross over?

11 So the redeemed of the Lordwill return

And come with joyful shouting to Zion;

Everlasting joy will be on their heads.

They will obtain gladness and joy,

And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

12 “I, even I, am He who comforts you.

Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies

And of a son of man who is made [as destructible] as grass,

13 That you have forgotten the Lordyour Maker,

Who stretched out the heavens

And laid the foundations of the earth,

That you continually tremble with fear all day long because of the rage of the oppressor,

As he takes aim to destroy?

And where is the rage of the oppressor?

14 The [captive] exile will soon be set free, and will not die in the dungeon, nor will his food be lacking.

15 For I am the Lordyour God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar–the Lordof hosts is His name.

16 I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, toestablish the [renewed] heavens and lay the foundations of the [renewed] earth, and to say to Zion (Jerusalem), ‘You are My people.’”

17 Wake yourself up! Wake yourself up! Stand up, O Jerusalem,

You who have drunk at the hand of the Lordthe cup of His wrath,

You who have drunk the cup of staggeringandintoxication to the dregs [leaving only sediment].

18 There is no one to guide her among all the sons she has borne,

Nor is there anyone to take her by the hand among all the sons she has reared.

19 These twotragedieshave befallen you;

Who will show sympathy for youandmourn with you?

The desolation and destruction [on the land and city], famine and sword [on the inhabitants];

How shall I comfort you?

20 Your sons have fainted;

They liehelplessat the head of every street,

Like an antelope in a net,

Full [from drinking] of the wrath of the Lord,

The rebuke of your God.

21 Therefore, now hear this, you who are afflicted,

Who are drunk, but not with wine [but overwhelmed by the wrath of God].

22 So says your Lord, the Lord,who isalso your God

Who pleads the cause of His people,

“Listen carefully, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggeringandintoxication,

The cup of My wrath;

You shall never drink it again.

23 “I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,

Who have said to you, ‘Lie down so that we may walk over you.’

You have even made your back like the ground

And like the street for those who walk over it.”

Cheer for Downtrodden Zion

1 Awake, awake,

Put on your strength, O Zion;

Put on your beautiful garments,

O Jerusalem, the holy city;

For the uncircumcised and the unclean

Will no longer come into you.

2 Shake yourself from the dust, arise,

O captive Jerusalem;

Rid yourself of the chains around your neck,

O captive Daughter of Zion.

3 For the Lordsays this, “You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed, but not with money.”

4 For the Lord Godsays this, “My people went down at the first into Egypt to live there; and [many years later Sennacherib] the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

5 But now, what do I have here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that My people have been taken away without reason? Those who rule over them howl [with taunting and mockery of salvation],” declares the Lord, “and My name is continually blasphemed all day long.

6 Therefore My people shall know My Nameandwhat it means. Therefore in that day I am the One who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’”

7 How beautifulanddelightful on the mountains

Are the feet of him who brings good news,

Who announces peace,

Who brings good news of good [things],

Who announces salvation,

Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

8 Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices,

Together they shout for joy;

For they will see face to face

The return of the Lordto Zion.

9 Break forth, shout joyfully together,

You ruins of Jerusalem;

For the Lordhas comforted His people,

He has redeemed Jerusalem.

10 The Lordhas bared His holy arm (His infinite power)

Before the eyes of all the nations [revealing Himself as the One by Whom Israel is redeemed from captivity],

That all the ends of the earth may see

The salvation of our God.

11 Depart, depart, go out from there (the lands of exile),

Touch no unclean thing;

Go out of the midst of her (Babylon), purify yourselves,

You who carry the articles of the Lord[on your journey from there].

12 For you will not go out in a hurry [as when you left Egypt],

Nor will you go in flight [fleeing, as you did from the Egyptians];

For the Lordwill go before you,

And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

The Exalted Servant

13 Indeed, My Servant (the Messiah) will act wiselyandprosper;

He will be raised and lifted up and greatly exalted.

14 Just as many were astonishedandappalled at you,My people,

So His appearance was marred more than any man

And His form [marred] more than the sons of men.

15 So He will sprinkle many nations [with His blood, providing salvation],

Kings will shut their mouths because of Him;

For what they had not been told they will see,

And what they had not heard they will understand.

The Suffering Servant

1 Who has believed [confidently trusted in, relied on, and adhered to] our message [of salvation]?

And to whom [if not us] has the armandinfinite power of the Lordbeen revealed?

2 For He [the Servant of God] grew up before Him like a tender shoot (plant),

And like a root out of dry ground;

He has nostatelyform ormajesticsplendor

That we would look at Him,

Nor [handsome] appearance that we wouldbe attracted to Him.

3 He was despised and rejected by men,

A Man of sorrowsandpain and acquainted with grief;

And like One from whom men hide their faces

He was despised, and we did not appreciate His worthoresteem Him.

4 But [in fact] He has borne our griefs,

And He has carried our sorrowsandpains;

Yet we [ignorantly] assumed that He was stricken,

Struck down by God and degradedandhumiliated [by Him].

5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing];

The punishment [required] for our well-beingfellon Him,

And by His stripes (wounds) we are healed.

6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,

We have turned, each one, to his own way;

But the Lordhas caused the wickedness of us all [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]

To fall on Him [instead of us].

7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He did not open His mouth [to complain or defend Himself];

Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

And like a sheep that is silent before her shearers,

So He did not open His mouth.

8 After oppression and judgment He was taken away;

Andas for His generation [His contemporaries], who [among them] concerned himselfwith the fact

That He was cut off from the land of the living [by His death]

For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke [of death]was due?

9 His grave was assigned with the wicked,

But He was with a rich man in His death,

Because He had done no violence,

Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

10 Yet the Lordwaswilling

To crush Him,causing Him to suffer;

IfHe would give Himself as a guilt offering [an atonement for sin],

He shall seeHis[spiritual] offspring,

He shall prolongHisdays,

And the will (good pleasure) of the Lordshall succeedandprosper in His hand.

11 As a result of theanguish of His soul,

He shall see it and be satisfied;

By His knowledge [of what He has accomplished] the Righteous One,

My Servant, shall justify the many [making them righteous–upright before God, in right standing with Him],

For He shall bear [the responsibility for] their sins.

12 Therefore, I will divideandgive Him a portion with the great [kings and rulers],

And He shall divide the spoils with the mighty,

Because He [willingly] poured out His life to death,

And was counted among the transgressors;

Yet He Himself boreandtook away the sin of many,

And interceded [with the Father] for the transgressors.

The Fertility of Zion

1 “Shout for joy, O barren one, she who has not given birth;

Break forth into joyful shouting and rejoice, she who has not gone into labor [with child]!

For the [spiritual] sons of the desolate onewill bemore numerous

Than the sons of the married woman,” says the Lord.

2 “Enlarge the site of your tent [to make room for more children];

Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not spare them;

Lengthen your tent ropes

And make your pegs (stakes) firm [in the ground].

3 “For you will spread out to the right and to the left;

And your descendants will take possession of nations

And will inhabit deserted cities.

4 “Do not fear, for you will not be put to shame,

And do not feel humiliatedorashamed, for you will not be disgraced.

For you will forget the shame of your youth,

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

5 “For your husband is your Maker,

The Lordof hosts is His name;

And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,

Who is called the God of the whole earth.

6 “For the Lordhas called you,

Like a wife who has been abandoned, grieved in spirit,

And like a wife [married] in her youth when she is [later] rejectedandscorned,”

Says your God.

7 “For a brief moment I abandoned you,

But with great compassionandmercy I will gather you [to Myself again].

8 “In an outburst of wrath

I hid My face from you for a moment,

But with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,”

Says the Lordyour Redeemer.

9 “For this islikethe waters of Noah to Me,

As I swore [an oath] that the waters of Noah

Would not flood the earth again;

In the same way I have sworn that I will not be angry with you

Nor will I rebuke you.

10 “For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,

But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,

Nor will My covenant of peace be shaken,”

Says the Lordwho has compassion on you.

11 “O you afflicted [city], storm-tossed, and not comforted,

Listen carefully, I will set your [precious] stones in mortar,

And lay your foundations with sapphires.

12 “And I will make your battlements of rubies,

And your gates of [shining] beryl stones,

And all your [barrier]walls of precious stones.

13 “And all your [spiritual] sons will be disciples [of the Lord],

And great will be thewell-being of your sons.

14 “You will be firmly established in righteousness:

You will be far from [even the thought of] oppression, for you will not fear,

And from terror, for it will not come near you.

15 “If anyone fiercely attacks you it will not be from Me.

Whoever attacks you will fall because of you.

16 “Listen carefully, I have created the smith who blows on the fire of coals

And who produces a weapon for its purpose;

And I have created the destroyer to inflict ruin.

17 “No weapon that is formed against you will succeed;

And every tongue that rises against you in judgment you will condemn.

This [peace, righteousness, security, and triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,

Andthis istheir vindication from Me,” says the Lord.

The Free Offer of Mercy

1 “Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;

And you who have no money come, buy grain and eat.

Come, buy wine and milk

Without money and without cost [simply accept it as a gift from God].

2 “Why do you spend money for that which is not bread,

And your earnings for what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,

And let your soul delight inabundance.

3 “Incline your ear [to listen] and come to Me;

Hear, so that your soul may live;

And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,

According tothe faithful mercies [promised and] shown to David.

4 “Listen carefully, I have appointedhim [David, representing the Messiah] to be a witness to the nations [regarding salvation],

A leader and commander to the peoples.

5 “In fact, you[Israel] will call a nation that you do not know,

And a nation that does not know you will run to you,

Because of the Lordyour God, even the Holy One of Israel;

For He has glorified you.”

6 Seek the Lordwhile He may be found;

Call on Him [for salvation] while He is near.

7 Let the wicked leave (behind) his way

And the unrighteous man his thoughts;

And let him return to the Lord,

And He will have compassion (mercy) on him,

And to our God,

For He will abundantly pardon.

8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.

9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways

And My thoughtshigherthan your thoughts.

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

And do not return there without watering the earth,

Making it bear and sprout,

And providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

11 So will My word be which goes out of My mouth;

It will not return to Me void (useless, without result),

Without accomplishing what I desire,

And without succeedingin the matterfor which I sent it.

12 “For you will go out [from exile] with joy

And be led forth [by the LordHimself] with peace;

The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,

And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

13 “Instead of the thorn bush the cypress tree will grow,

And instead of the nettle the myrtle tree will grow;

And it will be a memorial to the Lord,

For an everlasting sign [of His mercy] which will not be cut off.”

Rewards for Obedience to God

1 This is what the Lordsays,

“Maintain justice and do righteousness,

For My salvation is soon to come,

And My righteousnessandjusticeis soonto be revealed.

2 “Blessed (happy, fortunate) is the man who does this,

And the son of man who takes hold of it,

Who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it,

And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

3 Do not let the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lordsay,

“The Lordwill most certainly separate me from His people.”

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

4 This is what the Lordsays,

“To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths

And choose what pleases Me,

And hold firmly to My covenant,

5 To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial,

And a name better than that of sons and daughters;

I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off.

6 “Also the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,

To minister to Him, and to love the name of the Lord,

To be His servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it

And holds fast to My covenant [by conscientious obedience];

7 All these I will bring to My holy mountain

And make them joyful in My house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices willbe accepted on My altar;

For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”

8 The Lord God, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares:

“I will gather yetothersto them (Israel), to those [already] gathered.”

9 All you beasts of the field,

All you beasts (hostile nations) in the forest,

Come to eat.

10 Israel’s watchmen are blind,

They are all without knowledge.

They are all mute dogs, they cannot bark;

Panting, lying down, they love to slumber.

11 And the dogs are greedy; theynever have enough.

They are shepherds who have no understanding;

They have all turned to their own way,

Each one to his unlawful gain, without exception.

12 “Come,” [they say,] “let us get wine, and let us fill ourselves with strong drink;

And tomorrow will be like today, very great indeed.”