A voice of one is calling out,
“Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness [remove the obstacles];
Make straight and smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

You who give good news to Zion, get up into the high mountain; you who give good news to Jerusalem, let your voice be strong; let it be sounding without fear; say to the towns of Judah, See, your God!

See, the Lord God will come as a strong one, ruling in power: see, those made free by him are with him, and those whom he has made safe go before him.

He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, [and] will gently lead those who have their young.

Who hath measured, with the hollow of his hand, the waters. Or the heavens with a span, hath meted out, Or hath comprehended, in a measure, the dust of the earth, Or weighed, in scales, the mountains, Or the hills, in a balance?

Who hath proved the spirit of Yahweh? Or being his counsellor hath been giving him knowledge?

With whom hath he taken counsel - And he hath given him intelligence, And instructed him in the path of justice, - And taught him knowledge, And in the way of intelligence, hath been giving him understanding?

Unto whom then can ye liken GOD? Or, what likeness, can ye compare unto him?

He who is too impoverished for such an offering
Selects a tree that does not rot;
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To prepare an idol that will not totter.

It is he who sitteth upon the circle of the earth, While the inhabitants thereof are, as grass-hoppers, - Who stretcheth forth, as a curtain, the heavens, And spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;

Who delivereth dignitaries to nothingness, - Judges of earth, like a desolation, hath he made:

Unto whom then, can ye liken me, or can I be equal? Saith the Holy One.

Lift on high your eyes - and see who hath created these, That bringeth forth, by number, their host, - To all of them by name, doth call, Because of the abundance of vigour and alertness of strength, not one, is missing!

He gives power to the feeble, increasing the strength of him who has no force.

But, they who wait for Yahweh, shall renew their strength, They shall mount on strong pinion like eagles, - They shall run and not grew weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Who roused up one from the East, In righteousness, called him to his feet, - Set before him nations And over kings, caused him to rule, His sword, made them like dust, His bow like driven chaff:

And who pursues them and moves on unscathed by a path that his feet don't know?

Who acts and carries out decrees? Who summons the successive generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am present at the very beginning, and at the very end -- I am the one.

The craftsman encourages the metalsmith, the one who wields the hammer encourages the one who pounds on the anvil. He approves the quality of the welding, and nails it down so it won't fall over."

"You, my servant Israel, Jacob whom I have chosen, offspring of Abraham my friend,

you whom I am bringing back from the earth's extremities, and have summoned from the remote regions -- I told you, "You are my servant." I have chosen you and not rejected you.

Look, all who were angry at you will be ashamed and humiliated; your adversaries will be reduced to nothing and perish.

Thou shalt seek them, but shalt not find them - The men who have contended with thee, They shall become as nothing, and as a thing of nought - The men who have warred against thee;

For I am the Lord your God, the one who takes hold of your right hand, who says to you, 'Don't be afraid, I am helping you.'

Have no fear, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel; I will be your helper, says the Lord, even he who takes up your cause, the Holy One of Israel.

Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent; the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting.

I have stirred up one out of the north and he advances, one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name. He steps on rulers as if they were clay, like a potter treading the clay.

Who decreed this from the beginning, so we could know? Who announced it ahead of time, so we could say, 'He's correct'? Indeed, none of them decreed it! Indeed, none of them announced it! Indeed, no one heard you say anything!

He who is First, can say , To Zion, Lo! there they are! And to Jerusalem, A herald of good-tidings, do I give.

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.

"Here is my servant whom I support, my chosen one in whom I take pleasure. I have placed my spirit on him; he will make just decrees for the nations.

This is what the true God, the Lord, says -- the one who created the sky and stretched it out, the one who fashioned the earth and everything that lives on it, the one who gives breath to the people on it, and life to those who live on it:

to open blind eyes, to release prisoners from dungeons, those who live in darkness from prisons.

Sing to the Lord a brand new song! Praise him from the horizon of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and everything that lives in it, you coastlands and those who live there!

Let the desert cry out, its towns and the villages where Kedar lives; and let those who live in Sela sing for joy. Let them shout aloud from the mountaintops.

Those who trust in idols will turn back and be utterly humiliated, those who say to metal images, 'You are our gods.'"

Ye deaf hear! And ye blind look around that ye may see, Who is blind if not my Servant? Or deaf, like, my messenger whom I send?

Who is, blind, like an intimate friend? Or blind like the Servant of Yahweh?

But this is a people who have been robbed and plundered, all of them trapped in pits or hidden away in prisons. They have become prey, with no one to rescue them; they have been made loot, with no one to say, "Send them back!'

Who among you will pay attention to this? Who will listen attentively in the future?

Who handed Jacob over to the robber? Who handed Israel over to the looters? Was it not the Lord, against whom we sinned? They refused to follow his commands; they disobeyed his law.

Now, this is what the Lord says, the one who created you, O Jacob, and formed you, O Israel: "Don't be afraid, for I will protect you. I call you by name, you are mine.

everyone who belongs to me, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed -- yes, whom I made!

Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, those who are deaf, even though they have ears!

All nations gather together, the peoples assemble. Who among them announced this? Who predicted earlier events for us? Let them produce their witnesses to testify they were right; let them listen and affirm, 'It is true.'

You are my witnesses," says the Lord, "my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may consider and believe in me, and understand that I am he. No god was formed before me, and none will outlive me.

“It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed,
And there was no strange god among you;
So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And I am God.

From this day forward I am he; no one can deliver from my power; I will act, and who can prevent it?"

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.

I am the Lord, your Holy One, the one who created Israel, your king."

This is what the Lord says, the one who made a road through the sea, a pathway through the surging waters,

the one who led chariots and horses to destruction, together with a mighty army. They fell down, never to rise again; they were extinguished, put out like a burning wick:

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:

the people whom I formed for myself, so they might praise me."

I, I am the one who blots out your rebellious deeds for my sake; your sins I do not remember.

"Now, listen, Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen!"

This is what the Lord, the one who made you, says -- the one who formed you in the womb and helps you: "Don't be afraid, my servant Jacob, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen!

‘For I will pour out water on him who is thirsty,
And streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring
And My blessing on your descendants;

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.

Who is like me? Let him make his claim! Let him announce it and explain it to me -- since I established an ancient people -- let them announce future events!

Have no fear, be strong in heart; have I not made it clear to you in the past, and let you see it? and you are my witnesses. Is there any God but me, or a Rock of whom I have no knowledge?

All who form idols are nothing; the things in which they delight are worthless. Their witnesses cannot see; they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame.

Who forms a god and casts an idol that will prove worthless?

Truly, all those who make use of secret arts will be put to shame, and their words of power are only words of men: let them all come forward together; they will all be in fear and be put to shame.

Be glad ye heavens, whom the LORD hath made, let all that is here beneath upon the earth, be joyful. Rejoice ye mountains and woods, with all the trees that are in you: for the LORD shall redeem Jacob, and show his glory upon Israel.

This is what the Lord, your protector, says, the one who formed you in the womb: "I am the Lord, who made everything, who alone stretched out the sky, who fashioned the earth all by myself,

who frustrates the omens of the empty talkers and humiliates the omen readers, who overturns the counsel of the wise men and makes their advice seem foolish,

who fulfills the oracles of his prophetic servants and brings to pass the announcements of his messengers, who says about Jerusalem, 'She will be inhabited,' and about the towns of Judah, 'They will be rebuilt, her ruins I will raise up,'

who says to the deep sea, 'Be dry! I will dry up your sea currents,'

who commissions Cyrus, the one I appointed as shepherd to carry out all my wishes and to decree concerning Jerusalem, 'She will be rebuilt,' and concerning the temple, 'It will be reconstructed.'"

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:

I will give you hidden treasures, riches stashed away in secret places, so you may recognize that I am the Lord, the one who calls you by name, the God of Israel.

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.

Even I the LORD, before whom there is none other: for without me there is no God. I have prepared thee before thou knewest me:

I am the one who forms light and creates darkness; the one who brings about peace and creates calamity. I am the Lord, who accomplishes all these things.

"Shout, you skies above, and you clouds, and let righteousness stream down. I am the one who says to the earth, "Let salvation blossom, and let righteousness sprout forth.'

One who argues with his creator is in grave danger, one who is like a mere shard among the other shards on the ground! The clay should not say to the potter, "What in the world are you doing? Your work lacks skill!"

Danger awaits one who says to his father, "What in the world are you fathering?" and to his mother, "What in the world are you bringing forth?"

This is what the Lord says, the Holy One of Israel, the one who formed him, concerning things to come: "How dare you question me about my children! How dare you tell me what to do with the work of my own hands!

I made the earth, I created the people who live on it. It was me -- my hands stretched out the sky, I give orders to all the heavenly lights.

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.

The LORD hath said moreover: The occupiers of Egypt, the merchants of the Ethiopians and Sabees, shall come unto thee with tribute; they shall be thine, they shall follow thee, and go with chains upon their feet. They shall fall down before thee, and make supplication unto thee. For God, without whom there is none other God, shall be with thee.

Yes, you are a God who keeps hidden, O God of Israel, deliverer!

They will all be ashamed and embarrassed; those who fashion idols will all be humiliated.

For this is what the Lord says, the one who created the sky -- he is the true God, the one who formed the earth and made it; he established it, he did not create it without order, he formed it to be inhabited -- "I am the Lord, I have no peer.

I have not spoken in secret, in some hidden place. I did not tell Jacob's descendants, 'Seek me in vain!' I am the Lord, the one who speaks honestly, who makes reliable announcements.

Gather together and come! Approach together, you refugees from the nations! Those who carry wooden idols know nothing, those who pray to a god that cannot deliver.

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.

Turn to me so you can be delivered, all you who live in the earth's remote regions! For I am God, and I have no peer.

they will say about me, "Yes, the Lord is a powerful deliverer."'" All who are angry at him will cower before him.

"Listen to me, O family of Jacob, all you who are left from the family of Israel, you who have been carried from birth, you who have been supported from the time you left the womb.

Even until your old age, I am the one, and I'll carry you even until your gray hairs come. It is I who have created, and I who will carry, and it is I who will bear and save.

To whom can you compare and liken me? Tell me whom you think I resemble, so we can be compared!

Those who empty out gold from a purse and weigh out silver on the scale hire a metalsmith, who makes it into a god. They then bow down and worship it.

who announces the end from the beginning and reveals beforehand what has not yet occurred, who says, 'My plan will be realized, I will accomplish what I desire,'

who summons an eagle from the east, from a distant land, one who carries out my plan. Yes, I have decreed, yes, I will bring it to pass; I have formulated a plan, yes, I will carry it out.

Listen to me, you stubborn people, you who distance yourself from doing what is right.

says our protector -- the Lord who commands armies is his name, the Holy One of Israel.

I was angry with my people, I put shame on my heritage, and gave them into your hands: you had no mercy on them; you put a cruel yoke on those who were old;

So now, listen to this, O one who lives so lavishly, who lives securely, who says to herself, 'I am unique! No one can compare to me! I will never have to live as a widow; I will never lose my children.'