God's mercy to Israel. CHAP. XLV. The omnipotence of God. 14 He heweth him down cedars, and 28 That saith of Cyrus, He is my sheptaketh the cypress and the oak, which he herd, and shall perform all my pleasure: strengtheneth for himself among the trees even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the built; and to the temple, Thy foundation rain doth nourish it. shall be laid. CHAP. XLV. 15 Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; THUS saith the LORD to his anointed, yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he holden, to subdue nations before him; and maketh it a graven image, and falleth down I will loose the loins of kings, to open bethereto. fore him the two-leaved gates, and the gates shall not be shut; 16 He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire: 2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: 17 And the residue thereof he maketh a 3 And I will give thee the treasures god, even his graven image: he falleth of darkness, and hidden riches of secret down unto it, and worshippeth it, and places, that thou mayest know that I, the prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the thou art my god. God of Israel. 18 They have not known nor under- 4 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Isstood for he hath shut their eyes, that rael mine elect, I have even called thee by they cannot see; and their hearts, that they thy name: I have surnamed thee, though cannot understand. thou hast not known me. 19 And none considereth in his heart, 5¶ I am the LORD, and there is none neither is there knowledge nor understand- else, there is no God beside me: I girded ing to say, I have burned part of it in the thee, though thou hast not known me: fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the 6 That they may know from the rising coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and of the sun, and from the west, that there is eaten it and shall I make the residue none beside me. I am the LORD, and thereof an abomination? shall I fall down there is none else. to the stock of a tree? 7 I form the light, and create darkness: 20 He feedeth on ashes: a deceived I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD heart hath turned him aside, that he can-do all these things. not deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand? 8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: 21 ¶ Remember these, O Jacob and Is- let the earth open, and let them bring forth rael; for thou art my servant: I have salvation, and let righteousness spring up formed thee; thou art my servant: O Is- together; I the LORD have created it. rael, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. 9 Wo unto him that striveth with his 22 I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the thy transgressions, and as a cloud, thy sins: potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say return unto me; for I have redeemed thee. to him that fashioneth it, What makest 23 Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? hath done it shout, ye lower parts of the 10 Wo unto him that saith unto his faearth: break forth into singing, ye moun- ther, What begettest thou? or to the wotains, O forest, and every tree therein: for man, What hast thou brought forth? the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glo- 11 Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One rified himself in Israel. of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things 24 Thus saith the LORD thy Redeemer, to come concerning my sons, and concernand he that formed thee from the womb, ĺing the work of my hands command ye am the LORD that maketh all things; that me. stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that 12 I have made the earth, and created spreadeth abroad the earth by myself: man upon it: I, even my hands, have 25 That frustrateth the tokens of the stretched out the heavens, and all their liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turn-host have I commanded. eth wise men backward, and maketh their 13 I have raised him up in righteousknowledge foolish; 26 That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof: 27 That saith to the deep, Be dry, I will dry up thy rivers: ness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts. 14 Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come and over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they Idols convinced of vanity. ISAIAH. that we Idols not comparable to God. shall come over, and they shall fall down make me equal, and compare me, unto thee, they shall make supplication may be like? unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; 6 They lavish gold out of the bag, and and there is none else, there is no God. weigh silver in the balance, and hire a 15 Verily thou art a God that hidest goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. fall down, yea, they worship. 16 They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols. 17 But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end. 7 They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall le not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble. 8 Remember this, and shew yourselves 18 For thus saith the LORD that created men: bring it again to mind, Ø ye transthe heavens; God himself that formed the gressors. earth and made it; he hath established it, 9 Remember the former things of old: he created it not in vain, he formed it to be for I am God, and there is none else; I am inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is God, and there is none like me, none else. 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, 19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark and from ancient times the things that are place of the earth: I said not unto the seed not yet done, saying, My counsel shall of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD stand, and I will do all my pleasure: speak righteousness, I declare things that 11 Calling a ravenous bird from the are right. east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, will also bring it to pass; I have purpos ed it, I will also do it. 20 Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. I 12 Hearken unto me, ye stout-hearted, that are far from righteousness: 21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, 13 I bring near my righteousness; it let them take counsel together: who hath shall not be far off, and my salvation shall declared this from ancient time? who hath not tarry and I will place salvation in told it from that time? have not I the LORD? Zion for Israel my glory. and there is no God else beside me; a just me. CHAP. XLVII. God and a Saviour; there is none beside COME down, and sit in the dust, O 22 ¶ Look unto me, and be ye saved, all ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the ends of the earth: for I am God, and the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be there is none else. called tender and delicate. 23 I have sworn by myself, the word is 2 Take the millstones, and grind meal: gone out of my mouth in righteousness, uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, unand shall not return, That unto me every cover the thigh, pass over the rivers. knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. 3 Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, 24 Surely, shall one say, In the LORD yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take have I righteousness and strength: even to vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a him shall men come; and all that are in- man. censed against him shall be ashamed. 4 As for our Redeemer, the LORD of 25 In the LORD shall all the seed of Is- hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. rael be justified, and shall glory. CHAP. XLVI. 5 Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for BEL boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their thou shalt no more be called, The lady of idols were upon the beasts, and upon kingdoms. the cattle: your carriages were heavy 6 I was wroth with my people, I have loaden; they are a burden to the weary polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no beast. 2 They stoop, they bow down together; mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very they could not deliver the burden, but heavily laid thy yoke. themselves are gone into captivity. 7 And thou saidst, I shall be lady for lay these 3¶ Hearken unto me, O house of Ja- ever: so that thou didst not cob, and all the remnant of the house of things to thy heart, neither didst remember Israel, which are borne by me from the the latter end of it. belly, which are carried from the womb: 8 Therefore hear now this, thou that art 4 And even to your old age I am he; given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I that sayest in thine heart, I am, and have made, and I will bear; even I will none else beside me; I shall not sit as a carry, and will deliver you. widow, neither shall I know the loss of To whom will ye liken me, and children: God's judgment upon Babylon. CHAP. XLVIII, XLIX. The intent of prophecy. 9 But these two things shall come to thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest thee in a moment in one day, the loss of say, Behold, I knew them. children, and widowhood: they shall come 8 Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou upon thee in their perfection, for the mul- knewest not; yea, from that time that titude of thy sorceries, and for the great thine ear was not opened: for I knew that abundance of thine enchantments. thou wouldest deal very treacherously, and 10 For thou hast trusted in thy wicked-wast called a transgressor from the womb. ness thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy 9 ¶ For my name's sake will I defer mine wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath per- anger, and for my praise will I refrain for verted thee; and thou hast said in thine thee, that I cut thee not off. heart, I am, and none else beside me. 10 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. 11 Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou 11 For mine own sake, even for mine shalt not be able to put it off: and desola- own sake, will I do it: for how should my tion shall come upon thee suddenly, which name be polluted? and I will not give my thou shalt not know. glory unto another. 12 Stand now with thine enchant- 12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and ments, and with the multitude of thy sorce- Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, ries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy I also am the last. youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. 13 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up, together. 13 Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the star-gazers, the monthly prognosticators, 14 All ye, assemble yourselves and hear; stand up, and save thee from these things which among them hath declared these that shall come upon thee. things? The LORD hath loved him: he 14 Behold, they shall be as stubble; the will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver arm shall be on the Chaldeans. themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it. 15 I, even I, have spoken, yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous. 15 Thus shall they be unto thee with 16 Come ye near unto me, hear ye whom thou hast laboured, even thy mer- this; I have not spoken in secret from the chants, from thy youth: they shall wander beginning; from the time that it was, there every one to his quarter; none shall save am I and now the Lord God, and his thee. Spirit, hath sent me. CHAP. XLVIII. : 17 Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou should HEAR ve this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Is rael, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the est go. LORD, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteous- commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea: ness. 18 O that thou hadst hearkened to my 2 For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of 19 Thy seed also had been as the sand, Israel; the LORD of hosts is his name. and the offspring of thy bowels like the 3 I have declared the former things from gravel thereof; his name should not have the beginning; and they went forth out of been cut off nor destroyed from before my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them me. suddenly, and they came to pass. 20 Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye 4 Because I knew that thou art obstinate, from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singand thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy ing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the brow brass; end of the earth; say ye, The LORD hath 5 I have even from the beginning de- redeemed his servant Jacob. clared it to thee; before it came to pass I 21 And they thirsted not when he led shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, them through the deserts: he caused the Mine idol hath done them; and my graven waters to flow out of the rock for them: he image, and my molten image, hath com- clave the rock also, and the waters gushed manded them. out. 6 Thou hast heard, see all this; and will 22 There is no peace, saith the LORD, not ye declare it? I have shewed thee new unto the wicked. things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them. CHAP. XLIX. LISTEN, O isles, unto me; and hearken, 7 They are created now, and not from ye people, from far; The LORD hath the beginning; even before the day when called me from the womb; from the bow Christ sent to the Gentiles. ISAIAH. Cause of the Jews' dereliction. els of my mother hath he made mention of 17 Thy children shall make haste; thy my name. destroyers and they that made thee waste 2 And he hath made my mouth like a shall go forth of thee. sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand 18 Lift up thine eyes round about, and hath he hid me, and made me a polished behold: all these gather themselves togeshaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; ther, and come to thee. As I live, saith 3 And said unto me, Thou art my ser- the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee vant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. with them all, as with an ornament, and 4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, bind them on thee, as a bride doeth. I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain; yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God. 5 ¶ And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength. 6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. 19 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away. 20 The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell. 21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold I was left alone; these, where had they been? 7 Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer 22 Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and man despiseth, to him whom the nation ab- set up my standard to the people: and they horreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy see and arise, princes also shall worship, daughters shall be carried upon their shoulbecause of the LORD that is faithful, and ders. the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee. 23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mo8 Thus saith the LORD, In an accepta- thers: they shall bow down to thee with ble time have I heard thee, and in a day of their face toward the earth, and lick up salvation have I helped thee: and I will the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know preserve thee, and give thee for a cove- that I am the LORD: for they shall not be nant of the people, to establish the earth, ashamed that wait for me. to cause to inherit the desolate heritages: 24 Shall the prey be taken from the 9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. 25 But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that 10 They shall not hunger nor thirst, nei- contendeth with thee, and I will save thy ther shall the heat nor sun smite them: for children. he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, 26 And I will feed them that oppress even by the springs of water shall he guide them. 11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted. 12 Behold, these shall come from far; and lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim. thee with their own flesh; and they shall 13 ¶ Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, THUS saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, O earth; and break_forth into singing, O whom I have put away? or which of my mountains for the LORD hath comforted creditors is it to whom I have sold you? His people, and will have mercy upon his Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold afflicted. yourselves, and for your transgressions is 14 But Zion said, The LORD hath for- your mother put away. saken me, and my LORD hath forgotten me. 2 Wherefore, when I came, was there 15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, no man? when I called, was there none to that she should not have compassion on the answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. 16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst. Christ defends his people. CHAP. LI. Jerusalem's affliction. 3 I clothe the heavens with blackness, ever, and my righteousness shall not be and I make sackcloth their covering. abolished. 4 The Lord God hath given me the 7 ¶ Hearken unto me, ye that know tongue of the learned, that I should know righteousness, the people in whose heart is how to speak a word in season to him that my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, is weary: he wakeneth morning by morn- neither be ye afraid of their revilings. ing, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. 5 The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. 6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. 7 For the Lord God will help me: therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. 8 He is near that justifieth me: who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me. 8 For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation. 9 ¶ Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? 10 Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? 11 Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto 9 Behold, the Lord God will help me; Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they their head: they shall obtain gladness and all shall wax old as a garment; the moth joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee shall eat them up. away. 10 Who is among you that feareth the 12 ¶ I, even I, am he that comforteth LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his ser- you who art thou, that thou shouldest be vant, that walketh in darkness, and hath afraid of a man that shall die, and of the no light? let him trust in the name of the son of man which shall be made as grass; LORD, and stay upon his God. 13 And forgettest the LORD thy maker, 11 Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that that hath stretched forth the heavens, and compass yourselves about with sparks: laid the foundations of the earth; and hast walk in the light of your fire, and in the feared continually every day because of the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor? in sorrow. HE CHAP. LI. EARKEN to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. 14 The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail. 15 But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts is his name. 2 Look unto Abraham your father, and 16 And I have put my words in thy unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him mouth, and I have covered thee in the alone, and blessed him, and increased shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the him. heavens, and lay the foundations of the 3 For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my will comfort all her waste places; and he people. will make her wilderness like Eden, and 17 Awake, awake, stand up, O Jeruher desert like the garden of the LORD; salem, which hast drunk at the hand of the joy and gladness shall be found therein, LORD the cup of his fury; thou hast drunkthanksgiving, and the voice of melody. en the dregs of the cup of trembling, and 4 ¶ Hearken unto me, my people; and wrung them out. give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law 18 There is none to guide her among all shall proceed from me, and I will make my the sons whom she hath brought forth; judgment to rest for a light of the people. neither is there any that taketh her by the 5 My righteousness is near; my salva- hand of all the sons that she hath brought tion is gone forth, and mine arms shall up. judge the people; the isles shall wait upon 19 These two things are come unto thee; me, and on mine arm shall they trust. who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and 6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword: look upon the earth beneath: for the hea- by whom shall I comfort thee? vens shall vanish away like smoke, and the 20 Thy sons have fainted, they lie at earth shall wax old like a garment, and the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in they that dwell therein shall die in like a net: they are full of the fury of the LORD, manner but my salvation shall be for the rebuke of thy God. |