Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, will your God say

Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be lowered; the rough ground will become level, and the mountain ridges made a plain.

And the glory of the Lord will be made clear, and all flesh will see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has said it.

Grass withers and flowers fade away, when the LORD's breath blows on them, but the word of our God will stand forever."

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.

Like a shepherd, his flock, will he tend, In his own arm, will he take up the lambs, And in his own bosom, will he carry them , - Them which are with young, will he lead to a place of rest.

Who measured the spirit of Jehovah? and will a man of his counsel make him to know?

With whom did he consult, and will he cause him to understand and teach him in the path of judgment, and teach him knowledge, and cause him to know the way of understanding?

Behold, the nations as a drop from a bucket; they were reckoned as the fine dust of the scales: behold, he will cast down the isles as small dust

Not even Lebanon could supply enough firewood for a sacrifice; its wild animals would not provide enough burnt offerings.

Whom then is God like, in your opinion? or what will you put forward as a comparison with him?

The artificer cast the carved image, and the founder will spread it out with gold, and he smelted chains of silver.

The needy offerer, of a tree that will not rot, maketh choice, - A skilled artificer, seeketh he out for himself to construct an image that shall not totter,

Will ye not know? will ye not hear? was it not announced to you from the beginning? did ye not understand from the foundations of the earth?

He sitting upon the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants as locusts; he stretching out the heavens as fine cloth, and he will extend them as a tent to dwell in:

Also they were not planted: also they were not sown: also their stock took not root in the earth: and he also blew upon them and they will be dried up, and the storm will lift them up as straw.

“To whom then will you liken Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes on high, and see who created these, bringing forth their army by number: he will call to all of them by name, from the multitude of their strength; and he is strong of power; a man was not wanting.

Wherefore, shouldest thou say, O Jacob, or speak, O Israel, - Hidden is my path from Yahweh, And from my God, my vindication, will pass?

Didst thou not know? heardest thou not the eternal God, Jehovah, creating the extremities of the earth, will not faint, and will not be weary? no searching to his understanding.

He gave power to the faint; and to the not strong he will increase strength.

Even the young men will become feeble and tired, and the best of them will come to the end of his strength;

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness.

Be still, ye Islands, and hearken unto me. Be strong ye people; Come hither, and show your cause: we will go to the law together.

Who raised up justice from the sunrising? he shall call him to his foot; he will give the nations before him; and he will bring down kings: he will give as the dust of his sword, as driven straw, his bow.

He will pursue them, he will pass over in peace; the path he will not come in with his feet

Who has performed and carried this out, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD the first and will be with the last I am the One!"

The isles saw, and they will be afraid; the extremities of the earth will tremble; they drew near and they will come.

They will help a man his neighbor, and he will say to his brother, Be strong.

So the craftsman encourages the smelter,
And he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil,
Saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
And he fastens it with nails,
So that it will not totter.

whom I led from the ends of the earth by the hand: For I called thee from far, and said unto thee 'Thou shalt be my servant,' I have chosen thee, and will not cast thee away.

‘Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

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

When you will look for your opponents, you will not find them; your enemies will be reduced to absolutely nothing.

“For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand,
Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’

“Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel;
I will help you,” declares the Lord, “and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

"Look, I am making you like a sharp threshing sledge, new and double-edged. You will thresh the mountains and crush them; you will make the hills like straw.

You will winnow them and the wind will blow them away; the wind will scatter them. You will rejoice in the Lord; you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.

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.

I will make streams flow down the slopes and produce springs in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water and the arid land into springs.

I will make cedars, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees grow in the wilderness; I will make evergreens, firs, and cypresses grow together in the desert.

I will do this so people will observe and recognize, so they will pay attention and understand that the Lord's power has accomplished this, and that the Holy One of Israel has brought it into being."

Bring near your cause, Will say Jehovah; draw near your strong defences, will the king of Jacob say:

"Let them produce evidence! Let them tell us what will happen! Tell us about your earlier predictive oracles, so we may examine them and see how they were fulfilled. Or decree for us some future events!

Predict how future events will turn out, so we might know you are gods. Yes, do something good or bad, so we might be frightened and in awe.

Behold, ye are from nothing, and your work no more: an abomination he will choose in you.

“I have aroused one from the north, and he has come;
From the rising of the sun he will call on My name;
And he will come upon rulers as upon mortar,
Even as the 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 first decreed to Zion, 'Look, here's what will happen!' I sent a herald to Jerusalem.

And I shall see, and no man; and from these, and no counselor; and I shall ask them, and they will not turn back a word.

"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.

He will not cry out or shout; he will not publicize himself in the streets.

A crushed reed he will not break, a dim wick he will not extinguish; he will faithfully make just decrees.

He will not grow dim or be crushed before establishing justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait in anticipation for his decrees."

I - Yahweh, have called thee in righteousness, And will firmly grasp thy hand, - And will keep thee And give thee - As the covenant of a people, As the light of nations:

I am the Lord! That is my name! I will not share my glory with anyone else, or the praise due me with idols.

Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth will I cause you to hear them.

The Lord will go forth like a warrior,
He will arouse His zeal like a man of war.
He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry.
He will prevail against His enemies.

“I have kept silent for a long time,
I have kept still and restrained Myself.
Now like a woman in labor I will groan,
I will both gasp and pant.

I will make the trees on the mountains and hills wither up; I will dry up all their vegetation. I will turn streams into islands, and dry up pools of water.

I will lead the blind along an unfamiliar way; I will guide them down paths they have never traveled. I will turn the darkness in front of them into light, and level out the rough ground. This is what I will do for them. I will not abandon them.

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

Seeing many things, and thou wilt not watch; opening the ears, and he will not bear.

The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.

But this is a people despoiled and plundered;
All of them are trapped in holes,
Or are hidden away in prisons.
They have become a prey with no one to rescue them,
And a spoil, with no one to say, “Give them back!”

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

Therefore hath he poured upon us his wrathful displeasure, and strong battle, which maketh us have to do on every side, yet will we not understand. He burneth us up, yet sinketh it not into our hearts.

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.

When you pass through the waters, I am with you; when you pass through the streams, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not harm you.

Since you are precious and special in my sight, and I love you, I will hand over people in place of you, nations in place of your life.

Don't be afraid, for I am with you. From the east I will bring your descendants; from the west I will gather you.

I will say to the north, 'Hand them over!' and to the south, 'Don't hold any back!' Bring my sons from distant lands, and my daughters from the remote regions of the earth,

Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the nations be assembled. "Who is there among them who can declare this, or announce the former things? Let them produce their witnesses to prove them right, and let them proclaim so people will say, "It's 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.

I, have told - and will save, and make known, That there is among you no strange one; And, ye, are my witnesses, Declareth Yahweh That, 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?"

Thus saith Yahweh, Your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel, - For your sakes, have I sent into Babylon, And will bring down as fugitives, all of them, - Even the Chaldeans, in the ships which cause them loud outcry.

Who brings forth the chariot and the horse,
The army and the mighty man
(They will lie down together and not rise again;
They have been quenched and extinguished like a wick):

Will ye not remember the former things? will ye not discern the things of old?

"Look, I am about to do something new. Now it begins to happen! Do you not recognize it? Yes, I will make a road in the desert and paths in the wilderness.

The wild animals of the desert honor me, the jackals and ostriches, because I put water in the desert and streams in the wilderness, to quench the thirst of my chosen people,

“The people whom I formed for Myself
Will declare My praise.

I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake; and I will not remember thy sins.

Put me now in remembrance, for we will reason together, and show what thou hast for thee, to make thee righteous.

Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary; and I will make Jacob a curse, and Israel a reviling.

Thus saith Jehovah that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, who will help thee: Fear not, O Jacob my servant; and thou, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

For I will pour water on the parched ground and cause streams to flow on the dry land. I will pour my spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your children.

They will sprout up like a tree in the grass, like poplars beside channels of water.

One will say, 'I belong to the Lord,' and another will use the name 'Jacob.' One will write on his hand, 'The Lord's,' and use the name 'Israel.'"

Who is like me? Let him proclaim and declare it, and lay it out for himself since he made an ancient people. And let him speak future events; let them tell him what will happen.

Those who fashion a graven image are all of them futile, and their precious things are of no profit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame.

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

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 workman of iron with an axe also worked with coal, and he will cleave it with hammers, and will work with the arm of his strength: also he hungered and no strength: he drank not water and was wearied.

The workman of woods stretched out the line; he will delineate it with an awl, he will do it with chisels, and he will delineate it with a compass, and he will make it according to the image of a man, according to the beauty of man; to dwell in the house

To cut down for him cedars, and he will take the fir tree and the oak, and he will strengthen for himself among the trees of the forest: he planted an ash and the rain will cause to grow.

Then it will be used to make a fire, so that a man may get warm; he has the oven heated with it and makes bread: he makes a god with it, to which he gives worship: he makes a pictured image out of it, and goes down on his face before it.

Half of it he burnt in the fire; upon half of it he will eat flesh; he will roast roast, and he will be satisfied: also he will be warm, and he will say, Aha, I was warm, I saw the light

And its remainder he made for a god, for his carved image: he will fall down to it, and he will worship and pray to it, and say, Deliver me, for thou my god.

They will not know, and they will not discern: he spread over their eyes from seeing; their heart from considering.