New American Standard Bible (NASB)

God Uses Cyrus

1 Thus says the Lordto Cyrus His anointed,

Whom I have taken by the right hand,

To subdue nations before him

And to loose the loins of kings;

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

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

I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars.

3 “I will give you the treasures of darkness

And hidden wealth of secret places,

So that you may know that it is I,

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

4 “For the sake of Jacob My servant,

And Israel My chosenone,

I have also called you by your name;

I have given you a title of honor

Though you have not known Me.

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

Besides Me there is no God.

I will gird you, though you have not known Me;

6 That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun

That there is no one besides Me.

I am the Lord, and there is no other,

7 The One forming light and creating darkness,

Causing well-being and creating calamity;

I am the Lordwho does all these.

God’s Supreme Power

8 “Drip down, O heavens, from above,

And let the clouds pour down righteousness;

Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit,

And righteousness spring up with it.

I, the Lord, have created it.

9 “Woe tothe onewho quarrels with his Maker-

An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth!

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

Or the thing you are makingsay,’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 giving birth?'”

11 Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: “Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons, And you shall commit to Me the work of My hands.

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

I stretched out the heavens with My hands

And I ordained all their host.

13 “I have aroused him in righteousness

And I will make all his ways smooth;

He will build My city and will let My exiles go free,

Without any payment or reward,” says the Lordof hosts.

14 Thus says the Lord, “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush And the Sabeans, men of stature, Will come over to you and will be yours; They will walk behind you, they will come over in chains And will bow down to you; They will make supplication to you: ‘Surely, God is with you, and there is none else, No other God.'”

15 Truly, You are a God who hides Himself,

O God of Israel, Savior!

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

The manufacturers of idols will go away together in humiliation.

17 Israel has been saved by the Lord

With an everlasting salvation;

You will not be put to shame or humiliated

To all eternity.

18 For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established itanddid not create it a waste place,butformed it to be inhabited), “I am the Lord, and there is none else.

19 “I have not spoken in secret,

In some dark land;

I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,

‘Seek Me in a waste place’;

I, the Lord, speak righteousness,

Declaring things that are upright.

20 “Gather yourselves and come;

Draw near together, you fugitives of the nations;

They have no knowledge,

Who carry about their wooden idol

And pray to a god who cannot save.

21 “Declare and set forthyour case;

Indeed, let them consult together.

Who has announced this from of old?

Who has long since declared it?

Is it not I, the Lord?

And there is no other God besides Me,

A righteous God and a Savior;

There is none except Me.

22 “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;

For I am God, and there is no other.

23 “I have sworn by Myself,

The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness

And will not turn back,

That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swearallegiance.

24 “They will say of Me, ‘Only in the Lordare righteousness and strength.’

Men will come to Him,

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

25 “In the Lordall the offspring of Israel

Will be justified and will glory.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/ISA/45-0bd9d544e34147afa58b6da73cab4a52.mp3?version_id=100—

Babylon’s Idols and the True God

1 Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over;

Their images areconsignedto the beasts and the cattle.

The things that you carry are burdensome,

A load for the wearybeast.

2 They stooped over, they have bowed down together;

They could not rescue the burden,

But have themselves gone into captivity.

3 “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob,

And all the remnant of the house of Israel,

You who have been borne by Me from birth

And have been carried from the womb;

4 Even toyourold age I will be the same,

And even toyourgraying years I will bearyou!

I have doneit,and I will carryyou;

And I will bearyouand I will deliveryou.

5 “To whom would you liken Me

And make Me equal and compare Me,

That we would be alike?

6 “Those who lavish gold from the purse

And weigh silver on the scale

Hire a goldsmith, and he makes itintoa god;

They bow down, indeed they worship it.

7 “They lift it upon the shoulderandcarry it;

They set it in its place and it standsthere.

It does not move from its place.

Though one may cry to it, it cannot answer;

It cannot deliver him from his distress.

8 “Remember this, and be assured;

Recall it to mind, you transgressors.

9 “Remember the former things long past,

For I am God, and there is no other;

I amGod, and there is no one like Me,

10 Declaring the end from the beginning,

And from ancient times things which have not been done,

Saying, ‘My purpose will be established,

And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;

11 Calling a bird of prey from the east,

The man of My purpose from a far country.

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

I have plannedit, surelyI will do it.

12 “Listen to Me, you stubborn-minded,

Who are far from righteousness.

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

And My salvation will not delay.

And I will grant salvation in Zion,

AndMy glory for Israel.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/ISA/46-e460b9544cd657f50ce5e643f13f9686.mp3?version_id=100—

Lament for Babylon

1 “Come down and sit in the dust,

O virgin daughter of Babylon;

Sit on the ground without a throne,

O daughter of the Chaldeans!

For you shall no longer be called tender and delicate.

2 “Take the millstones and grind meal.

Remove your veil, strip off the skirt,

Uncover the leg, cross the rivers.

3 “Your nakedness will be uncovered,

Your shame also will be exposed;

I will take vengeance and will not spare a man.”

4 Our Redeemer, the Lordof hosts is His name,

The Holy One of Israel.

5 “Sit silently, 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 My heritage

And gave them into your hand.

You did not show mercy to them,

On the aged you made your yoke very heavy.

7 “Yet you said, ‘I will be a queen forever.’

These things you did not consider

Nor remember the outcome of them.

8 “Now, then, hear this, you sensual one,

Who dwells securely,

Who says in your heart,

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

I will not sit as a widow,

Nor know loss of children.’

9 “But these two things will come on you suddenly in one day:

Loss of children and widowhood.

They will come on you in full measure

In spite of your many sorceries,

In spite of the great power of your spells.

10 “You felt secure in your wickedness and said,

‘No one sees me,’

Your wisdom and your knowledge, they have deluded you;

For you have said in your heart,

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

11 “But evil will come on you

Which you will not know how to charm away;

And disaster will fall on you

For which you cannot atone;

And destruction about which you do not know

Will come on you suddenly.

12 “Standfastnow in your spells

And in your many sorceries

With which you have labored from your youth;

Perhaps you will be able to profit,

Perhaps you may cause trembling.

13 “You are wearied with your many counsels;

Let now the astrologers,

Those who prophesy by the stars,

Those who predict by the new moons,

Stand up and save you from what will come upon you.

14 “Behold, they have become like stubble,

Fire burns them;

They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame;

There will be no coal to warm by

Nora fire to sit before!

15 “So have those become to you with whom you have labored,

Who have trafficked with you from your youth;

Each has wandered in his own way;

There is none to save you.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/ISA/47-e42c404bcdd8bbc57837b2dca3d8ffe2.mp3?version_id=100—

Israel’s Obstinacy

1 “Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are named Israel

And who came forth from the loins of Judah,

Who swear by the name of the Lord

And invoke the God of Israel,

Butnot in truth nor in righteousness.

2 “For they call themselves after the holy city

And lean on the God of Israel;

The Lordof hosts is His name.

3 “I declared the former things long ago

And 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 sinew

And your forehead bronze,

5 Therefore I declaredthemto you long ago,

Before they took place I proclaimedthemto you,

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

And my graven image and my molten image have commanded them.’

6 “You have heard; look at all this.

And you, will you not declare it?

I proclaim to you new things from this time,

Even hidden things which you have not known.

7 “They are created now and not long ago;

And before today you have not heard them,

So that you will not say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’

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

Even from long ago your ear has not been open,

Because I knew that you would deal very treacherously;

And you have been called a rebel from birth.

9 “For the sake of My name I delay My wrath,

AndforMy praise I restrainitfor you,

In order not to cut you off.

10 “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;

I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

11 “For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act;

For how canMy namebe profaned?

And My glory I will not give to another.

Deliverance Promised

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

I am He, I am the first, I am also the last.

13 “Surely My hand founded the earth,

And My right hand spread out the heavens;

When I call to them, they stand together.

14 “Assemble, all of you, and listen!

Who among them has declared these things?

The Lordloves him; he will carry out His good pleasure on Babylon,

And His armwill be againstthe Chaldeans.

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

I have brought him, and He will make his ways successful.

16 “Come near to Me, listen to this:

From the first I have not spoken in secret,

From the time it took place, I was there.

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

17 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, “I am the Lordyour God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go.

18 “If only you had paid attention to My commandments!

Then your well-being would have been like a river,

And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

19 “Your descendants would have been like the sand,

And your offspring like its grains;

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

20 Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans!

Declare with the sound of joyful shouting, 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 water flow out of the rock for them;

He split the rock and the water gushed forth.

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

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/ISA/48-7c3e6361aab72ada1bccc8a4feaaa679.mp3?version_id=100—

Salvation Reaches to the End of the Earth

1 Listen to Me, O islands,

And pay attention, you peoples from afar.

The Lordcalled Me from the womb;

From the body of My mother He named Me.

2 He has made My mouth like a sharp sword,

In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me;

And He has also made Me a select arrow,

He has hidden Me in His quiver.

3 He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel,

In Whom I will show My glory.”

4 But I said, “I have toiled in vain,

I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity;

Yet surely the justicedueto Me is with the Lord,

And My reward 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, so that Israel might be gathered to Him

(For I am honored in the sight of the Lord,

And My God is My strength),

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

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

I will also make You a light of the nations

So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

7 Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israelandits Holy One,

To the despised One,

To the One abhorred by the nation,

To the Servant of rulers,

“Kings will see and arise,

Princes will also bow down,

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

8 Thus says the Lord,

“In a favorable time I have answered You,

And in a day of salvation I have helped You;

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

To restore the land, to maketheminherit the desolate heritages;

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

To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’

Along the roads they will feed,

And their pasturewill beon all 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 will guide them to springs of water.

11 “I will make all My mountains a road,

And My highways will be raised up.

12 “Behold, these will come from afar;

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

And these from the land of Sinim.”

13 Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth!

Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains!

For the Lordhas comforted His people

And will have compassion on His afflicted.

Promise to Zion

14 But Zion said, “The Lordhas forsaken me,

And the Lord has forgotten me.”

15 “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 “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palmsof My hands;

Your walls are continually before Me.

17 “Your builders hurry;

Your destroyers and devastators

Will depart from you.

18 “Lift up your eyes and look around;

All of them gather together, they come to you.

As I live,” declares the Lord,

“You will surely put on all of them as jewels and bind them on as a bride.

19 “For your waste and desolate places and your destroyed land-

Surely now you will be too cramped for the inhabitants,

And those who swallowed you will be far away.

20 “The children of whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears,

‘The place is too cramped for me;

Make room for me that I may livehere.’

21 “Then you will say in your heart,

‘Who has begotten these for me,

Since I have been bereaved of my children

And am barren, an exile and a wanderer?

And who has reared these?

Behold, I was left alone;

From where did these come?'”

22 Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations And set up My standard to the peoples; And they will bring your sons intheirbosom, And your daughters will be carried ontheirshoulders.

23 “Kings will be your guardians,

And their princesses your nurses.

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

And lick the dust of your feet;

Andyouwill know that I am the Lord;

Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame.

24 “Can the prey be taken from the mighty man,

Or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?”

25 Surely, thus says the Lord,

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

And the prey of the tyrant will be rescued;

For I will contend with the one who contends with you,

And I will save your sons.

26 “I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh,

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

And all flesh will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior

And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/ISA/49-8ea6e0afacf154b1c4e3e96b854b597d.mp3?version_id=100—

God Helps His Servant

1 Thus says the Lord,

“Where is the certificate of divorce

By which I have sent your mother away?

Or to whom of My creditors did I sell you?

Behold, you were sold for your iniquities,

And for your transgressions your mother was sent away.

2 “Why was there no man when I came?

When I called,whywas there none to answer?

Is My hand so short that it cannot ransom?

Or have I no power to deliver?

Behold, I dry up the sea with My rebuke,

I make the rivers a wilderness;

Their fish stink for lack of water

And die of thirst.

3 “I clothe the heavens with blackness

And make sackcloth their covering.”

4 The Lord Godhas given Me the tongue of disciples,

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

He awakensMemorning by morning,

He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

5 The Lord Godhas opened My ear;

And I was not disobedient

Nor did I turn back.

6 I gave My back to those who strikeMe,

And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;

I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.

7 For the Lord Godhelps Me,

Therefore, I am not disgraced;

Therefore, I have set My face like flint,

And I know that I will not be ashamed.

8 He who vindicates Me is near;

Who will contend with Me?

Let us stand up to each other;

Who has a case against Me?

Let him draw near to Me.

9 Behold, the Lord Godhelps Me;

Who is he who condemns Me?

Behold, they will all wear out like a garment;

The moth will eat them.

10 Who is among you that fears the Lord,

That obeys the voice of His servant,

That walks in darkness and has no light?

Let him trust in the name of the Lordand rely on his God.

11 Behold, all you who kindle a fire,

Who encircle yourselves with firebrands,

Walk in the light of your fire

And among the brands you have set ablaze.

This you will have from My hand:

You will lie down in torment.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/ISA/50-3b4ffaf153b697cc6c6c54f53b1218cc.mp3?version_id=100—

Israel Exhorted

1 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,

Who seek the Lord:

Look to the rock from which you were hewn

And to the quarry from which you were dug.

2 “Look to Abraham your father

And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain;

Whenhewas butone I called him,

Then I blessed him and multiplied him.”

3 Indeed, the Lordwill comfort Zion;

He will comfort all her waste places.

And her wilderness He will make like Eden,

And her desert like the garden of the Lord;

Joy and gladness will be found in her,

Thanksgiving and sound of a melody.

4 “Pay attention to Me, O My people,

And give ear to Me, O My nation;

For a law will go forth from Me,

And I will set My justice for a light of the peoples.

5 “My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth,

And My arms will judge the peoples;

The coastlands will wait for Me,

And for My arm they will wait expectantly.

6 “Lift up your eyes to the sky,

Then look to the earth beneath;

For the sky will vanish 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 will not wane.

7 “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness,

A people in whose heart is My law;

Do not fear the reproach of man,

Nor be dismayed at their revilings.

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

And the grub will eat them like wool.

But My righteousness will be forever,

And My salvation to all generations.”

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

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

Was it not You who cut Rahab in pieces,

Who pierced the dragon?

10 Was it not You who dried up the 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 ransomed of the Lordwill return

And come with joyful shouting to Zion,

And everlasting joywill beon 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 the son of man who is made like grass,

13 That you have forgotten the Lordyour Maker,

Who stretched out the heavens

And laid the foundations of the earth,

That you fear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor,

As he makes ready to destroy?

But where is the fury of the oppressor?

14 The exile will soon be set free, and will not die in the dungeon, nor will his bread be lacking.

15 For I am the Lordyour God, who stirs up the sea and 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, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.'”

17 Rouse yourself! Rouse yourself! Arise, O Jerusalem,

You who have drunk from the Lord’shand the cup of His anger;

The chalice of reeling you have drained to the dregs.

18 There is none to guide her among all the sons she has borne,

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

19 These two things have befallen you;

Who will mourn for you?

The devastation and destruction, famine and sword;

How shall I comfort you?

20 Your sons have fainted,

They liehelplessat the head of every street,

Like an antelope in a net,

Full of the wrath of the Lord,

The rebuke of your God.

21 Therefore, please hear this, you afflicted,

Who are drunk, but not with wine:

22 Thus says your Lord, the Lord, even your God

Who contends for His people,

“Behold, I have taken out of your hand the cup of reeling,

The chalice of My anger;

You will never drink it again.

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

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

You have even made your back like the ground

And like the street for those who walk overit.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/ISA/51-22903d5fe2e4abcf27b7ebe0f43f84f5.mp3?version_id=100—

Cheer for Prostrate Zion

1 Awake, awake,

Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion;

Clothe yourself in 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, rise up,

O captive Jerusalem;

Loose yourself from the chains around your neck,

O captive daughter of Zion.

3 For thus says the Lord, “You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed without money.”

4 For thus says the Lord God, “My people went down at the first into Egypt to reside there; then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

5 Now therefore, what do I have here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that My people have been taken away without cause?”Againthe Lorddeclares, “Those who rule over them howl, and My name is continually blasphemed all day long.

6 Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore in that day I am the one who is speaking, ‘Here I am.'”

7 How lovely on the mountains

Are the feet of him who brings good news,

Who announces peace

And brings good news of happiness,

Who announces salvation,

Andsays to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

8 Listen! Your watchmen lift uptheirvoices,

They shout joyfully together;

For they will see with their own eyes

When the Lordrestores Zion.

9 Break forth, shout joyfully together,

You waste places of Jerusalem;

For the Lordhas comforted His people,

He has redeemed Jerusalem.

10 The Lordhas bared His holy arm

In the sight of all the nations,

That all the ends of the earth may see

The salvation of our God.

11 Depart, depart, go out from there,

Touch nothing unclean;

Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves,

You who carry the vessels of the Lord.

12 But you will not go out in haste,

Nor will you go as fugitives;

For the Lordwill go before you,

And the God of Israelwill beyour rear guard.

The Exalted Servant

13 Behold, My servant will prosper,

He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.

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

So His appearance was marred more than any man

And His form more than the sons of men.

15 Thus He will sprinkle many nations,

Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him;

For what had not been told them they will see,

And what they had not heard they will understand.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/ISA/52-bf7e407a4f09b9dcba069eea0e8a530a.mp3?version_id=100—

The Suffering Servant

1 Who has believed our message?

And to whom has the arm of the Lordbeen revealed?

2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,

And like a root out of parched ground;

He has nostatelyform or majesty

That we should look upon Him,

# Nor appearance that we shouldbe attracted to Him.

3 He was despised and forsaken of men,

A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;

And like one from whom men hide their face

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

4 Surely ourgriefs He Himself bore,

And our sorrows He carried;

Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But He waspierced through for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

The chastening for our well-beingfellupon Him,

And by His scourging we are healed.

6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,

Each of us has turned to his own way;

But the Lordhas caused the iniquity of us all

To fall on Him.

7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He did not open His mouth;

Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,

And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,

So He did not open His mouth.

8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;

And as for His generation, who considered

That He was cut off out of the land of the living

For the transgression of my people, to whom the strokewas due?

9 His grave was assigned with wicked men,

Yet He was with a rich man in His death,

Because He had done no violence,

Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

10 But the Lordwas pleased

To crush Him, puttingHimto grief;

If He would render Himselfasa guilt offering,

He will seeHisoffspring,

He will prolongHisdays,

And the good pleasure of the Lordwill prosper in His hand.

11 As a result of the anguish of His soul,

He will seeit andbe satisfied;

By His knowledge the Righteous One,

My Servant, will justify the many,

As He will bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,

And He will divide the booty with the strong;

Because He poured out Himself to death,

And was numbered with the transgressors;

Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,

And interceded for the transgressors.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/ISA/53-a61e35881bb79c7e548ade4e4615abe8.mp3?version_id=100—

The Fertility of Zion

1 “Shout for joy, O barren one, you who have borne nochild;

Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not travailed;

For the sons of the desolate onewill bemore numerous

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

2 “Enlarge the place of your tent;

Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not;

Lengthen your cords

And strengthen your pegs.

3 “For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left.

And your descendants will possess nations

And will resettle the desolate cities.

4 “Fear not, for you will not be put to shame;

And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced;

But you will forget the shame of your youth,

And the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.

5 “For your husband is your Maker,

Whose name is the Lordof hosts;

And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,

Who is called the God of all the earth.

6 “For the Lordhas called you,

Like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,

Even like a wife ofone’syouth when she is rejected,”

Says your God.

7 “For a brief moment I forsook you,

But with great compassion I will gather you.

8 “In an outburst of anger

I hid My face from you for a moment,

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

Says the Lordyour Redeemer.

9 “For this is like the days of Noah to Me,

When I swore that the waters of Noah

Would not flood the earth again;

So 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,

And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,”

Says the Lordwho has compassion on you.

11 “O afflicted one, storm-tossed,andnot comforted,

Behold, I will set your stones in antimony,

And your foundations I will lay in sapphires.

12 “Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies,

And your gates of crystal,

And your entire wall of precious stones.

13 “All your sons will be taught of the Lord;

And the well-being of your sons will be great.

14 “In righteousness you will be established;

You will be far from oppression, for you will not fear;

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

15 “If anyone fiercely assailsyouit will not be from Me.

Whoever assails you will fall because of you.

16 “Behold, I Myself have created the smith who blows the fire of coals

And brings out a weapon for its work;

And I have created the destroyer to ruin.

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

And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.

This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,

And their vindication is from Me,” declares the Lord.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/ISA/54-4a599c208ecc9f7ed8a5af29617ef1e9.mp3?version_id=100—