And this shall be a sign unto thee from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken;

Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.

A poem by Hezekiah king of Judah after he had been sick and had recovered from his illness:

I said, "Must I leave in the prime of my life? Must I be consigned to the control of Sheol? Bitter are my years!"

I said, I shall not see Jah, Jah in the land of the living. With those who dwell where all has ceased to be, I shall behold man no more.

My sojourning hath departed, And been removed from me as a shepherd's tent, I have drawn together, as a weaver, my life, By weakness it cutteth me off, From day unto night Thou dost end me.

Like a swallow or a crane, so did I chatter; I did moan as a dove; mine eyes fail with looking upward: O Lord, I am oppressed, be thou my surety.

O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live.

Behold, for peace I had great bitterness. But thou have by love for my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption. For thou have cast all my sins behind thy back.

O Lord, quickly be my saviour; so we will make my songs to corded instruments all the days of our lives in the house of the Lord.

And Isaiah said, "Take a plaster of figs, and lay it upon the sore, so shall it be whole."

Hezekiah also had asked, "What will be the sign for me to go up to the LORD's Temple?"

In that time Merodach-Baladan, son of Baladan king of Babel, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah: and he will hear that he was sick, and he will be strengthened.

Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD.

And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.

Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days.

Say kind words to the heart of Jerusalem, crying out to her that her time of trouble is ended, that her punishment is complete; that she has been rewarded by the Lord's hand twice over for all her sins.

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

A voice of one saying, Give a cry! And I said, What is my cry to be? All flesh is grass, and all its strength like the flower of the field.

The grass dries up, the flowers wither, when the wind sent by the Lord blows on them. Surely humanity is like grass.

O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold 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.

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

By whom has the spirit of the Lord been guided, or who has been his teacher?

With whom did He consult and who enlightened Him?
Who taught Him the path of justice and taught Him knowledge
And informed Him of the way of understanding?

All the nations are as nothing before him; they are accounted by him as less than nothing, and vanity.

The image, hath been cast by an artificer, And a goldsmith, with gold, overlayeth it, - And, chains of silver, he worketh.

He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.

It is he who is seated over the arch of the earth, and the people in it are as small as locusts; by him the heavens are stretched out like an arch, and made ready like a tent for a living-place.

He reduces princes to nothing
and makes judges of the earth irrational.

Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.

{Why} do you say, Jacob, and you speak, Israel, "My way is hidden from Yahweh, and my judgment is passed over by my God?"

Don't you know? Haven't you heard? The LORD is the eternal God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not grow tired or weary; and his understanding cannot be fathomed.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

“Be silent before Me, islands!
And let peoples renew their strength.
Let them approach, then let them testify;
let us come together for the trial.

Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.

He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone 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 helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.

So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.

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.

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.

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

For I, Yahweh your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, 'Don't be afraid. I will help you.'

Don't be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel. I will help you," says Yahweh, "and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

Behold, I have made thee to be a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth; thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.

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.

I will put in the waste land the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive-tree; and in the lowland will be planted the fir-tree, the plane, and the cypress together:

So that they may see and be wise and give their mind to it, and that it may be clear to them all that the hand of the Lord has done this, and that the Holy One of Israel has made it.

“Present your case [for idols made by men’s hands],” says the Lord.
“Produce your evidence [of divinity],”
Says the king of Jacob.

Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.

Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.

“I have stirred up and put into action one from the north [the king of Persia, Cyrus the Great], and he has come;
From the rising of the sun he will call on My Name [in prayer].
And he will trample on [the Babylonian] officials as on mortar,
Even as a potter treads clay.”

Who has given knowledge of it from the first, so that we may be certain of it? and from the start, so that we may say, His word is true? There is no one who gives news, or says anything, or who gives ear to your words.

“I was first to say to Zion, ‘Listen carefully, here they are [the Jews who will be restored to their own land].’
And to Jerusalem, ‘I will provide a messenger (Isaiah) to bring the good news [that Cyrus will be stirred up and put into action to save them].’

Behold now therefore, this is my servant whom I will keep to myself: mine elect; In whom my soul shall be pacified. I will give him my spirit, that he may show forth judgment and equity among the Gentiles.

He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.

He will not let a crushed stem be quite broken, and he will not let a feebly burning light be put out: he will go on sending out the true word to the peoples.

He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

“I am the Lord, I have called You (the Messiah) in righteousness [for a righteous purpose],
I will also take You by the hand and keep watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people [Israel],
As a light to the nations (Gentiles),

Make a new song to the Lord, and let his praise be sounded from the end of the earth; you who go down to the sea, and everything in it, the sea-lands and their people.

Let the waste land and its flocks be glad, the tent-circles of Kedar; let the people of the rock give a glad cry, from the top of the mountains let them make a sound of joy.

The Lord will go out as a man of war, he will be moved to wrath like a fighting-man: his voice will be strong, he will give a loud cry; he will go against his attackers like a man of war.

I have long time holden my peace, sayeth the LORD, should I therefore be still, and keep silence for ever? I will cry like a travailing woman, and at once will I destroy, and devour.

I will lay waste mountains, and hills, And all their vegetation, will I wither, - And I will make rivers to be shores, And lakes, will I dry up:

And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.

Give ear, you whose ears are shut; and let your eyes be open, you blind, so that you may see.

You've seen many things, but you pay no attention. His ears are open, but he doesn't listen.

Yahweh was willing for the sake of his righteousness; he showed [his] teaching to be great and proved [it] to be glorious.

But this is a people whose property has been taken away from them by force; they are all taken in holes, and shut up in prisons: they are made prisoners, and no one makes them free; they are taken by force and no one says, Give them back.

Who among you will pay attention to this?
Let him listen and obey in the future.

Who suffered Jacob to be trodden under foot, and Israel to be spoiled? Did not the LORD? Now have we sinned against him, and have had no delight to walk in his ways, neither been obedient unto his law.

And be will pour upon him the heat of his anger, and the strength of war: and it will burn him from round about, and he will not know; and it will feed upon him and he will not lay to the heart.

But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

Because of your value in my eyes, you have been honoured, and loved by me; so I will give men for you, and peoples for your life.

Be not afraid, for I am with thee, From the east I bring in thy seed, And from the west I gather thee.

Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.

Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.

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?

Which bringeth forth the chariots and horses, the host and the power, that they may fall asleep and never rise, and be extinct, like as towe is quenched:

“Do not remember the past events,
pay no attention to things of old.

“Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.

Even the people whom I made to be the witnesses of my praise.

“You have not brought Me your sheep or goats for your burnt offerings,
Nor honored Me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings,
Nor wearied you with [demands for offerings of] incense.

You did not buy me aromatic reeds; you did not present to me the fat of your sacrifices. Yet you burdened me with your sins; you made me weary with your evil deeds.

Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.

So then I must needs profane the rulers of the holy place, - And deliver Jacob to be devoted to destruction, and Israel, unto reviling!

This is what Yahweh who made you, and formed you from the womb, who will help you says: "Don't be afraid, Jacob my servant; and you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.

One shall say, I am the LORD'S; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel.

Who then, like me, can call, and declare it, and order it, for me, Seeing that I appointed an age-abiding people, - Or things yet to be, and that shall come to pass, Let them declare on their part.