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Isaiah 40-43
Common English Bible
Isaiah 40-43
Common English Bible
Comfort for God’s people
40 Comfort, comfort my people!
says your God.
2 Speak compassionately to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her that her compulsory service has ended,
that her penalty has been paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins!
3 A voice is crying out:
“Clear the Lord’s way in the desert!
Make a level highway in the wilderness for our God!
4 Every valley will be raised up,
and every mountain and hill will be flattened.
Uneven ground will become level,
and rough terrain a valley plain.
5 The Lord’s glory will appear,
and all humanity will see it together;
the Lord’s mouth has commanded it.”
6 A voice was saying:
“Call out!”
And another[a] said,
“What should I call out?”
All flesh is grass;
all its loyalty is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass dries up
and the flower withers
when the Lord’s breath blows on it.
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass dries up;
the flower withers,
but our God’s word will exist forever.
9 Go up on a high mountain,
messenger Zion!
Raise your voice and shout,
messenger Jerusalem!
Raise it; don’t be afraid;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10 Here is the Lord God,
coming with strength,
with a triumphant arm,
bringing his reward with him
and his payment before him.
11 Like a shepherd, God will tend the flock;
he will gather lambs in his arms
and lift them onto his lap.
He will gently guide the nursing ewes.
The incomparable God
12 Who has measured the waters in the palm of a hand
or gauged the heavens with a ruler
or scooped the earth’s dust up in a measuring cup
or weighed the mountains on a scale
and the hills in a balance?
13 Who directed the Lord’s spirit
and acted as God’s advisor?
14 Whom did he consult for enlightenment?
Who taught him the path of justice and knowledge
and explained to him the way of understanding?
15 Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket,
and valued as dust on a scale.
Look, God weighs the islands like fine dust.
16 Lebanon doesn’t have enough fuel;
its animals aren’t enough for an entirely burned offering.
17 All the nations are like nothing before God.
They are viewed as less than nothing and emptiness.
18 So to whom will you equate God;
to what likeness will you compare him?
19 An idol? A craftsman pours it,
a metalworker covers it with gold,
and fashions silver chains.
20 The one who sets up an image chooses wood that won’t rot[b]
and then seeks a skilled artisan
to set up an idol that won’t move.
21 Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard?
Wasn’t it announced to you from the beginning?
Haven’t you understood since the earth was founded?
22 God inhabits the earth’s horizon—
its inhabitants are like locusts—
stretches out the skies like a curtain
and spreads it out like a tent for dwelling.
23 God makes dignitaries useless
and the earth’s judges into nothing.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely is their shoot rooted in the earth
when God breathes on them, and they dry up;
the windstorm carries them off like straw.
25 So to whom will you compare me,
and who is my equal? says the holy one.
Power for the weary
26 Look up at the sky and consider:
Who created these?
The one who brings out their attendants one by one,
summoning each of them by name.
Because of God’s great strength
and mighty power, not one is missing.
27 Why do you say, Jacob,
and declare, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
my God ignores my predicament”?
28 Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the creator of the ends of the earth.
He doesn’t grow tired or weary.
His understanding is beyond human reach,
29 giving power to the tired
and reviving the exhausted.
30 Youths will become tired and weary,
young men will certainly stumble;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength;
they will fly up on wings like eagles;
they will run and not be tired;
they will walk and not be weary.
Victor from the east
41 Be quiet before me, coastlands.
Let the nations renew their strength.
Let them approach and speak.
Let’s draw near for a judgment.
2 Who has awakened one from the east
and has authority to summon him to serve—
giving him nations,
conquering kings,
making them like dust with his sword,
like scattered straw with his bow?
3 He pursues them and passes untouched,
needing no path for his feet.
4 Who has acted and who has done this,
calling upon generation after generation since the beginning?
I, the Lord, was first,
and I will be the last!
5 The coastlands see and fear;
the ends of the earth tremble;
they draw near and arrive.
6 Each helps the other,
each saying to the other, “Take courage!”
7 The craftsman encourages the metalworker;
the one who smoothes with the hammer
encourages the one who strikes the anvil,
saying of the welding, “That’s good,”
and strengthening it with nails so it won’t move.
Israel as God’s servant
8 But you, Israel my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
offspring of Abraham, whom I love,
9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth
and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are my servant;
I chose you and didn’t reject you”:
10 Don’t fear, because I am with you;
don’t be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
I will surely help you;
I will hold you
with my righteous strong hand.
11 All who rage against you will be shamed and disgraced.
Those who contend with you
will be as nothing and will perish.
12 You will look for your opponents,
and won’t find them.
Those who fight you will be of no account and will die.
13 I am the Lord your God,
who grasps your strong hand,
who says to you,
Don’t fear; I will help you.
14 Don’t fear, worm of Jacob,
people of Israel!
I will help you, says the Lord.
The holy one of Israel is your redeemer.
15 Look, I’ve made you
into a new threshing tool with sharp teeth.
You will thresh mountains and pulverize them;
you will reduce hills to straw.
16 When you winnow them,
the wind will carry them off;
the tempest will scatter them.
You will rejoice in the Lord
and take pride in the holy one of Israel.
17 The poor and the needy seek water, and there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, will respond to them;
I, the God of Israel, won’t abandon them.
18 I will open streams on treeless hilltops
and springs in valleys.
I will make the desert into ponds
and dry land into cascades of water.
19 I will plant in the desert cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive trees;
I will put in the wilderness cypress, elm, and pine as well,
20 so that they will see and know
and observe and comprehend
that the Lord’s hand has done this,
and the holy one of Israel has created it.
Other gods challenged
21 Present your case, says the Lord.
Bring forward your evidence, says Jacob’s king.
22 Let the idols[c] approach
and tell us what will happen.
The prior things—what are they?
Announce them, and we’ll think about them
and know their significance.
Or proclaim to us what is to come!
23 Report things that will happen in the future,
then we’ll know that you are gods.
Do good! Or do bad!
Then we will all be afraid and fearful.
24 Look! You are nobody, and your deeds are nothing.
Whoever chooses you is disgusting.
25 I woke up one from the north and he came;
from the east, one who calls my name.
He tramples governors like mud,
as a potter treads clay.
26 Who announced this from the start
so that we would know;
from an earlier time
so we would say, “That’s right”?
Truly, no one announced it,
no one proclaimed it,
and no one heard your words.
27 I first said it to Zion, “Look, here they are”;
to Jerusalem I now send a herald.
28 But I look, and there’s no one
among them, no counselor;
and when I ask,
no one can answer.
29 Look, all of them are frauds;
their deeds amount to nothing;
their images are a total delusion.
God’s servant described
42 But here is my servant, the one I uphold;
my chosen, who brings me delight.
I’ve put my spirit upon him;
he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He won’t cry out or shout aloud
or make his voice heard in public.
3 He won’t break a bruised reed;
he won’t extinguish a faint wick,
but he will surely bring justice.
4 He won’t be extinguished or broken
until he has established justice in the land.
The coastlands await his teaching.
5 God the Lord says—
the one who created the heavens,
the one who stretched them out,
the one who spread out the earth and its offspring,
the one who gave breath to its people
and life to those who walk on it—
6 I, the Lord, have called you for a good reason.
I will grasp your hand and guard you,
and give you as a covenant to the people,
as a light to the nations,
7 to open blind eyes, to lead the prisoners from prison,
and those who sit in darkness from the dungeon.
8 I am the Lord;
that is my name;
I don’t hand out my glory to others
or my praise to idols.
9 The things announced in the past—look—they’ve already happened,
but I’m declaring new things.
Before they even appear,
I tell you about them.
Warrior and mother
10 Sing to the Lord a new song!
Sing his praise from the ends of the earth!
You who sail the sea and all that fills it,
the coastlands and their residents.
11 Let the desert and its towns shout aloud,
the villages that Kedar inhabits.
Let the cliff dwellers sing;
from the top of the mountains let them shout.
12 Let them give the Lord glory
and declare God’s praise in the coastlands.
13 The Lord will go out like a soldier;
like a warrior God will stir up rage.
God will shout, will roar;
over enemies he will prevail.
14 I’ve kept still for a very long time.
I’ve been silent and restrained myself.
Like a woman in labor I will moan;
I will pant, I will gasp.
15 I will wither mountains and valleys,
and I will dry up all their vegetation.
I will turn rivers into deserts,[d]
and I will dry up pools.
16 I will make the blind walk a road they don’t know,
and I will guide them in paths they don’t know.
But I will make darkness before them into light
and rough places into level ground.
These things I will do;
I won’t abandon them.
Blindness and deafness
17 Turned backward, utterly shamed
are those who trust in idols,
who say to a cast image,
“You are our god!”
18 Hear, deaf ones,
and blind ones, look and see!
19 Who is blind if not my servant
and deaf like my messenger whom I send?
Who is blind like the restored one,[e]
blind like the servant of the Lord?
20 You have seen many things, but don’t keep watch.
With ears open, you don’t hear.[f]
21 The Lord desired for the sake of his righteousness
to expand and glorify the Instruction.
22 But this is a people plundered and looted,
everyone trapped in holes and hidden in dungeons.
They have become plunder with no one to rescue,
loot with no one to say, “Give it back.”
23 Which of you will listen to this,
will pay attention and respond from now on?
24 Who gave Jacob to the looter,
and Israel to the plunderers?
Wasn’t it the Lord,
the one we sinned against?
They were not willing to walk in God’s ways,
and wouldn’t listen to his teaching.
25 So God poured out on Jacob the heat of his anger
and the fury of battle.
It scorched him, and he didn’t know it;
it burned him, but he didn’t give it much thought.
Don’t fear
43 But now, says the Lord—
the one who created you, Jacob,
the one who formed you, Israel:
Don’t fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
when through the rivers, they won’t sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you won’t be scorched
and flame won’t burn you.
3 I am the Lord your God,
the holy one of Israel, your savior.
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your place.
4 Because you are precious in my eyes,
you are honored, and I love you.
I give people in your place,
and nations in exchange for your life.
5 Don’t fear,
I am with you.
From the east I’ll bring your children;
from the west I’ll gather you.
6 I’ll say to the north, “Give them back!”
and to the south, “Don’t detain them.”
Bring my sons from far away,
and my daughters from the end of the earth,
7 everyone who is called by my name
and whom I created for my glory,
whom I have formed and made.
8 Bring out the blind people who have eyes,
the deaf ones who have ears.
9 All the nations are gathered together;
the peoples are assembled.
Which of them announced this?
Who predicted to us the past events?
Let them bring their witnesses as a defense;
let them hear and say, “It’s true!”
10 You are my witnesses, says the Lord,
my servant, whom I chose,
so that you would know and believe me
and understand that I am the one.
Before me no god was formed;
after me there has been no other.
11 I, I am the Lord,
and there is no savior besides me.
12 I announced, I saved, I proclaimed,
not some stranger among you.
You are my witnesses, says the Lord,
and I am God.
13 From the dawn of time, I am the one.
No one can escape my power.
I act, and who can undo it?
Don’t remember
14 The Lord your redeemer,
the holy one of Israel, says,
For your sake, I have sent an army[g] to Babylon,
and brought down all the bars,
turning the Chaldeans’ singing into a lament.[h]
15 I am the Lord, your holy one,
Israel’s creator, your king!
16 The Lord says—who makes a way in the sea
and a path in the mighty waters,
17 who brings out chariot and horse,
army and battalion;
they will lie down together and will not rise;
they will be extinguished, extinguished like a wick.
18 Don’t remember the prior things;
don’t ponder ancient history.
19 Look! I’m doing a new thing;
now it sprouts up; don’t you recognize it?
I’m making a way in the desert,
paths[i] in the wilderness.
20 The beasts of the field,
the jackals and ostriches, will honor me,
because I have put water in the desert
and streams in the wilderness
to give water to my people,
my chosen ones,
21 this people whom I formed for myself,
who will recount my praise.
22 But you didn’t call out to me, Jacob;
you were tired of me, Israel.
23 You didn’t bring me lambs for your entirely burned offering;
you didn’t honor me with your sacrifices.
I didn’t make you worship with offerings;
I didn’t weary you with frankincense.
24 You didn’t buy spices for me with your money,
or satisfy me with the fat of your sacrifices.
Instead, you have burdened me with your sins
and wearied me with your evil actions.
25 I, I am the one who wipes out your rebellious behavior for my sake. I won’t remember your sin.
26 Summon me, and let’s go to trial together;
you tell your story so that you may be vindicated!
27 Your first ancestor sinned,
and your officials rebelled against me.
28 So I made the holy officials impure,
handed over Jacob to destruction and Israel to abuse.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 40:6 MT; DSS (1QIsaa), LXX I
- Isaiah 40:20 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 41:22 Or them
- Isaiah 42:15 Or islands
- Isaiah 42:19 Heb Meshullam, possibly a proper name
- Isaiah 42:20 Or he does not hear
- Isaiah 43:14 Heb lacks an army.
- Isaiah 43:14 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 43:19 DSS (1QIsaa); MT streams
Isaiah 40-43
New International Version
Isaiah 40-43
New International Version
Comfort for God’s People
40 Comfort, comfort(A) my people,
says your God.
2 Speak tenderly(B) to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service(C) has been completed,(D)
that her sin has been paid for,(E)
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double(F) for all her sins.
3 A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way(G) for the Lord[a];
make straight(H) in the desert
a highway for our God.[b](I)
4 Every valley shall be raised up,(J)
every mountain and hill(K) made low;
the rough ground shall become level,(L)
the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory(M) of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.(N)
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”(O)
6 A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All people are like grass,(P)
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass withers(Q) and the flowers fall,
because the breath(R) of the Lord blows(S) on them.
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers(T) fall,
but the word(U) of our God endures(V) forever.(W)”
9 You who bring good news(X) to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,[c](Y)
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”(Z)
10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes(AA) with power,(AB)
and he rules(AC) with a mighty arm.(AD)
See, his reward(AE) is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:(AF)
He gathers the lambs in his arms(AG)
and carries them close to his heart;(AH)
he gently leads(AI) those that have young.(AJ)
12 Who has measured the waters(AK) in the hollow of his hand,(AL)
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?(AM)
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?(AN)
13 Who can fathom the Spirit[d](AO) of the Lord,
or instruct the Lord as his counselor?(AP)
14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,(AQ)
or showed him the path of understanding?(AR)
15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;(AS)
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.(AT)
16 Lebanon(AU) is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals(AV) enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations(AW) are as nothing;(AX)
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.(AY)
18 With whom, then, will you compare God?(AZ)
To what image(BA) will you liken him?
19 As for an idol,(BB) a metalworker casts it,
and a goldsmith(BC) overlays it with gold(BD)
and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A person too poor to present such an offering
selects wood(BE) that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
to set up an idol(BF) that will not topple.(BG)
21 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?(BH)
Has it not been told(BI) you from the beginning?(BJ)
Have you not understood(BK) since the earth was founded?(BL)
22 He sits enthroned(BM) above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.(BN)
He stretches out the heavens(BO) like a canopy,(BP)
and spreads them out like a tent(BQ) to live in.(BR)
23 He brings princes(BS) to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.(BT)
24 No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root(BU) in the ground,
than he blows(BV) on them and they wither,(BW)
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.(BX)
25 “To whom will you compare me?(BY)
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.(BZ)
26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:(CA)
Who created(CB) all these?
He who brings out the starry host(CC) one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,(CD)
not one of them is missing.(CE)
27 Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?(CF)
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?(CG)
The Lord is the everlasting(CH) God,
the Creator(CI) of the ends of the earth.(CJ)
He will not grow tired or weary,(CK)
and his understanding no one can fathom.(CL)
29 He gives strength(CM) to the weary(CN)
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men(CO) stumble and fall;(CP)
31 but those who hope(CQ) in the Lord
will renew their strength.(CR)
They will soar on wings like eagles;(CS)
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.(CT)
The Helper of Israel
41 “Be silent(CU) before me, you islands!(CV)
Let the nations renew their strength!(CW)
Let them come forward(CX) and speak;
let us meet together(CY) at the place of judgment.
2 “Who has stirred(CZ) up one from the east,(DA)
calling him in righteousness(DB) to his service[e]?(DC)
He hands nations over to him
and subdues kings before him.
He turns them to dust(DD) with his sword,
to windblown chaff(DE) with his bow.(DF)
3 He pursues them and moves on unscathed,(DG)
by a path his feet have not traveled before.
4 Who has done this and carried it through,
calling(DH) forth the generations from the beginning?(DI)
I, the Lord—with the first of them
and with the last(DJ)—I am he.(DK)”
5 The islands(DL) have seen it and fear;
the ends of the earth(DM) tremble.
They approach and come forward;
6 they help each other
and say to their companions, “Be strong!(DN)”
7 The metalworker(DO) encourages the goldsmith,(DP)
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.(DQ)
8 “But you, Israel, my servant,(DR)
Jacob, whom I have chosen,(DS)
you descendants of Abraham(DT) my friend,(DU)
9 I took you from the ends of the earth,(DV)
from its farthest corners I called(DW) you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’;(DX)
I have chosen(DY) you and have not rejected you.
10 So do not fear,(DZ) for I am with you;(EA)
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen(EB) you and help(EC) you;
I will uphold you(ED) with my righteous right hand.(EE)
11 “All who rage(EF) against you
will surely be ashamed and disgraced;(EG)
those who oppose(EH) you
will be as nothing and perish.(EI)
12 Though you search for your enemies,
you will not find them.(EJ)
Those who wage war against you
will be as nothing(EK) at all.
13 For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand(EL)
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help(EM) you.
14 Do not be afraid,(EN) you worm(EO) Jacob,
little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help(EP) you,” declares the Lord,
your Redeemer,(EQ) the Holy One(ER) of Israel.
15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,(ES)
new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains(ET) and crush them,
and reduce the hills to chaff.(EU)
16 You will winnow(EV) them, the wind will pick them up,
and a gale(EW) will blow them away.(EX)
But you will rejoice(EY) in the Lord
and glory(EZ) in the Holy One(FA) of Israel.
17 “The poor and needy search for water,(FB)
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.(FC)
But I the Lord will answer(FD) them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake(FE) them.
18 I will make rivers flow(FF) on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert(FG) into pools of water,(FH)
and the parched ground into springs.(FI)
19 I will put in the desert(FJ)
the cedar and the acacia,(FK) the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers(FL) in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress(FM) together,(FN)
20 so that people may see and know,(FO)
may consider and understand,(FP)
that the hand(FQ) of the Lord has done this,
that the Holy One(FR) of Israel has created(FS) it.
21 “Present your case,(FT)” says the Lord.
“Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.(FU)
22 “Tell us, you idols,
what is going to happen.(FV)
Tell us what the former things(FW) were,
so that we may consider them
and know their final outcome.
Or declare to us the things to come,(FX)
23 tell us what the future holds,
so we may know(FY) that you are gods.
Do something, whether good or bad,(FZ)
so that we will be dismayed(GA) and filled with fear.
24 But you are less than nothing(GB)
and your works are utterly worthless;(GC)
whoever chooses you is detestable.(GD)
25 “I have stirred(GE) up one from the north,(GF) and he comes—
one from the rising sun who calls on my name.
He treads(GG) on rulers as if they were mortar,
as if he were a potter treading the clay.
26 Who told of this from the beginning,(GH) so we could know,
or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?
No one told of this,
no one foretold(GI) it,
no one heard any words(GJ) from you.
27 I was the first to tell(GK) Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’
I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.(GL)
28 I look but there is no one(GM)—
no one among the gods to give counsel,(GN)
no one to give answer(GO) when I ask them.
29 See, they are all false!
Their deeds amount to nothing;(GP)
their images(GQ) are but wind(GR) and confusion.
The Servant of the Lord
42 “Here is my servant,(GS) whom I uphold,
my chosen one(GT) in whom I delight;(GU)
I will put my Spirit(GV) on him,
and he will bring justice(GW) to the nations.(GX)
2 He will not shout or cry out,(GY)
or raise his voice in the streets.
3 A bruised reed(GZ) he will not break,(HA)
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.(HB)
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;(HC)
4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice(HD) on earth.
In his teaching(HE) the islands(HF) will put their hope.”(HG)
5 This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens,(HH) who stretches them out,
who spreads out the earth(HI) with all that springs from it,(HJ)
who gives breath(HK) to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:
6 “I, the Lord, have called(HL) you in righteousness;(HM)
I will take hold of your hand.(HN)
I will keep(HO) you and will make you
to be a covenant(HP) for the people
and a light(HQ) for the Gentiles,(HR)
7 to open eyes that are blind,(HS)
to free(HT) captives from prison(HU)
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.(HV)
8 “I am the Lord;(HW) that is my name!(HX)
I will not yield my glory to another(HY)
or my praise to idols.(HZ)
9 See, the former things(IA) have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
I announce(IB) them to you.”
Song of Praise to the Lord
10 Sing(IC) to the Lord a new song,(ID)
his praise(IE) from the ends of the earth,(IF)
you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,(IG)
you islands,(IH) and all who live in them.
11 Let the wilderness(II) and its towns raise their voices;
let the settlements where Kedar(IJ) lives rejoice.
Let the people of Sela(IK) sing for joy;
let them shout from the mountaintops.(IL)
12 Let them give glory(IM) to the Lord
and proclaim his praise(IN) in the islands.(IO)
13 The Lord will march out like a champion,(IP)
like a warrior(IQ) he will stir up his zeal;(IR)
with a shout(IS) he will raise the battle cry
and will triumph over his enemies.(IT)
14 “For a long time I have kept silent,(IU)
I have been quiet and held myself back.(IV)
But now, like a woman in childbirth,
I cry out, I gasp and pant.(IW)
15 I will lay waste(IX) the mountains(IY) and hills
and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn rivers into islands
and dry up(IZ) the pools.
16 I will lead(JA) the blind(JB) by ways they have not known,
along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light(JC) before them
and make the rough places smooth.(JD)
These are the things I will do;
I will not forsake(JE) them.
17 But those who trust in idols,
who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’(JF)
will be turned back in utter shame.(JG)
Israel Blind and Deaf
18 “Hear, you deaf;(JH)
look, you blind, and see!
19 Who is blind(JI) but my servant,(JJ)
and deaf like the messenger(JK) I send?
Who is blind like the one in covenant(JL) with me,
blind like the servant of the Lord?
20 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;
your ears are open, but you do not listen.”(JM)
21 It pleased the Lord
for the sake(JN) of his righteousness
to make his law(JO) great and glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered(JP) and looted,
all of them trapped in pits(JQ)
or hidden away in prisons.(JR)
They have become plunder,
with no one to rescue them;(JS)
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(JT) in time to come?
24 Who handed Jacob over to become loot,
and Israel to the plunderers?(JU)
Was it not the Lord,(JV)
against whom we have sinned?
For they would not follow(JW) his ways;
they did not obey his law.(JX)
25 So he poured out on them his burning anger,(JY)
the violence of war.
It enveloped them in flames,(JZ) yet they did not understand;(KA)
it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.(KB)
Israel’s Only Savior
43 But now, this is what the Lord says—
he who created(KC) you, Jacob,
he who formed(KD) you, Israel:(KE)
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed(KF) you;
I have summoned you by name;(KG) you are mine.(KH)
2 When you pass through the waters,(KI)
I will be with you;(KJ)
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,(KK)
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.(KL)
3 For I am the Lord your God,(KM)
the Holy One(KN) of Israel, your Savior;(KO)
I give Egypt(KP) for your ransom,
Cush[f](KQ) and Seba(KR) in your stead.(KS)
4 Since you are precious and honored(KT) in my sight,
and because I love(KU) you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid,(KV) for I am with you;(KW)
I will bring your children(KX) from the east
and gather(KY) you from the west.(KZ)
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
and to the south,(LA) ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters(LB) from the ends of the earth(LC)—
7 everyone who is called by my name,(LD)
whom I created(LE) for my glory,(LF)
whom I formed and made.(LG)”
8 Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,(LH)
who have ears but are deaf.(LI)
9 All the nations gather together(LJ)
and the peoples assemble.
Which of their gods foretold(LK) 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,(LL)” declares the Lord,
“and my servant(LM) whom I have chosen,
so that you may know(LN) and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god(LO) was formed,
nor will there be one after me.(LP)
11 I, even I, am the Lord,(LQ)
and apart from me there is no savior.(LR)
12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
I, and not some foreign god(LS) among you.
You are my witnesses,(LT)” declares the Lord, “that I am God.
13 Yes, and from ancient days(LU) I am he.(LV)
No one can deliver out of my hand.
When I act, who can reverse it?”(LW)
God’s Mercy and Israel’s Unfaithfulness
14 This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer,(LX) the Holy One(LY) of Israel:
“For your sake I will send to Babylon
and bring down as fugitives(LZ) all the Babylonians,[g](MA)
in the ships in which they took pride.
15 I am the Lord,(MB) your Holy One,
Israel’s Creator,(MC) your King.(MD)”
16 This is what the Lord says—
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,(ME)
17 who drew out(MF) the chariots and horses,(MG)
the army and reinforcements together,(MH)
and they lay(MI) there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:(MJ)
18 “Forget the former things;(MK)
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!(ML)
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness(MM)
and streams in the wasteland.(MN)
20 The wild animals(MO) honor me,
the jackals(MP) and the owls,
because I provide water(MQ) in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
21 the people I formed(MR) for myself(MS)
that they may proclaim my praise.(MT)
22 “Yet you have not called on me, Jacob,
you have not wearied(MU) yourselves for[h] me, Israel.(MV)
23 You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings,(MW)
nor honored(MX) me with your sacrifices.(MY)
I have not burdened(MZ) you with grain offerings
nor wearied you with demands(NA) for incense.(NB)
24 You have not bought any fragrant calamus(NC) for me,
or lavished on me the fat(ND) of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins
and wearied(NE) me with your offenses.(NF)
25 “I, even I, am he who blots out
your transgressions,(NG) for my own sake,(NH)
and remembers your sins(NI) no more.(NJ)
26 Review the past for me,
let us argue the matter together;(NK)
state the case(NL) for your innocence.
27 Your first father(NM) sinned;
those I sent to teach(NN) you rebelled(NO) against me.
28 So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple;
I consigned Jacob to destruction[i](NP)
and Israel to scorn.(NQ)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 40:3 Or A voice of one calling in the wilderness: / “Prepare the way for the Lord
- Isaiah 40:3 Hebrew; Septuagint make straight the paths of our God
- Isaiah 40:9 Or Zion, bringer of good news, / go up on a high mountain. / Jerusalem, bringer of good news
- Isaiah 40:13 Or mind
- Isaiah 41:2 Or east, / whom victory meets at every step
- Isaiah 43:3 That is, the upper Nile region
- Isaiah 43:14 Or Chaldeans
- Isaiah 43:22 Or Jacob; / surely you have grown weary of
- Isaiah 43:28 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
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Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.