Category: Isaiah

Comfort for God’s People

1 Comfort, comfort my people,

says your God.

2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

and proclaim to her

that her hard service has been completed,

that her sin has been paid for,

that she has received from theLord’s hand

double for all her sins.

3 A voice of one calling:

“In the wilderness prepare

the way for theLord;

make straight in the desert

a highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be raised up,

every mountain and hill made low;

the rough ground shall become level,

the rugged places a plain.

5 And the glory of theLordwill be revealed,

and all people will see it together.

For the mouth of theLordhas spoken.”

6 A voice says, “Cry out.”

And I said, “What shall I cry?”

“All people are like grass,

and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.

7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,

because the breath of theLordblows on them.

Surely the people are grass.

8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,

but the word of our God endures forever.”

9 You who bring good news to Zion,

go up on a high mountain.

You who bring good news to Jerusalem,

lift up your voice with a shout,

lift it up, do not be afraid;

say to the towns of Judah,

“Here is your God!”

10 See, the SovereignLordcomes with power,

and he rules with a mighty arm.

See, his reward is with him,

and his recompense accompanies him.

11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:

He gathers the lambs in his arms

and carries them close to his heart;

he gently leads those that have young.

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,

or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?

Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,

or weighed the mountains on the scales

and the hills in a balance?

13 Who can fathom the Spiritof theLord,

or instruct theLordas his counselor?

14 Whom did theLordconsult to enlighten him,

and who taught him the right way?

Who was it that taught him knowledge,

or showed him the path of understanding?

15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;

they are regarded as dust on the scales;

he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.

16 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,

nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.

17 Before him all the nations are as nothing;

they are regarded by him as worthless

and less than nothing.

18 With whom, then, will you compare God?

To what image will you liken him?

19 As for an idol, a metalworker casts it,

and a goldsmith overlays it with gold

and fashions silver chains for it.

20 A person too poor to present such an offering

selects wood that will not rot;

they look for a skilled worker

to set up an idol that will not topple.

21 Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

Has it not been told you from the beginning?

Have you not understood since the earth was founded?

22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,

and its people are like grasshoppers.

He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,

and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

23 He brings princes to naught

and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.

24 No sooner are they planted,

no sooner are they sown,

no sooner do they take root in the ground,

than he blows on them and they wither,

and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

25 “To whom will you compare me?

Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:

Who created all these?

He who brings out the starry host one by one

and calls forth each of them by name.

Because of his great power and mighty strength,

not one of them is missing.

27 Why do you complain, Jacob?

Why do you say, Israel,

“My way is hidden from theLord;

my cause is disregarded by my God”?

28 Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

TheLordis the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.

29 He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in theLord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/ISA/40-6aa3dbc3979e7888bb7bb57a08559bf9.mp3?version_id=111—

The Helper of Israel

1 “Be silent before me, you islands!

Let the nations renew their strength!

Let them come forward and speak;

let us meet together at the place of judgment.

2 “Who has stirred up one from the east,

calling him in righteousness to his service?

He hands nations over to him

and subdues kings before him.

He turns them to dust with his sword,

to windblown chaff with his bow.

3 He pursues them and moves on unscathed,

by a path his feet have not traveled before.

4 Who has done this and carried it through,

calling forth the generations from the beginning?

I, theLord—with the first of them

and with the last—I am he.”

5 The islands have seen it and fear;

the ends of the earth tremble.

They approach and come forward;

6 they help each other

and say to their companions, “Be strong!”

7 The metalworker encourages the goldsmith,

and the one who smooths with the hammer

spurs on the one who strikes the anvil.

One says of the welding, “It is good.”

The other nails down the idol so it will not topple.

8 “But you, Israel, my servant,

Jacob, whom I have chosen,

you descendants of Abraham my friend,

9 I took you from the ends of the earth,

from its farthest corners I called you.

I said, ‘You are my servant’;

I have chosen you and have not rejected you.

10 So do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

11 “All who rage against you

will surely be ashamed and disgraced;

those who oppose you

will be as nothing and perish.

12 Though you search for your enemies,

you will not find them.

Those who wage war against you

will be as nothing at all.

13 For I am theLordyour God

who takes hold of your right hand

and says to you, Do not fear;

I will help you.

14 Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,

little Israel, do not fear,

for I myself will help you,” declares theLord,

your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,

new and sharp, with many teeth.

You will thresh the mountains and crush them,

and reduce the hills to chaff.

16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,

and a gale will blow them away.

But you will rejoice in theLord

and glory in the Holy One of Israel.

17 “The poor and needy search for water,

but there is none;

their tongues are parched with thirst.

But I theLordwill answer them;

I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights,

and springs within the valleys.

I will turn the desert into pools of water,

and the parched ground into springs.

19 I will put in the desert

the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.

I will set junipers in the wasteland,

the fir and the cypress together,

20 so that people may see and know,

may consider and understand,

that the hand of theLordhas done this,

that the Holy One of Israel has created it.

21 “Present your case,” says theLord.

“Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.

22 “Tell us, you idols,

what is going to happen.

Tell us what the former things were,

so that we may consider them

and know their final outcome.

Or declare to us the things to come,

23 tell us what the future holds,

so we may know that you are gods.

Do something, whether good or bad,

so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.

24 But you are less than nothing

and your works are utterly worthless;

whoever chooses you is detestable.

25 “I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes—

one from the rising sun who calls on my name.

He treads on rulers as if they were mortar,

as if he were a potter treading the clay.

26 Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know,

or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?

No one told of this,

no one foretold it,

no one heard any words from you.

27 I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’

I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.

28 I look but there is no one—

no one among the gods to give counsel,

no one to give answer when I ask them.

29 See, they are all false!

Their deeds amount to nothing;

their images are but wind and confusion.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/ISA/41-4a5fa7f05d4a339ef82f34ad4406639b.mp3?version_id=111—

The Servant of the Lord

1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen one in whom I delight;

I will put my Spirit on him,

and he will bring justice to the nations.

2 He will not shout or cry out,

or raise his voice in the streets.

3 A bruised reed he will not break,

and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.

In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;

4 he will not falter or be discouraged

till he establishes justice on earth.

In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”

5 This is what God theLordsays—

the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,

who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,

who gives breath to its people,

and life to those who walk on it:

6 “I, theLord, have called you in righteousness;

I will take hold of your hand.

I will keep you and will make you

to be a covenant for the people

and a light for the Gentiles,

7 to open eyes that are blind,

to free captives from prison

and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

8 “I am theLord; that is my name!

I will not yield my glory to another

or my praise to idols.

9 See, the former things have taken place,

and new things I declare;

before they spring into being

I announce them to you.”

Song of Praise to the Lord

10 Sing to theLorda new song,

his praise from the ends of the earth,

you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,

you islands, and all who live in them.

11 Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices;

let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice.

Let the people of Sela sing for joy;

let them shout from the mountaintops.

12 Let them give glory to theLord

and proclaim his praise in the islands.

13 TheLordwill march out like a champion,

like a warrior he will stir up his zeal;

with a shout he will raise the battle cry

and will triumph over his enemies.

14 “For a long time I have kept silent,

I have been quiet and held myself back.

But now, like a woman in childbirth,

I cry out, I gasp and pant.

15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills

and dry up all their vegetation;

I will turn rivers into islands

and dry up the pools.

16 I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,

along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;

I will turn the darkness into light before them

and make the rough places smooth.

These are the things I will do;

I will not forsake them.

17 But those who trust in idols,

who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’

will be turned back in utter shame.

Israel Blind and Deaf

18 “Hear, you deaf;

look, you blind, and see!

19 Who is blind but my servant,

and deaf like the messenger I send?

Who is blind like the one in covenant with me,

blind like the servant of theLord?

20 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;

your ears are open, but you do not listen.”

21 It pleased theLord

for the sake of his righteousness

to make his law great and glorious.

22 But this is a people plundered and looted,

all of them trapped in pits

or hidden away in prisons.

They have become plunder,

with no one to rescue them;

they have been made loot,

with no one to say, “Send them back.”

23 Which of you will listen to this

or pay close attention in time to come?

24 Who handed Jacob over to become loot,

and Israel to the plunderers?

Was it not theLord,

against whom we have sinned?

For they would not follow his ways;

they did not obey his law.

25 So he poured out on them his burning anger,

the violence of war.

It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand;

it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/ISA/42-d8b64f2eef52e989906f130d7f3e3b67.mp3?version_id=111—

Israel’s Only Savior

1 But now, this is what theLordsays—

he who created you, Jacob,

he who formed you, Israel:

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

2 When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

3 For I am theLordyour God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I give Egypt for your ransom,

Cushand Seba in your stead.

4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight,

and because I love you,

I will give people in exchange for you,

nations in exchange for your life.

5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;

I will bring your children from the east

and gather you from the west.

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

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

Bring my sons from afar

and my daughters from the ends of the earth—

7 everyone who is called by my name,

whom I created for my glory,

whom I formed and made.”

8 Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,

who have ears but are deaf.

9 All the nations gather together

and the peoples assemble.

Which of their gods foretold this

and proclaimed to us the former things?

Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,

so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”

10 “You are my witnesses,” declares theLord,

“and my servant whom I have chosen,

so that you may know and believe me

and understand that I am he.

Before me no god was formed,

nor will there be one after me.

11 I, even I, am theLord,

and apart from me there is no savior.

12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—

I, and not some foreign god among you.

You are my witnesses,” declares theLord, “that I am God.

13 Yes, and from ancient days I am he.

No one can deliver out of my hand.

When I act, who can reverse it?”

God’s Mercy and Israel’s Unfaithfulness

14 This is what theLordsays—

your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

“For your sake I will send to Babylon

and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians,

in the ships in which they took pride.

15 I am theLord, your Holy One,

Israel’s Creator, your King.”

16 This is what theLordsays—

he who made a way through the sea,

a path through the mighty waters,

17 who drew out the chariots and horses,

the army and reinforcements together,

and they lay there, never to rise again,

extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:

18 “Forget the former things;

do not dwell on the past.

19 See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland.

20 The wild animals honor me,

the jackals and the owls,

because I provide water in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland,

to give drink to my people, my chosen,

21 the people I formed for myself

that they may proclaim my praise.

22 “Yet you have not called on me, Jacob,

you have not wearied yourselves forme, Israel.

23 You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings,

nor honored me with your sacrifices.

I have not burdened you with grain offerings

nor wearied you with demands for incense.

24 You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me,

or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices.

But you have burdened me with your sins

and wearied me with your offenses.

25 “I, even I, am he who blots out

your transgressions, for my own sake,

and remembers your sins no more.

26 Review the past for me,

let us argue the matter together;

state the case for your innocence.

27 Your first father sinned;

those I sent to teach you rebelled against me.

28 So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple;

I consigned Jacob to destruction

and Israel to scorn.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/ISA/43-d76a629f05199460d161d66b6836b835.mp3?version_id=111—

Israel the Chosen

1 “But now listen, Jacob, my servant,

Israel, whom I have chosen.

2 This is what theLordsays—

he who made you, who formed you in the womb,

and who will help you:

Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant,

Jeshurun,whom I have chosen.

3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land,

and streams on the dry ground;

I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,

and my blessing on your descendants.

4 They will spring up like grass in a meadow,

like poplar trees by flowing streams.

5 Some will say, ‘I belong to theLord’;

others will call themselves by the name of Jacob;

still others will write on their hand, ‘TheLord’s,’

and will take the name Israel.

The Lord, Not Idols

6 “This is what theLordsays—

Israel’s King and Redeemer, theLordAlmighty:

I am the first and I am the last;

apart from me there is no God.

7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it.

Let him declare and lay out before me

what has happened since I established my ancient people,

and what is yet to come—

yes, let them foretell what will come.

8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid.

Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?

You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?

No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”

9 All who make idols are nothing,

and the things they treasure are worthless.

Those who would speak up for them are blind;

they are ignorant, to their own shame.

10 Who shapes a god and casts an idol,

which can profit nothing?

11 People who do that will be put to shame;

such craftsmen are only human beings.

Let them all come together and take their stand;

they will be brought down to terror and shame.

12 The blacksmith takes a tool

and works with it in the coals;

he shapes an idol with hammers,

he forges it with the might of his arm.

He gets hungry and loses his strength;

he drinks no water and grows faint.

13 The carpenter measures with a line

and makes an outline with a marker;

he roughs it out with chisels

and marks it with compasses.

He shapes it in human form,

human form in all its glory,

that it may dwell in a shrine.

14 He cut down cedars,

or perhaps took a cypress or oak.

He let it grow among the trees of the forest,

or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.

15 It is used as fuel for burning;

some of it he takes and warms himself,

he kindles a fire and bakes bread.

But he also fashions a god and worships it;

he makes an idol and bows down to it.

16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire;

over it he prepares his meal,

he roasts his meat and eats his fill.

He also warms himself and says,

“Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”

17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol;

he bows down to it and worships.

He prays to it and says,

“Save me! You are my god!”

18 They know nothing, they understand nothing;

their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see,

and their minds closed so they cannot understand.

19 No one stops to think,

no one has the knowledge or understanding to say,

“Half of it I used for fuel;

I even baked bread over its coals,

I roasted meat and I ate.

Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left?

Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”

20 Such a person feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him;

he cannot save himself, or say,

“Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”

21 “Remember these things, Jacob,

for you, Israel, are my servant.

I have made you, you are my servant;

Israel, I will not forget you.

22 I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,

your sins like the morning mist.

Return to me,

for I have redeemed you.”

23 Sing for joy, you heavens, for theLordhas done this;

shout aloud, you earth beneath.

Burst into song, you mountains,

you forests and all your trees,

for theLordhas redeemed Jacob,

he displays his glory in Israel.

Jerusalem to Be Inhabited

24 “This is what theLordsays—

your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:

I am theLord,

the Maker of all things,

who stretches out the heavens,

who spreads out the earth by myself,

25 who foils the signs of false prophets

and makes fools of diviners,

who overthrows the learning of the wise

and turns it into nonsense,

26 who carries out the words of his servants

and fulfills the predictions of his messengers,

who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’

of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’

and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’

27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry,

and I will dry up your streams,’

28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd

and will accomplish all that I please;

he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,”

and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.” ’

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/ISA/44-3ccd5c77f95f1e2b178217991b5d1cb1.mp3?version_id=111—

1 “This is what theLordsays to his anointed,

to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of

to subdue nations before him

and to strip kings of their armor,

to open doors before him

so that gates will not be shut:

2 I will go before you

and will level the mountains;

I will break down gates of bronze

and cut through bars of iron.

3 I will give you hidden treasures,

riches stored in secret places,

so that you may know that I am theLord,

the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

4 For the sake of Jacob my servant,

of Israel my chosen,

I summon you by name

and bestow on you a title of honor,

though you do not acknowledge me.

5 I am theLord, and there is no other;

apart from me there is no God.

I will strengthen you,

though you have not acknowledged me,

6 so that from the rising of the sun

to the place of its setting

people may know there is none besides me.

I am theLord, and there is no other.

7 I form the light and create darkness,

I bring prosperity and create disaster;

I, theLord, do all these things.

8 “You heavens above, rain down my righteousness;

let the clouds shower it down.

Let the earth open wide,

let salvation spring up,

let righteousness flourish with it;

I, theLord, have created it.

9 “Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker,

those who are nothing but potsherds

among the potsherds on the ground.

Does the clay say to the potter,

‘What are you making?’

Does your work say,

‘The potter has no hands’?

10 Woe to the one who says to a father,

‘What have you begotten?’

or to a mother,

‘What have you brought to birth?’

11 “This is what theLordsays—

the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:

Concerning things to come,

do you question me about my children,

or give me orders about the work of my hands?

12 It is I who made the earth

and created mankind on it.

My own hands stretched out the heavens;

I marshaled their starry hosts.

13 I will raise up Cyrusin my righteousness:

I will make all his ways straight.

He will rebuild my city

and set my exiles free,

but not for a price or reward,

says theLordAlmighty.”

14 This is what theLordsays:

“The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,

and those tall Sabeans—

they will come over to you

and will be yours;

they will trudge behind you,

coming over to you in chains.

They will bow down before you

and plead with you, saying,

‘Surely God is with you, and there is no other;

there is no other god.’ ”

15 Truly you are a God who has been hiding himself,

the God and Savior of Israel.

16 All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;

they will go off into disgrace together.

17 But Israel will be saved by theLord

with an everlasting salvation;

you will never be put to shame or disgraced,

to ages everlasting.

18 For this is what theLordsays—

he who created the heavens,

he is God;

he who fashioned and made the earth,

he founded it;

he did not create it to be empty,

but formed it to be inhabited—

he says:

“I am theLord,

and there is no other.

19 I have not spoken in secret,

from somewhere in a land of darkness;

I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,

‘Seek me in vain.’

I, theLord, speak the truth;

I declare what is right.

20 “Gather together and come;

assemble, you fugitives from the nations.

Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood,

who pray to gods that cannot save.

21 Declare what is to be, present it—

let them take counsel together.

Who foretold this long ago,

who declared it from the distant past?

Was it not I, theLord?

And there is no God apart from me,

a righteous God and a Savior;

there is none but me.

22 “Turn to me and be saved,

all you ends of the earth;

for I am God, and there is no other.

23 By myself I have sworn,

my mouth has uttered in all integrity

a word that will not be revoked:

Before me every knee will bow;

by me every tongue will swear.

24 They will say of me, ‘In theLordalone

are deliverance and strength.’ ”

All who have raged against him

will come to him and be put to shame.

25 But all the descendants of Israel

will find deliverance in theLord

and will make their boast in him.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/ISA/45-ebe3a26a0c8abe461906148283789e37.mp3?version_id=111—

Gods of Babylon

1 Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low;

their idols are borne by beasts of burden.

The images that are carried about are burdensome,

a burden for the weary.

2 They stoop and bow down together;

unable to rescue the burden,

they themselves go off into captivity.

3 “Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob,

all the remnant of the people of Israel,

you whom I have upheld since your birth,

and have carried since you were born.

4 Even to your old age and gray hairs

I am he, I am he who will sustain you.

I have made you and I will carry you;

I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

5 “With whom will you compare me or count me equal?

To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?

6 Some pour out gold from their bags

and weigh out silver on the scales;

they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god,

and they bow down and worship it.

7 They lift it to their shoulders and carry it;

they set it up in its place, and there it stands.

From that spot it cannot move.

Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;

it cannot save them from their troubles.

8 “Remember this, keep it in mind,

take it to heart, you rebels.

9 Remember the former things, those of long ago;

I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me.

10 I make known the end from the beginning,

from ancient times, what is still to come.

I say, ‘My purpose will stand,

and I will do all that I please.’

11 From the east I summon a bird of prey;

from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.

What I have said, that I will bring about;

what I have planned, that I will do.

12 Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted,

you who are now far from my righteousness.

13 I am bringing my righteousness near,

it is not far away;

and my salvation will not be delayed.

I will grant salvation to Zion,

my splendor to Israel.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/ISA/46-25ba3fc12af764dc3a0b155ae1e9cda4.mp3?version_id=111—

The Fall of Babylon

1 “Go down, sit in the dust,

Virgin Daughter Babylon;

sit on the ground without a throne,

queen city of the Babylonians.

No more will you be called

tender or delicate.

2 Take millstones and grind flour;

take off your veil.

Lift up your skirts, bare your legs,

and wade through the streams.

3 Your nakedness will be exposed

and your shame uncovered.

I will take vengeance;

I will spare no one.”

4 Our Redeemer—theLordAlmighty is his name—

is the Holy One of Israel.

5 “Sit in silence, go into darkness,

queen city of the Babylonians;

no more will you be called

queen of kingdoms.

6 I was angry with my people

and desecrated my inheritance;

I gave them into your hand,

and you showed them no mercy.

Even on the aged

you laid a very heavy yoke.

7 You said, ‘I am forever—

the eternal queen!’

But you did not consider these things

or reflect on what might happen.

8 “Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,

lounging in your security

and saying to yourself,

‘I am, and there is none besides me.

I will never be a widow

or suffer the loss of children.’

9 Both of these will overtake you

in a moment, on a single day:

loss of children and widowhood.

They will come upon you in full measure,

in spite of your many sorceries

and all your potent spells.

10 You have trusted in your wickedness

and have said, ‘No one sees me.’

Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you

when you say to yourself,

‘I am, and there is none besides me.’

11 Disaster will come upon you,

and you will not know how to conjure it away.

A calamity will fall upon you

that you cannot ward off with a ransom;

a catastrophe you cannot foresee

will suddenly come upon you.

12 “Keep on, then, with your magic spells

and with your many sorceries,

which you have labored at since childhood.

Perhaps you will succeed,

perhaps you will cause terror.

13 All the counsel you have received has only worn you out!

Let your astrologers come forward,

those stargazers who make predictions month by month,

let them save you from what is coming upon you.

14 Surely they are like stubble;

the fire will burn them up.

They cannot even save themselves

from the power of the flame.

These are not coals for warmth;

this is not a fire to sit by.

15 That is all they are to you—

these you have dealt with

and labored with since childhood.

All of them go on in their error;

there is not one that can save you.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/ISA/47-86685666acf34e90fbb798ddf4b175a3.mp3?version_id=111—

Stubborn Israel

1 “Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob,

you who are called by the name of Israel

and come from the line of Judah,

you who take oaths in the name of theLord

and invoke the God of Israel—

but not in truth or righteousness—

2 you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city

and claim to rely on the God of Israel—

theLordAlmighty is his name:

3 I foretold the former things long ago,

my mouth announced them and I made them known;

then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.

4 For I knew how stubborn you were;

your neck muscles were iron,

your forehead was bronze.

5 Therefore I told you these things long ago;

before they happened I announced them to you

so that you could not say,

‘My images brought them about;

my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’

6 You have heard these things; look at them all.

Will you not admit them?

“From now on I will tell you of new things,

of hidden things unknown to you.

7 They are created now, and not long ago;

you have not heard of them before today.

So you cannot say,

‘Yes, I knew of them.’

8 You have neither heard nor understood;

from of old your ears have not been open.

Well do I know how treacherous you are;

you were called a rebel from birth.

9 For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath;

for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,

so as not to destroy you completely.

10 See, I have refined you, though not as silver;

I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this.

How can I let myself be defamed?

I will not yield my glory to another.

Israel Freed

12 “Listen to me, Jacob,

Israel, whom I have called:

I am he;

I am the first and I am the last.

13 My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,

and my right hand spread out the heavens;

when I summon them,

they all stand up together.

14 “Come together, all of you, and listen:

Which of the idols has foretold these things?

TheLord’s chosen ally

will carry out his purpose against Babylon;

his arm will be against the Babylonians.

15 I, even I, have spoken;

yes, I have called him.

I will bring him,

and he will succeed in his mission.

16 “Come near me and listen to this:

“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;

at the time it happens, I am there.”

And now the SovereignLordhas sent me,

endowed with his Spirit.

17 This is what theLordsays—

your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

“I am theLordyour God,

who teaches you what is best for you,

who directs you in the way you should go.

18 If only you had paid attention to my commands,

your peace would have been like a river,

your well-being like the waves of the sea.

19 Your descendants would have been like the sand,

your children like its numberless grains;

their name would never be blotted out

nor destroyed from before me.”

20 Leave Babylon,

flee from the Babylonians!

Announce this with shouts of joy

and proclaim it.

Send it out to the ends of the earth;

say, “TheLordhas redeemed his servant Jacob.”

21 They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;

he made water flow for them from the rock;

he split the rock

and water gushed out.

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

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/ISA/48-ee9119e55183e79833c9f1cd9f088d49.mp3?version_id=111—

The Servant of the Lord

1 Listen to me, you islands;

hear this, you distant nations:

Before I was born theLordcalled me;

from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.

2 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,

in the shadow of his hand he hid me;

he made me into a polished arrow

and concealed me in his quiver.

3 He said to me, “You are my servant,

Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.”

4 But I said, “I have labored in vain;

I have spent my strength for nothing at all.

Yet what is due me is in theLord’s hand,

and my reward is with my God.”

5 And now theLordsays—

he who formed me in the womb to be his servant

to bring Jacob back to him

and gather Israel to himself,

for I amhonored in the eyes of theLord

and my God has been my strength—

6 he says:

“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant

to restore the tribes of Jacob

and bring back those of Israel I have kept.

I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,

that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

7 This is what theLordsays—

the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—

to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,

to the servant of rulers:

“Kings will see you and stand up,

princes will see and bow down,

because of theLord, who is faithful,

the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

Restoration of Israel

8 This is what theLordsays:

“In the time of my favor I will answer you,

and in the day of salvation I will help you;

I will keep you and will make you

to be a covenant for the people,

to restore the land

and to reassign its desolate inheritances,

9 to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’

and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’

“They will feed beside the roads

and find pasture on every barren hill.

10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,

nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.

He who has compassion on them will guide them

and lead them beside springs of water.

11 I will turn all my mountains into roads,

and my highways will be raised up.

12 See, they will come from afar—

some from the north, some from the west,

some from the region of Aswan.”

13 Shout for joy, you heavens;

rejoice, you earth;

burst into song, you mountains!

For theLordcomforts his people

and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.

14 But Zion said, “TheLordhas forsaken me,

the Lord has forgotten me.”

15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast

and have no compassion on the child she has borne?

Though she may forget,

I will not forget you!

16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;

your walls are ever before me.

17 Your children hasten back,

and those who laid you waste depart from you.

18 Lift up your eyes and look around;

all your children gather and come to you.

As surely as I live,” declares theLord,

“you will wear them all as ornaments;

you will put them on, like a bride.

19 “Though you were ruined and made desolate

and your land laid waste,

now you will be too small for your people,

and those who devoured you will be far away.

20 The children born during your bereavement

will yet say in your hearing,

‘This place is too small for us;

give us more space to live in.’

21 Then you will say in your heart,

‘Who bore me these?

I was bereaved and barren;

I was exiled and rejected.

Who brought these up?

I was left all alone,

but these—where have they come from?’ ”

22 This is what the SovereignLordsays:

“See, I will beckon to the nations,

I will lift up my banner to the peoples;

they will bring your sons in their arms

and carry your daughters on their hips.

23 Kings will be your foster fathers,

and their queens your nursing mothers.

They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground;

they will lick the dust at your feet.

Then you will know that I am theLord;

those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”

24 Can plunder be taken from warriors,

or captives be rescued from the fierce?

25 But this is what theLordsays:

“Yes, captives will be taken from warriors,

and plunder retrieved from the fierce;

I will contend with those who contend with you,

and your children I will save.

26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;

they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine.

Then all mankind will know

that I, theLord, am your Savior,

your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/ISA/49-a6bfcf19a26ee5348dd1c0a86a945ceb.mp3?version_id=111—