But now, says the Lord your Maker, O Jacob, and your life-giver, O Israel: have no fear, for I have taken up your cause; naming you by your name, I have made you mine.

Have no fear, for I am with you: I will take your seed from the east, and get you together from the west;

Ye, are my witnesses Declareth Yahweh, And my Servant, whom I have chosen, - That ye may take note - and believe me, And perceive that, I, am He, Before me, was not formed a GOD, Nor after me, shall one come into being:

From time long past I am God, and from this day I am he: there is no one who is able to take you out of my hand: when I undertake a thing, by whom will my purpose be changed?

The Lord, who has taken up your cause, the Holy One of Israel, says, Because of you I have sent to Babylon, and made all their seers come south, and the Chaldaeans whose cry is in the ships.

Behold me! doing a new thing, Now, shall it spring forth, Will ye not take note thereof? Surely I will set In the desert, a way, In a desolate land, rivers:

The beasts of the field will give me honour, the jackals and the ostriches: because I send out waters in the waste land, and rivers in the dry country, to give drink to the people whom I have taken for myself:

I, even I, am he who takes away your sins; and I will no longer keep your evil doings in mind.

Put me in mind of this; let us take up the cause between us: put forward your cause, so that you may be seen to be in the right.

And now, give ear, O Jacob my servant, and Israel whom I have taken for myself:

The Lord who made you, forming you in your mother's body, the Lord, your helper, says, Have no fear, O Jacob my servant, and you, Jeshurun, whom I have taken for myself.

One will say, I am the Lord's; and another will give himself the name, Jacob; another will put a mark on his hand, I am the Lord's, and another will take the name of Israel for himself.

The Lord, the King of Israel, even the Lord of armies who has taken up his cause, says, I am the first and the last, and there is no God but me.

‘Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it;
Yes, let him recount it to Me in order,
From the time that I established the ancient nation.
And let them declare to them the things that are coming
And the events that are going to take place.

Look, all his associates will be put to shame; the craftsmen are mere humans. Let them all assemble and take their stand! They will panic and be put to shame.

The blacksmith takes an axe, works in the coals, fashions it with hammers, and works it with his strong arm. He is hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water, and is faint.

A carpenter takes measurements; he marks out an outline of its form; he scrapes it with chisels, and marks it with a compass. He patterns it after the human form, like a well-built human being, and puts it in a shrine.

Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a cypress or an oak and raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow.

A man uses it to make a fire; he takes some of it and warms himself. Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Then he makes a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.

With part of it he makes a fire, and on the fire he gets meat cooked and takes a full meal: he makes himself warm, and says, Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire:

They have not taken note, neither can they perceive, - He hath besmeared - past seeing - their eyes, Past understanding, their hearts;

And no one takes note, no one has enough knowledge or wisdom to say, I have put part of it in the fire, and made bread on it; I have had a meal of the flesh cooked with it: and am I now to make the rest of it into a false god? am I to go down on my face before a bit of wood?

I have put your evil doings out of my mind like a thick cloud, and your sins like a mist: come back to me; for I have taken up your cause.

Make a song, O heavens, for the Lord has done it: give a loud cry, you deep parts of the earth: let your voices be loud in song, you mountains, and you woods with all your trees: for the Lord has taken up the cause of Jacob, and will let his glory be seen in Israel.

The Lord, who has taken up your cause, and who gave you life in your mother's body, says, I am the Lord who makes all things; stretching out the heavens by myself, and giving the earth its limits; who was with me?

Who says of Cyrus, He will take care of my sheep, and will do all my pleasure: who says of Jerusalem, I will give the word for your building; and of the Temple, Your bases will be put in place.

Thus says the Lord to Cyrus His anointed,
Whom I have taken by the right hand,
To subdue nations before him
And to loose the loins of kings;
To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:

Because of Jacob my servant, and Israel whom I have taken for myself, I have sent for you by name, giving you a name of honour, though you had no knowledge of me.

Come together, even come near, you nations who are still living: they have no knowledge who take up their image of wood, and make prayer to a god in whom is no salvation.

Declare ye, and bring it forth; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath showed this from ancient time? who hath declared it of old? have not I, Jehovah? and there is no God else besides me, a just God and a Saviour; there is none besides me.

By myself have I taken an oath, a true word has gone from my mouth, and will not be changed, that to me every knee will be bent, and every tongue will give honour.

They are bent down, they are falling together: they were not able to keep their images safe, but they themselves have been taken prisoner.

Even when you are old, I will take care of you, even when you have gray hair, I will carry you. I made you and I will support you; I will carry you and rescue you.

As for those who take gold out of a bag, and put silver in the scales, they give payment to a gold-worker, to make it into a god; they go down on their faces and give it worship.

They put him on their backs, and take him up, and put him in his fixed place, from which he may not be moved; if a man gives a cry for help to him, he is unable to give an answer, or get him out of his trouble.

"Remember this, and stand firm; take it again to heart, you rebels.

I declare the end from the beginning,
and from long ago what is not yet done,
saying: My plan will take place,
and I will do all My will.

I call a bird out of the East, and all that I take in hand, out of far countries, as soon as I command, I bring it hither: as soon as I think to devise a thing, I do it.

Come and take your seat in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; come down from your seat of power, and take your place on the earth, O daughter of the Chaldaeans: for you will never again seem soft and delicate.

Take the millstones, and grind meal; remove thy veil, strip off the train, uncover the leg, pass through the rivers.

Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and will spare no man.

Says the Lord who takes up our cause; the Lord of armies is his name, the Holy One of Israel.

and thou saidst, I shall be a mistress for ever; so that thou didst not take these things to heart, thou didst not remember the end thereof.

So now take note of this, you who are given up to pleasure, living without fear of evil, saying in your heart, I am, and there is no one like me; I will never be a widow, or have my children taken from me.

Take thy stand, I pray thee, With thy spells. And with the throng of thine incantations wherein thou hast wearied thyself from thy youth, - Peradventure thou mayest be able to profit Peradventure thou mayest strike me with terror.

You are tired out from listening to so much advice. Let them take their stand -- the ones who see omens in the sky, who gaze at the stars, who make monthly predictions -- let them rescue you from the disaster that is about to overtake 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.

Yes, by my hand was the earth placed on its base, and by my right hand the heavens were stretched out; at my word they take up their places.

The Lord who takes up your cause, the Holy One of Israel, says, I am the Lord your God, who is teaching you for your profit, guiding you by the way in which you are to go.

Go out of Babylon, go in flight from the Chaldaeans; with the sound of song make it clear, give the news, let the word go out even to the end of the earth: say, The Lord has taken up the cause of his servant Jacob.

Give ear, O sea-lands, to me; and take note, you peoples from far: I have been marked out by the Lord from the first; when I was still in my mother's body, he had my name in mind:

And I said, I have undergone weariness for nothing, I have given my strength for no purpose or profit: but still the Lord will take up my cause, and my God will give me my reward.

The Lord who takes up Israel's cause, even his Holy One, says to him whom men make sport of, who is hated by the nations, a servant of rulers: Kings will see and get up from their places, and chiefs will give worship: because of the Lord who keeps faith; even the Holy One of Israel who has taken you for himself.

They shall not be hungry or thirsty, and heat and sun shall not strike them, for he who takes pity on them will lead them, and he will guide them to springs of water.

Sing for joy, heavens, and rejoice, earth! Mountains must break forth [in] rejoicing! For Yahweh has comforted his people, and he will take pity on his afflicted ones.

Then you will say in your heart, Who has given me all these children? when my children had been taken from me, and I was no longer able to have others, who took care of these? when I was by myself, where then were these?

This is the word of the Lord God: See, I will make a sign with my hand to the nations, and put up my flag for the peoples; and they will take up your sons on their beasts, and your daughters on their backs.

And kings will take care of you, and queens will give you their milk: they will go down on their faces before you, kissing the dust of your feet; and you will be certain that I am the Lord, and that those who put their hope in me will not be shamed.

Can spoils be taken from a warrior, or captives be rescued from a conqueror?

Indeed," says the Lord, "captives will be taken from a warrior; spoils will be rescued from a conqueror. I will oppose your adversary and I will rescue your children.

And the flesh of your attackers will be taken by themselves for food; and they will take their blood for drink, as if it was sweet wine: and all men will see that I the Lord am your saviour, even he who takes up your cause, the Strong One of Jacob.

Why, then, when I came, was there no man? and no one to give answer to my voice? has my hand become feeble, so that it is unable to take up your cause? or have I no power to make you free? See, at my word the sea becomes dry, I make the rivers a waste land: their fish are dead for need of water, and make an evil smell.

He who takes up my cause is near; who will go to law with me? let us come together before the judge: who is against me? let him come near to me.

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.

Give ear to me, you who are searching for righteousness, who are looking for the Lord: see the rock from which you were cut out, and the hole out of which you were taken.

And you have forgotten Yahweh, your maker, who stretched out [the] heavens, and founded [the] earth. And you tremble continually, all day, because of the wrath of the oppressor when he {takes aim} to destroy. But where [is] the wrath of the oppressor?

Awake! awake! up! O Jerusalem, you who have taken from the Lord's hand the cup of his wrath; tasting in full measure the wine which overcomes.

There was no one to lead her among all the children she bore; there was no one to take her by the hand among all the children she raised.

Thy sons lie comfortless at the head of every street like a taken venison, and are full of the terrible wrath of the LORD, and punishment of thy God.

Thus saith thy Lord Jehovah, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thy hand the cup of staggering, even the bowl of the cup of my wrath; thou shalt no more drink it again:

Up, Zion, up: take thy strength unto thee. Put on thy honest raiment O Jerusalem, thou city of the holy one. For from this time forth, there shall no uncircumcised nor unclean person come in thee.

Shake off the dirt! Get up, captive Jerusalem! Take off the iron chains around your neck, O captive daughter Zion!

Now, therefore, what do I here? Demandeth Yahweh. That my people have been taken away for nought? They who rule them, do howl, Declareth Yahweh, And, continually - all the day, is my Name brought into contempt.

Give sounds of joy, make melody together, waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord has given comfort to his people, he has taken up the cause of Jerusalem.

Away! away! go out from there, touching no unclean thing; go out from among her; be clean, you who take up the vessels of the Lord.

For you will not leave in a hurry,
and you will not have to take flight;
because the Lord is going before you,
and the God of Israel is your rear guard.

For he went up like shoot before him, and like root from dry ground. He had no form and no majesty that we should see him, and no appearance that we should take pleasure in him.

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.

By constraint and by sentence, was he taken away, And of his age, who considered That he was cut off out of the land of the living, For my peoples transgression, did the stroke fall on him?

... made clear his righteousness before men ... had taken their sins on himself.

For, on the right hand and on the left, shalt thou break forth, - And thy seed, shall of the nations, take possession, And forsaken cities, shall they cause to be inhabited.

For your Maker is your husband; the Lord of armies is his name: and the Holy One of Israel is he who takes up your cause; he will be named the God of all the earth.

For a short time I gave you up; but with great mercies I will take you back again.

In overflowing wrath my face was veiled from you for a minute, but I will have pity on you for ever, says the Lord who takes up your cause.

For this is like the days of Noah to me: for as I took an oath that the waters of Noah would never again go over the earth, so have I taken an oath that I will not again be angry with you, or say bitter words to you.

For the mountains may be taken away, and the hills be moved out of their places, but my love will not be taken from you, or my agreement of peace broken, says the Lord, who has had mercy on you.

Wherefore should ye spend, Money, for that which is not bread? Or your labour, for that which, satisfieth not? Keep on hearkening unto me, And, so eat that which is good, And let your soul take exquisite delight in fatness:

Give ear, and come to me, take note with care, so that your souls may have life: and I will make an eternal agreement with you, even the certain mercies of David.

Let [the] wicked forsake his way, and [the] man of sin his thoughts. And let him return to Yahweh, that he may take pity on him, and to our God, for he will {forgive manifold}.

For thorns, there shall grow Fir trees, and the Myrtle tree in the stead of briers. And this shall be done to the praise of the LORD, and for an everlasting token, that shall not be taken away.

“How blessed is the man who does this,
And the son of man who takes hold of it;
Who keeps from profaning the sabbath,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;

Also the sons of the foreigner, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, everyone that keeps the sabbath from defiling it, and takes hold of my covenant;

I will make them come to my holy mountain, and will give them joy in my house of prayer; I will take pleasure in the burned offerings which they make on my altar: for my house will be named a house of prayer for all peoples.

Come, they say, I will get wine, and we will take strong drink in full measure; and tomorrow will be like today, full of pleasure.

The upright man goes to his death, and no one gives a thought to it; and god-fearing men are taken away, and no one is troubled by it; for the upright man is taken away because of evil-doing, and goes into peace.

Wherein take ye your pleasure? Upon whom gape ye with your mouth, and blear out your tongue? Are ye not children of adultery, and a seed of dissimulation?

Ye take your pleasure under the oaks, and under all green trees. And ye offer children in the valleys, and dens of stone.

You take olive oil as tribute to your king, along with many perfumes. You send your messengers to a distant place; you go all the way to Sheol.

And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered me, nor taken it to heart? Have not I even of long time held my peace, and thou fearest me not?