That thou mayest say to the prisoners, 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.

“They will not hunger or thirst,
Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down;
For He who has compassion on them will lead them,
And He will guide them to springs of water.

And I have made all My mountains for a way, And My highways are lifted up.

See, these are coming from far; and these from the north and the west; and these from the land of Sinim.

Let your voice be loud in song, O heavens; and be glad, O earth; make sounds of joy, O mountains, for the Lord has given comfort to his people, and will have mercy on his crushed ones.

“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
or lack compassion for the child of her womb?
Even if these forget,
yet I will not forget you.

Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

“Your builders hurry;
Your destroyers and devastators
Will go away from you.

“Lift up your eyes and look around [at the returning exiles];
All these gather together and they come to you [to rebuild you].
As I live,” declares the Lord,
“You [Zion] will indeed clothe yourself with all of them as jewels and tie them on as a bride.

Because thy wastes, and thy desolate places, And the land of thy ruins, Surely now are straitened because of inhabitants, And far off have been those consuming thee.

“The children of your bereavement [those born in captivity] will yet say in your ears,
‘The place is too cramped for me’;
Make room for me that I may live here.

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?

Thus said the Lord Jehovah: 'Lo, I lift up unto nations My hand, And unto peoples I raise up Mine ensign, And they have brought thy sons in the bosom, And thy daughters on the shoulder are carried.

And kings have been thy nursing fathers, And their princesses thy nursing mothers; Face to the earth -- they bow down to thee, And the dust of thy feet they lick up, And thou hast known that I am Jehovah, That those expecting Me are not ashamed.

Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?

Indeed, this is what the Lord says,

“Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away,
And the tyrant’s spoils of war will be rescued;
For I will contend with your opponent,
And I will save your children.

“I will make those who oppress you consume their own flesh [in mutually destructive wars]
And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine;
And all mankind will know [with a knowledge grounded in personal experience] that I, the Lord, am your Savior
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.

Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that 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.

By me the heavens are clothed with black, and I make haircloth their robe.

The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.

The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.

I was offering my back to those who gave me blows, and my face to those who were pulling out my hair: I did not keep my face covered from marks of shame.

For the Lord God helps Me,
Therefore, I have not been ashamed or humiliated.
Therefore, I have made My face like flint,
And I know that I shall not be put to shame.

Lo, the Lord Jehovah giveth help to me, Who is he that declareth me wicked? Lo, all of them as a garment wear out, A moth doth eat them.

Who among you has the fear of the Lord, giving ear to the voice of his servant who has been walking in the dark and has no light? Let him put his faith in the name of the Lord, looking to his God for support.

Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.

Hearken 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.

Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.

For the Lord will comfort Zion [in her captivity];
He will comfort all her ruins.
And He will make her wilderness like Eden,
And her desert like the garden of the Lord;
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
Thanksgiving and the voice of a melody.

Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.

“My righteousness (justice) is near, My salvation has gone forth,
And My arms will judge the peoples;
The islands and coastlands will wait for Me,
And they will wait with hope and confident expectation for My arm.

Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.

Listen to me, you who know righteousness, people [who have] my teaching in their heart; you must not fear [the] reproach of men, or be terrified because of their abuse.

“For the moth will eat them like a garment,
And the worm will eat them like wool.
But My righteousness and justice [faithfully promised] will exist forever,
And My salvation to all generations.”

Awake! Awake; put on strength, O arm of Yahweh! Awake as [in] days of long ago, [the] generations of a long time back! [Are] you not the one who cut Rahab in pieces, [the] one who pierced [the] sea-dragon?

Was it not You who dried up the [Red] Sea,
The waters of the great deep,
Who made the depths of the sea a pathway
For the redeemed to cross over?

I -- I am He -- your comforter, Who art thou -- and thou art afraid of man? he dieth! And of the son of man -- grass he is made!

And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?

For I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the Lord of hosts is His name.

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

These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee?

Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury of the LORD, the rebuke of thy God.

Therefore, now hear this, you who are afflicted,
Who are drunk, but not with wine [but overwhelmed by the wrath of God].

So says your Lord, the Lord, who is also your God
Who pleads the cause of His people,
“Listen carefully, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering and intoxication,
The cup of My wrath;
You shall never drink it again.

“I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,
Who have said to you, ‘Lie down so that we may walk over you.’
You have even made your back like the ground
And like the street for those who walk over it.”

Awake, awake,
Put on your strength, O Zion;
Put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city;
For the uncircumcised and the unclean
Will no longer come into you.

Shake yourself from the dust, arise,
O captive Jerusalem;
Rid yourself of the chains around your neck,
O captive Daughter of Zion.

For thus saith Jehovah, Ye were sold for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.

So now what have I here”—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
“that My people are taken away for nothing?
Its rulers wail”—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
“and My name is continually blasphemed all day long.

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices,
Together they shout for joy;
For they will see face to face
The return of the Lord to Zion.

The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Turn aside, turn aside, go out thence, The unclean touch not, go out from her midst, Be ye pure, who are bearing the weapons of Jehovah.

For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.

As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

For He [the Servant of God] grew up before Him like a tender shoot (plant),
And like a root out of dry ground;
He has no stately form or majestic splendor
That we would look at Him,
Nor [handsome] appearance that we would be attracted to Him.

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

We all went astray like sheep;
we all have turned to our own way;
and the Lord has punished Him
for the iniquity of us all.

Men were cruel to him, but he was gentle and quiet; as a lamb taken to its death, and as a sheep before those who take her wool makes no sound, so he said not a word.

And it appointeth with the wicked his grave, And with the rich are his high places, Because he hath done no violence, Nor is deceit in his mouth.

For this cause he will have a heritage with the great, and he will have a part in the goods of war with the strong, because he gave up his life, and was numbered with the evil-doers; taking on himself the sins of the people, and making prayer for the wrongdoers.

Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.

“Enlarge the site of your tent [to make room for more children];
Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not spare them;
Lengthen your tent ropes
And make your pegs (stakes) firm [in the ground].

“For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
And your descendants will take possession of nations
And will inhabit deserted cities.

“Do not fear, for you will not be put to shame,
And do not feel humiliated or ashamed, for you will not be disgraced.
For you will forget the shame of your youth,
And you will no longer remember the disgrace of your widowhood.

“For your husband is your Maker,
The Lord of hosts is His name;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
Who is called the God of the whole earth.

“For the Lord has called you,
Like a wife who has been abandoned, grieved in spirit,
And like a wife [married] in her youth when she is [later] rejected and scorned,”
Says your God.

“In an outburst of wrath
I hid My face from you for a moment,
But with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,”
Says the Lord your Redeemer.

“For this is like the waters of Noah to Me,
As I swore [an oath] that the waters of Noah
Would not flood the earth again;
In the same way I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
Nor will I rebuke you.

“For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,
Nor will My covenant of peace be shaken,”
Says the Lord who has compassion on you.

“O you afflicted [city], storm-tossed, and not comforted,
Listen carefully, I will set your [precious] stones in mortar,
And lay your foundations with sapphires.

“And I will make your battlements of rubies,
And your gates of [shining] beryl stones,
And all your [barrier] walls of precious stones.

And all thy sons are taught of Jehovah, And abundant is the peace of thy sons.

“You will be firmly established in righteousness:
You will be far from [even the thought of] oppression, for you will not fear,
And from terror, for it will not come near you.

See, they may be moved to war, but not by my authority: all those who come together to make an attack on you, will be broken against you.

See, I have made the iron-worker, blowing on the burning coals, and making the instrument of war by his work; and I have made the waster for destruction.

“No weapon that is formed against you will succeed;
And every tongue that rises against you in judgment you will condemn.
This [peace, righteousness, security, and triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And this is their vindication from Me,” says the Lord.

"Hey, all who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come! Buy and eat! Come! Buy wine and milk without money and without cost!

Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

“Listen carefully, I have appointed him [David, representing the Messiah] to be a witness to the nations [regarding salvation],
A leader and commander to the peoples.

“In fact, you [Israel] will call a nation that you do not know,
And a nation that does not know you will run to you,
Because of the Lord your God, even the Holy One of Israel;
For He has glorified you.”

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

For with joy ye go forth, And with peace ye are brought in, The mountains and the hills Break forth before you with singing, And all trees of the field clap the hand.

The Lord says, Let your way of life be upright, and let your behaviour be rightly ordered: for my salvation is near, and my righteousness will quickly be seen.

For thus said Jehovah of the eunuchs, Who do keep My sabbaths, And have fixed on that which I desired, And are keeping hold on My covenant:

And sons of the stranger, who are joined to Jehovah, To serve Him, and to love the name of Jehovah, To be to Him for servants, Every keeper of the sabbath from polluting it, And those keeping hold on My covenant.

I have brought them unto My holy mountain, And caused them to rejoice in My house of prayer, Their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices Are for a pleasing thing on Mine altar, For My house, 'A house of prayer,' Is called for all the peoples.

The Lord GOD which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.

All you beasts of the field, come together for your meat, even all you beasts of the wood.

His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.

Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.

""Come!' they say, "let's have some wine, and let's fill ourselves with strong drink! Then, tomorrow will be like today, or even much better!'"

The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.