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.

For this reason my people will know my name, for this reason they will know at that time that I am the one who says, 'Here I am.'"

Listen, your watchmen shout; in unison they shout for joy, for they see with their very own eyes the Lord's return to Zion.

But ye shall not go out with sedition nor make haste as they that flee away: for the LORD shall go before you, and the God of Israel shall keep the watch.

his form was so marred he no longer looked human -- so now he will startle many nations. Kings will be shocked by his exaltation, for they will witness something unannounced to them, and they will understand something they had not heard about.

They took away from him help and right, and who gave a thought to his fate? for he was cut off from the land of the living: he came to his death for the sin of my people.

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.

Enlarge the place of thy tent, And the curtains of thy tabernacles they stretch out, Restrain not -- lengthen thy cords, And thy pins make strong.

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.

And desolate cities they cause to be inhabited. Fear not, for thou art not ashamed, Nor blush, for thou art not confounded, For the shame of thy youth thou forgettest, And the reproach of thy widowhood Thou dost not remember any more.

Lo! they would, quarrel, with thee - not at all from me, - Whoso hath quarrelled with thee, over thee, shall fall.

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.

The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle and sinful people their plans. They should return to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, and to their God, for he will freely forgive them.

For, as the rain and the snow descend from the heavens. And thither, do not return, Except they have watered the earth. And caused it to bring forth and bud, - And given seed to the sower, and bread to the eater,

Evergreens will grow in place of thorn bushes, firs will grow in place of nettles; they will be a monument to the Lord, a permanent reminder that will remain.

Unto them will I give in my household and within my walls, a better heritage and name than if they had been called sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that shall not perish.

Again, he sayeth unto the strangers that are disposed to stick to the LORD, to serve him, and to Love his name: That they shall be no bondman. And all they, which keep themselves, that they unhallow not the Sabbath - namely, that they fulfill 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.

All their watchmen are blind, they are unaware. All of them are like mute dogs, unable to bark. They pant, lie down, and love to snooze.

The dogs have big appetites; they are never full. They are shepherds who have no understanding; they all go their own way, each one looking for monetary gain.

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.

Those who live uprightly enter a place of peace; they rest on their beds.

Among the smooth stones of the stream are the idols you love; they, they are the object of your devotion. You pour out liquid offerings to them, you make an offering. Because of these things I will seek vengeance.

I will denounce your so-called righteousness and your deeds, but they will not help you.

Your false gods will not keep you safe in answer to your cry; but the wind will take them, they will be gone like a breath: but he who puts his hope in me will take the land, and will have my holy mountain as his heritage.

I was angry because of their sinful greed; I attacked them and angrily rejected them, yet they remained disobedient and stubborn.

They seek me day after day; they want to know my requirements, like a nation that does what is right and does not reject the law of their God. They ask me for just decrees; they want to be near God.

They lament, 'Why don't you notice when we fast? Why don't you pay attention when we humble ourselves?' Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires, you oppress your workers.

And the LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in parched places, and they will strengthen your bones; and you'll be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.

And they who come of thee shall build the wastes of age-past times, And as for the foundations of generation after generation, thou shall rear them up, - So shalt thou be called - A Repairer of broken walls, A Restorer of paths leading home.

No one is concerned about justice; no one sets forth his case truthfully. They depend on false words and tell lies; they conceive of oppression and give birth to sin.

They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake and spin a spider's web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, a poisonous snake is hatched.

Their webs cannot be used for clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their deeds are sinful; they commit violent crimes.

They are eager to do evil, quick to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful; they crush and destroy.

They are unfamiliar with peace; their deeds are unjust. They use deceitful methods, and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace.

We grope for the wall like the blind; yea, we grope as they that have no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the twilight; among them that are lusty we are as dead men.

they've rebelled in treachery against the LORD, and are turning away from following our God; and they've spoken oppression and revolt, and are conceiving lying words from the heart.

He repays them for what they have done, dispensing angry judgment to his adversaries and punishing his enemies. He repays the coastlands.

In the west, people respect the Lord's reputation; in the east they recognize his splendor. For he comes like a rushing stream driven on by wind sent from the Lord.

And be redeeming came to Zion, and they turning away. transgression in Jacob, says Jehovah.

Look all around you! They all gather and come to you -- your sons come from far away and your daughters are escorted by guardians.

“A multitude of camels will cover you,
The young camels of Midian and Ephah;
All those from Sheba will come;
They will bring gold and frankincense,
And will bear good news of the praises of the Lord.

All the sheep of Kedar will be gathered to you; the rams of Nebaioth will be available to you as sacrifices. They will go up on my altar acceptably, and I will bestow honor on my majestic temple.

Who are these -- as a thick cloud they fly, And as doves unto their windows?

The isles also shall gather them unto me, and especially the ships of the sea: that they may bring the sons from far, and their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, unto the holy one of Israel, that hath glorified thee.

Your gates will remain open at all times; they will not be shut during the day or at night, so that the wealth of nations may be delivered, with their kings leading the way.

The children of your oppressors will come bowing to you; all who treated you with disrespect will bow down at your feet. They will call you, 'The City of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.'

All of your people will be godly; they will possess the land permanently. I will plant them like a shoot; they will be the product of my labor, through whom I reveal my splendor.

to strengthen those who mourn in Zion, by giving them a turban, instead of ashes, oil symbolizing joy, instead of mourning, a garment symbolizing praise, instead of discouragement. They will be called oaks of righteousness, trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor.

They will rebuild the perpetual ruins and restore the places that were desolate; they will reestablish the ruined cities, the places that have been desolate since ancient times.

But you will be called the Lord’s priests;
they will speak of you as ministers of our God;
you will eat the wealth of the nations,
and you will boast in their riches.

Instead of shame, you will get a double portion; instead of humiliation, they will rejoice over the land they receive. Yes, they will possess a double portion in their land and experience lasting joy.

Then their offspring will be known among the nations,
And their descendants among the peoples.
All who see them [in their prosperity] will recognize and acknowledge them
That they are the people whom the Lord has blessed.

On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen;
All day and all night they will never keep silent.
You who remind the Lord, take no rest for yourselves;

But they who have harvested it will eat it and praise the Lord,
And they who have gathered it will drink it [at the feasts celebrated] in the courtyards of My sanctuary.

And they will call them “The Holy People,
The Redeemed of the Lord”;
And you will be called “Sought Out, A City Not Deserted.”

I have been crushing the grapes by myself, and of the peoples there was no man with me: in my wrath and in my passion, they were crushed under my feet; and my robes are marked with their life-blood, and all my clothing is red.

“I trampled the peoples in My anger
And made them drunk with [the cup of] My wrath,
And I spilled their lifeblood on the earth.”

For He said, “Be assured, they are My people,
Sons who will not be faithless.”
So He became their Savior [in all their distresses].

Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. The messenger sent from his very presence delivered them. In his love and mercy he protected them; he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times.

But they rebelled
And grieved His Holy Spirit;
Therefore He changed into their enemy,
And He fought against them.

Then His people remembered the days of old, of Moses [and they said],
Where is He who brought our fathers up out of the [Red] Sea, with the shepherds of His flock [Moses and Aaron]?
Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in their midst,

Who led them through the depths [of the Red Sea],
Like a horse in the wilderness, [so that] they did not stumble?

Like the cattle which go down into the valley, they went without falling, the spirit of the Lord guiding them: so you went before your people, to make yourself a great name.

Look thou down, out of the heavens and see, Out of the high abode of thy holiness and of thy majesty, - Where are thy jealousy, and thy mighty deeds? The resounding of thy yearning affection, and thy compassions towards me, are they restrained?

We are become as they over whom thou never barest rule, as they that were not called by thy name.

For from days of old they have not heard or perceived by ear,
Nor has the eye seen a God besides You,
Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.

Thou hast met with the rejoicer And the doer of righteousness, In Thy ways they remember Thee, Lo, Thou hast been wroth when we sin, By them is continuance, and we are saved.

They shall seek me, that hitherto have not asked for me, they shall find me, that hitherto have not sought me. Then shall I say immediately to the people that never called upon my name, "I am here, I am here."

I spread out my hands all day long to my rebellious people, who lived in a way that is morally unacceptable, and who did what they desired.

To a people that is ever defying me to my face. They make their oblations in gardens, and their smoke upon altars of brick;

they lurk among the graves, and lie in the dens all night. They eat swine flesh, and unclean broth is in their vessels.

If thou comest nigh them, they say, "Touch me not, for I am holier than thou." All these men when I am angry, shall be turned to smoke and fire, that shall burn forever.

Look, I have decreed: I will not keep silent, but will pay them back; I will pay them back exactly what they deserve,

Both your own wickedness and the wickedness of your fathers,” says the Lord.
“Since they too have made offerings with incense on the mountains
And scorned and taunted Me on the hills,
I therefore will measure [punishment for] their former work [directly] into their arms.”

This is the word of the Lord: As the new wine is seen in the grapes, and they say, Do not send destruction on it, for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants, in order that I may not put an end to them all.

I'll bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah they will inherit my mountains; my chosen people will inherit it, and my servants will live there.

Sharon will become a pasture for sheep, and the Valley of Achor a place where cattle graze; they will belong to my people, who seek me.

But, ye are they - Who forsake Yahweh Who forget my holy mountain - Who prepare, for Fortune, a table and Who fill for Destiny, mixed wine;

“Because he who blesses himself on the earth
Will bless himself by the God of truth and faithfulness;
And he who swears [an oath] on the earth
Will swear by the God of truth and faithfulness;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My sight.

For, behold me! Creating new heavens, and a new earth, - And the former shall not be mentioned, neither shall they come up on the heart,

“They will build houses and live in them;
They will plant vineyards and eat the fruit.

“They will not build and another occupy;
They will not plant and another eat [the fruit].
For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,
And My chosen [people] will fully enjoy [and long make use of] the work of their hands.

“They will not labor in vain,
Or bear children for disaster;
For they are the descendants of those blessed by the Lord,
And their offspring with them.

“It shall also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.

The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox [there will no longer be predator and prey]; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain (Zion),” says the Lord.

For all these things my hand has made, and they are mine, says the Lord; but to this man only will I give attention, to him who is poor and broken in spirit, fearing my word.

“He who kills an ox [for pagan sacrifice] is [as guilty] as one who kills a man;
He who sacrifices a lamb, as one who breaks a dog’s neck;
He who offers a grain offering, as one who offers swine’s blood;
He who offers incense, as one who blesses an idol.
Such people have chosen their own ways,
And their soul delights in their repulsive acts;

So I will choose their punishments,
And will bring the things they dread upon them
Because I called, but no one answered;
I spoke, but they did not listen or obey.
But they did evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”

Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble [with awe-filled reverence] at His word:
“Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you for My Name’s sake,
Have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy.’
But they will be put to shame.

A sound of uproar from the city!
A voice from the temple—
the voice of the Lord,
paying back His enemies what they deserve!

They that sanctify themselves and purify themselves to go unto the gardens, behind one in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, they shall come to an end together, saith Jehovah.

“For I know their works and their thoughts. The time is coming to gather all nations and languages, and they will come and see My glory.

I will set up a [miraculous] sign among them, and from them I will send survivors to the nations: Tarshish, Pul (Put), Lud, Meshech, Tubal and Javan, to the distant islands and coastlands that have not heard of My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare and proclaim My glory among the nations.

Then they shall bring all your countrymen (children of Israel) from all the nations as a grain offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels—to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord.

“Then they will go forth and look
Upon the dead bodies of the [rebellious] men
Who have transgressed against Me;
For their worm (maggot) will not die,
And their fire will not go out;
And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.”