The oppressed and the poor look for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched from thirst. I, the Lord, will respond to their prayers; I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.

But you are nothing, and your work is of no value: foolish is he who takes you for his gods.

“I have stirred up and put into action one from the north [the king of Persia, Cyrus the Great], and he has come;
From the rising of the sun he will call on My Name [in prayer].
And he will trample on [the Babylonian] officials as on mortar,
Even as a potter treads clay.”

Who declared this from the beginning, and we will know him; or from the old times, and we will confess and say that he is righteous? But there is none that showeth or declareth anything; there is none also that heareth your words.

I look, but there is no one, among them there is no one who serves as an adviser, that I might ask questions and receive answers.

Lo, wicked are they and vain, with the things also that they take in hand: yea, their images are but wind and emptiness.

A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: but faithfully and truly shall he give judgment.

“I have kept silent from ages past;
I have been quiet and restrained Myself.
But now, I will groan like a woman in labor,
gasping breathlessly.

Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I send? who is blind as he that is at peace with me , and blind as Jehovah's servant?

You see many things, but don't comprehend; their ears are open, but do not hear."

But these people are looted and plundered; all of them are trapped in pits and held captive in prisons. They were carried away as loot with no one to rescue them; they were carried away as plunder, and no one says, "Bring that back!"

But who is he among you, that pondereth this in his mind, that considereth it, and taketh it for a warning in time to come?

So he poured out his fierce anger on them, along with the devastation of war. Its flames encircled them, but they did not realize it; it burned against them, but they did notice.

But now thus saith Jehovah that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed thee; I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine.

I will say to the North, 'Let go.' And to the South, 'Keep not back: but bring me my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the world:

Send out the blind people who have eyes, and those who have ears, but they are shut.

All nations shall come in one, and be gathered in one people. But which among yonder gods shall declare such things, and tell us what is to come? Let them bring their witnesses, so shall they be free: for then men shall hear it, and say, "It is truth."

But I bring you witnesses, sayeth the LORD: even those that are my servants, whom I have chosen - to the intent that ye might be certified and give me faithful credence. Yea, and to consider, that I am he before whom there was never any God, and there shall be none after me.

I, even I, am the Lord; and there is no saviour but me.

Behold, I shall make a new thing, and shortly shall it appear. Ye shall well know it; I told it you afore, but I will tell it you again. I will make streets in the desert, and rivers of water in the wilderness.

"But you did not call for me, O Jacob; you did not long for me, O Israel.

Thou hast not bought for me with silver, fragrant calamus, Nor with the fat of thy sacrifices, hast thou sated me, - Thou hast done nothing but oppress me with thy sins, Thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.

“But now listen, O Jacob, My servant,
And Israel, whom I have chosen:

This is what the Lord, Israel's king, says, their protector, the Lord who commands armies: "I am the first and I am the last, there is no God but me.

Don't panic! Don't be afraid! Did I not tell you beforehand and decree it? You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me? There is no other sheltering rock; I know of none.

All carvers of Images are but vain, and the carved images that they love can do no good. They must bear record themselves, that seeing they can neither see nor understand they shall be confounded.

Whoever makes a god, makes nothing but a metal image in which there is no profit.

Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed; and the workmen are but men. Let them all be gathered together, let them stand up: they shall fear, they shall be ashamed together.

The iron-smith hath a chisel, and he worketh in the coals, and he fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with his strong arm; but he is hungry, and his strength faileth; he hath not drunk water, and he is faint.

But the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god.”

But I set up the purpose of my servants, and fulfill the counsel of my messengers. I say unto Jerusalem, "Turn again," and to the cities of Judah, "Be ye builded again," and I repair their decayed places.

I am the Lord, I have no peer, there is no God but me. I arm you for battle, even though you do not recognize me.

I do this so people will recognize from east to west that there is no God but me; I am the Lord, I have no peer.

It is me -- I stir him up and commission him; I will make all his ways level. He will rebuild my city; he will send my exiled people home, but not for a price or a bribe," says the Lord who commands armies.

But Israel shall be saved by Jehovah with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be put to shame nor confounded world without end.

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

“I have not spoken in secret,
In a corner of a land of darkness;
I did not say to the descendants of Jacob,
‘Seek Me in vain [with no benefit for yourselves].’
I, the Lord, speak righteousness [the truth—trustworthy, a straightforward correlation between deeds and words],
Declaring things that are upright.

Tell me! Present the evidence! Let them consult with one another! Who predicted this in the past? Who announced it beforehand? Was it not I, the Lord? I have no peer, there is no God but me, a God who vindicates and delivers; there is none but me.

I swear by myself: out of my mouth cometh the word of righteousness, and that may no man turn: but all knees shall bow unto me, and all tongues shall swear by me,

saying, "Verily in the LORD is my righteousness and strength. To him shall men come: but all they that think scorn of him, shall be confounded."

They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.

And they lift it on their shoulders, carry it, set it up in its place, and there it stands. It cannot move from that spot. One may even call to it, but it cannot answer nor save him from his distress.

Hear me, O ye that are of a high stomach, but far from righteousness:

I have brought near my righteousness. It shall not be far away, And my deliverance, shall not linger, - But I will give In Zion, deliverance, To Israel, my glory.

But as for thee O daughter, thou virgin Babylon, thou shalt sit in the dust. Thou shalt sit upon the ground, and not in a throne, O thou maiden of Chaldea. Thou shalt no more be called tender and pleasant.

I was so wroth with my people, that I punished mine inheritance, and gave them into thy power. Nevertheless, thou showedest them no mercy, but even the very aged men of them, didst thou oppress right sore with thy yoke.

And now hear this, thou voluptuous one, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thy heart, It is I, and there is none but me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know loss of children:

but these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood; in their full measure shall they come upon thee, in the multitude of thy sorceries, and the great abundance of thine enchantments.

For thou hast confided in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath seduced thee; and thou hast said in thy heart, It is I, and there is none but me.

“But evil will come on you
Which you will not know how to charm away;
And disaster will fall on you
For which you cannot atone;
And destruction about which you do not know
Will come on you suddenly.

"But stand up now with your spells and your many incantations, at which you have labored from your childhood until today,

But your mind is troubled by the number of your guides: let them now come forward for your salvation: the measurers of the heavens, the watchers of the stars, and those who are able to say from month to month what things are coming on you.

Listen to this, O family of Jacob, you who are called by the name 'Israel,' and are descended from Judah, who take oaths in the name of the Lord, and invoke the God of Israel -- but not in an honest and just manner.

Hear and consider all these things, whether it was ye that prophesied them: But as for me, I told thee before at the beginning, new and secret things that thou knewest not of.

Look, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have purified you in the furnace of misery.

"But there is no peace," says the LORD, "for the wicked."

But I thought, "I have worked in vain; I have expended my energy for absolutely nothing." But the Lord will vindicate me; my God will reward me.

And He said, It is but a little thing that You should be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to bring back the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You for a light to the nations, to be My salvation to the end of the earth.

Saying to those who are bound and captured, ‘Go forth,’
And to those who are in [spiritual] darkness, ‘Show yourselves [come into the light of the Savior].’
They will feed along the roads [on which they travel],
And their pastures will be on all the bare heights.

But Zion said, Jehovah hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me.

“Can a woman forget her nursing child
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.

Yes, your land lies in ruins; it is desolate and devastated. But now you will be too small to hold your residents, and those who devoured you will be far away.

Then shalt thou think by thyself, "Who hath begotten me these? Seeing I am barren and alone, a captive and an outcast? And who hath nourished them up for me? I am desolate and alone, but from whence come these?"

But thus saith Jehovah, 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 contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.

But I offer my back unto the smiters, and my cheeks to the nippers. I turn not my face from shame and spitting,

But the sovereign Lord helps me, so I am not humiliated. For that reason I am steadfastly resolved; I know I will not be put to shame.

But take heed, ye have all kindled a fire, and girded yourselves with the flame. Ye walk in the glistering of your own fire, and in the flame that ye have kindled. This cometh unto you from my hand, namely that ye shall sleep in sorrow.

Look at Abraham, your father, and Sarah, who gave you birth. When I summoned him, he was a lone individual, but I blessed him and gave him numerous descendants.

Look up at the sky! Look at the earth below! For the sky will dissipate like smoke, and the earth will wear out like clothes; its residents will die like gnats. But the deliverance I give is permanent; the vindication I provide will not disappear.

For a moth will eat away at them like clothes; a clothes moth will devour them like wool. But the vindication I provide will be permanent; the deliverance I give will last."

That you have forgotten the Lord your Maker,
Who stretched out the heavens
And laid the foundations of the earth,
That you fear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor,
As he makes ready to destroy?
But where is the fury of the oppressor?

But, I - Yahweh, am thy God, Who threw into commotion the sea And the waves thereof roared, - Yahweh of hosts, is his name.

These double disasters confronted you. But who feels sorry for you? Destruction and devastation, famine and sword. But who consoles you?

So listen to this, oppressed one, who is drunk, but not from wine!

But I will put it into the hand of thy tormentors, Who said to thy soul, Bow down thus we may pass over, - And so thou didst place as the ground, thy back, Yea as the street to such as were passing along.

For, thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh, To Egypt, went down my people at first to sojourn there, - But, Assyria, without cause, hath oppressed him.

But now, what do I have here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that My people have been taken away without reason? Those who rule over them howl [with taunting and mockery of salvation],” declares the Lord, “and My name is continually blasphemed all day long.

But that my people may know my name, I myself will speak in that day. Behold, here am I.

But you will not go out in haste,
Nor will you go as fugitives;
For the Lord will go before you,
And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

Just as many were astonished and appalled at you, My people,
So His appearance was marred more than any man
And His form [marred] more than the sons of men.

But he lifted up our illnesses, he carried our pain; even though we thought he was being punished, attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done.

But it was for our sins he was wounded, and for our evil doings he was crushed: he took the punishment by which we have peace, and by his wounds we are made well.

All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path, but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him.

He was treated harshly and afflicted, but he did not even open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block, like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not even open his mouth.

He was led away after an unjust trial -- but who even cared? Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living; because of the rebellion of his own people he was wounded.

They intended to bury him with criminals, but he ended up in a rich man's tomb, because he had committed no violent deeds, nor had he spoken deceitfully.

But the Lord was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.

“Fear not, for you will not be put to shame;
And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced;
But you will forget the shame of your youth,
And the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.

"For a short time I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will gather you.

In a burst of anger I rejected you momentarily, but with lasting devotion I will have compassion on you," says your protector, the Lord.

For, the mountains, may move away, And the hills, may be shaken, - But, my lovingkindness, from thee, shall not move away, And, my covenant of peace, shall not be shaken, saith he who hath compassion upon thee - Yahweh.

In righteousness, shalt thou be established, - Be thou far from oppression - But indeed thou shalt not fear, And from crushing calamity - But indeed it shall not come nigh unto thee.

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.

but all the weapons that are made against thee, shall not prosper. And as for all tongues that shall resist thee in judgment, thou shalt overcome them, and condemn them. This is the heritage of the LORD's servants, and the righteousness that they shall have of me, sayeth the LORD.

Wherefore do ye lay out your money, for the thing that feedeth not, and spend your labour about the thing that satisfieth you not? But hearken rather unto me, and ye shall eat of the best, and your soul shall have her pleasure in plenteousness.

But as far as the heavens are higher than the earth, so far do my ways exceed yours, and my thoughts yours.

The rain and snow fall from the sky and do not return, but instead water the earth and make it produce and yield crops, and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.

So will my word be which goes out of my mouth: it will not come back to me with nothing done, but it will give effect to my purpose, and do that for which I have sent it.

They are shameless dogs, that be never satisfied. The shepherds also in like manner have no understanding, but every man turneth his own way, everyone after his own covetousness, with all his power.

The godly perish, but no one cares. Honest people disappear, when no one minds that the godly disappear because of evil.