'And some of your sons who go out from you, whom you fathered, shall be taken, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.'"

Look! [The] nations [are] like a drop from a bucket, and they are counted like dust of [the] balances! Look! He weighs [the] islands like a thin covering.

All the nations [are] like nothing before him; they are counted by him as nothing and emptiness.

Indeed, hardly are they planted; indeed, hardly [are they] sown; indeed, hardly has their shoot taken root in the earth when he blows on them and they wither, and [the] tempest carries them like stubble.

Youths both faint and grow weary, And, young warriors - they fall, they fall;

But those who wait for Yahweh shall renew [their] strength. They shall go up [with] wings like eagles; they shall run and not grow weary; they shall walk and not be faint.

Come quietly before me, O sea-lands, and let the peoples get together their strength: let them come near; then let them say what they have to say: let us put forward our cause against one another.

[The] coastlands have seen and are afraid; the ends of the earth tremble. They have drawn near, and they have come.

They helped every one his neighbour, and each said to his brother, Take courage.

And [the] artisan encourages [the] {goldsmith}, [the] one who makes smooth with [the] hammer [encourages the] one who strikes [the] anvil, saying of the soldering, "It [is] good!" And they strengthen it with nails [so] it cannot be knocked over.

Lo, all that are incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded; they that strive with thee shall be as nothing, and shall perish.

Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them them that contend with thee; they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.

You will send the wind over them, and it will take them away; they will go in all directions before the storm-wind: you will have joy in the Lord, and be glad in the Holy One of Israel.

so that they may see and know, and take to heart and understand together that the hand of Yahweh has done this, and the holy one of Israel has created it."

Let them bring them forward, and declare to us what shall happen: shew the former things, what they are, that we may give attention to them, and know the end of them; or let us hear things to come:

Either, let them show us things for to come, and tell us what shall be done hereafter: so shall we know, that they be gods. Show something, either good or bad: so will we both knowledge the same, and tell it out.

I have sent for one from the north, and from the dawn he has come; in my name he will get rulers together and go against them; they will be like dust, even as the wet earth is stamped on by the feet of the potter.

I was the first to say to Zion:
Look! Here they are!
And I gave a herald of good news to Jerusalem.

But I look and there is no man, and [I look] among these and there is no counselor, that I might ask them and they might answer a word.

Behold, they are all vanity, their works are nought, their molten images are wind and emptiness.

Look! the former things have come, and I declare new things. I {announce} [them] to you before they sprout up."

Sing unto the LORD, a new song of thanksgiving; blow out his praise unto the end of the world. They that be upon the sea, and all that is therein, praise him; the Isles and they that dwell in them.

The wilderness and its cities do lift up the voice, The villages Kedar doth inhabit, Sing do the inhabitants of Sela, From the top of mountains they cry.

They ascribe to Jehovah honour, And His praise in the isles they declare.

And I will lead the blind by a road they do not know; I will cause [them] to tread on paths they have not known. I will make darkness {in their presence} into light and rough places into level ground. These [are] the things I will do, and I will not forsake them.

They shall turn back; they shall be {greatly ashamed}, those who trust in an image, who say to a cast image, "You [are] our gods."

They are like, as if thou understoodest much, and keptest nothing: or if one heard well, but were not obedient.

But this [is] a people plundered and looted; all of them are trapped in holes, and they are kept hidden in houses of imprisonment. They have become like plunder, and there is no one who saves; [like] booty, and there is no one who says, "Restore!"

Who gave Jacob to a plunderer and Israel to those who plunder? [Was it] not Yahweh, against whom we have sinned? And they were not willing to walk in his ways, and they would not {obey} his law.

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.

When you pass through the waters, I [will be] with you, and through the rivers, they shall not flow over you. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, and [the] flame shall not scorch you.

“Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east [where they are scattered],
And gather you from the west.

Bring out [the] people blind yet with eyes, and deaf, though they have ears.

Let all the nations gather together, and let [the] peoples assemble. Who among them has declared this, and {declared} [the] former things to us? Let them bring their witnesses, that they may be in the right, and let them hear and say, "[It is] true!"

This is what the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says:

Because of you, I will send to Babylon
and bring all of them as fugitives,
even the Chaldeans in the ships in which they rejoice.

who brings out chariot and horse, army and mighty one. Together they lie down; they cannot rise. They are extinguished, quenched like wick.

this people whom I formed for myself, so they might {make known} my praise.

And they shall sprout {among} [the] grass like willows by a watercourse of water.

And who as I, doth call and declare it, And arrange it for Me, Since My placing the people of antiquity, And things that are coming, And those that do come, declare they to them?

All those who form an idol [are] nothing, and their delightful things do not profit. And their witnesses do not see or know, so they will be ashamed.

Look! all his companions shall be ashamed, and [the] artisans [are] human! Let all of them assemble; let them stand up. They shall tremble; they shall be ashamed together.

They do not know, and they do not understand, for their eyes [are] besmeared {so that they cannot see}, their {minds} {so that they have no insight}.

No one thinks to himself, nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves: 'I burned half of it in the fire -- yes, I baked bread over the coals; I roasted meat and ate it. With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol? Should I bow down to dry wood?'

I remove the guilt of your rebellious deeds as if they were a cloud, the guilt of your sins as if they were a cloud. Come back to me, for I protect you."

who keeps the word of his servant and carries out the plan of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, 'It shall be inhabited,' and of the cities of Judah, 'They shall be rebuilt, and I will restore its ruins';

Thus sayeth the LORD unto Cyrus his anointed, whom I have taken by the righthand, to subdue nations before him: I will loose the girdles of kings, that they shall open the gates before thy face, and not to shut their doors.

so that they may know from [the] rising of [the] sun and from [the] west that [there is] none besides me; I [am] Yahweh and there is none besides [me].

Drop, ye heavens, from above, And clouds do cause righteousness to flow, Earth openeth, and they are fruitful, Salvation and righteousness spring up together, I, Jehovah, have prepared it.

“Woe (judgment is coming) to him who says to a father, ‘What are you fathering?’
Or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”

Thus, saith, Yahweh, The Holy One of Israel And his Fashioner, As to things to come, they have asked me, Concerning my sons and concerning the work of my hands, they would command me!

Thus says Yahweh: "The acquisition of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush and the Sabeans, tall men, shall pass over to you; they shall be yours, and they shall walk behind you. They shall pass over in chains, and they shall bow down to you; they will pray to you: 'Surely God [is] with you, and there is no [other]. Besides [him] [there is] no God.'"

They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them; they shall go away in confusion together, the makers of idols.

But Israel shall be saved in the LORD, which is the everlasting salvation: They shall not come to shame nor confusion, world without end.

Assemble and come; draw near together, survivors of the nations! They do not know, those who carry {their wooden idols} and pray to a god who cannot save.

Declare ye, and bring near, Yea, they take counsel together, Who hath proclaimed this from of old? From that time hath declared it? Is it not I -- Jehovah? And there is no other god besides Me, A God righteous and saving, there is none save Me.

Only in Jehovah, it is said of me, is righteousness and strength; even to him shall men come; and all they that were incensed against him shall be put to shame.

In Yahweh all the offspring of Israel shall be in the right, and they shall boast."

Bel bows down, Nebo stoops, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy laden; they are a burden to the weary beast.

They stoop; they bow down together. They are not able to save [the] burden, but {they themselves go} in captivity.

Those who lavish gold from [the] purse and weigh out silver in the balance scales; hire {a goldsmith} and he makes him a god; they bow down, indeed they bow in worship.

They carry it on [their] shoulder; they support it and they set it [in] its place, and it stands in position. It cannot be removed from its place; even [when] he cries out to it, it does not answer. It does not save him from his trouble.

Come down and sit on [the] dust, virgin daughter of Babylon! Sit on the ground without a throne, daughter of Chaldea! For {they shall no longer call} you tender and delicate.

Sit silently and go into the darkness, daughter of Chaldea, for {they shall no longer call} you mistress of kingdoms.

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

“You felt secure in your wickedness and said,
‘No one sees me,’
Your wisdom and your knowledge, they have deluded you;
For you have said in your heart,
‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’

Go on now with your secret arts, and all your wonder-working, to which you have given yourself up from your earliest days; it may be that they will be of profit to you, or by them you may put fear into your attackers.

Thou hast worn thyself out with the mass of thy consultations, - Let them take their stand I pray thee that they may save thee - The dividers of the heavens - The gazers at the stars, They who make known by new moons, Somewhat of the things which shall come upon thee.

Look! They are like stubble; [the] fire burns them completely. They cannot deliver {themselves} from [the] {power} of [the] flame; there is no coal {for warming oneself}, [no] fire before which to sit.

So are to you [those with] whom you have labored, your traders from your youth. They wander, each to his side; there is no one who can save you.

Hear this, ye house of Jacob, being called by the name of Israel, and from the water of Judah they came forth swearing by the name of Jehovah, and by the God of Israel they shall bring to remembrance, not in truth and not in justice.

For they call themselves {after the holy city}, and they lean on the God of Israel-- Yahweh of hosts [is] his name.

"I declared the former things from {of old}, and they went out from my mouth. And I {announced} them suddenly; I acted, and they came [to pass],

And I declared [them] to you from of old; I { announced} [them] to you before they came [to pass] so that you would not say, 'My idol did them, and my image and my cast image commanded them.'

Now they are created, and not from {of old}, and before today, and you have not heard them so that you could not say, "Look! I knew them."

Moreover, there be some whereof thou hast neither heard nor know, neither have they been open unto thine ears afore time. For I know that thou wouldest maliciously offend, therefore have I called thee a transgressor, even from thy mother's womb.

Indeed, my hand founded [the] earth, and my right hand spread out [the] heavens; [when] I summon them, they stand in position together.

And [when] he led them through the deserts, they were not thirsty; he made water flow from [the] rock for them, and he split [the] rock, and [the] water gushed out.

As for the ungodly, they have no peace, sayeth the LORD.

Thus says Yahweh, the redeemer of Israel, his holy one, to the one who despises life, to the one who abhors [the] nation, to [the] slave of rulers: "Kings shall see and stand up; princes, and they shall bow down, for the sake of Yahweh, who [is] faithful, the holy one of Israel, and he has chosen you."

saying to the {prisoners}, "Come out!" to those who [are] in darkness, "Show yourselves!" they shall feed {along} [the] ways, and their pasturage [shall be] on all [the] barren heights.

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.

Look, they come from far away! Look, some come from the north and west, and others from the land of Sinim!

Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget you.

Thy sons shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that laid thee waste shall go forth from thee.

Lift your eyes up all around and see; all of them gather; they come to you. {As surely as I live}, {declares} Yahweh, surely you shall put on all of them like [an] ornament, and you shall bind them on like bride.

For in thy waste and thy desolate places, and thy destroyed land, thou shalt even now be too straitened by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.

And thou shalt say in thy heart, Who hath borne me these, seeing I had lost my children and was desolate, an exile, and driven about? and who hath brought up these? behold, I was left alone; these, where were they?

Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I will lift my hand up to [the] nations, and I will raise my signal to [the] peoples, and they shall bring your sons in [their] bosom, and your daughters shall be carried on [their] shoulders.

And kings shall be your {guardians}, and their queens your nurses. They shall bow down, {faces} [to the] ground, to you, and they will lick up the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I [am] Yahweh; those who await me shall not be ashamed.

"Can they seize plunder from warriors, or can the captives of tyrants be rescued?

And I will feed your oppressors their [own] flesh, and they shall be drunk [with] their blood as [with] wine. Then all flesh shall know that I [am] Yahweh, your savior and redeemer, the strong [one] of Jacob."

Why was there no man when I came, no one who answered when I called? {Do I lack the strength to save}? Or [is there] no power in me to deliver? Look! by my rebuke I dry up [the] sea; I {make} [the] rivers a desert; their fish stink because there is no water, and they die because of thirst.

The Lord Jehovah hath given me the tongue of them that are taught, that I may know how to sustain with words him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as they that are taught.

Behold, the Lord Jehovah will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? Behold, they all shall grow old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.

My righteousness [is] near; my salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge [the] peoples. [The] coastlands wait for me, and for my arm they wait.

Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look on the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall grow 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.

For like a coat they will be food for the insect, the worm will make a meal of them like wool: but my righteousness will be for ever, and my salvation to all generations.

So the redeemed ones of Yahweh shall return, and they shall come [to] Zion with singing, and everlasting joy [shall be] on their heads. Joy and gladness shall {appear}; sorrow and sighing shall flee away!

These two tragedies have befallen you;
Who will show sympathy for you and mourn with you?
The desolation and destruction [on the land and city], famine and sword [on the inhabitants];
How shall I comfort you?

Your children have fainted; they lie at [the] head of all [the] streets, like an antelope in a snare, those who are full [of] the wrath of Yahweh, the rebuke of your God.