And to whom will you liken God? And to what likeness will you compare him?

Why do you say, Jacob, Why do you say, Israel, "The Lord is not aware of what is happening to me, My God is not concerned with my vindication"?

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.

Let them bring [them], and let them tell us what will happen. Tell us what the former things [are] {so that} we may take [them to] our heart and know their outcome. Declare to us the things to come;

Give us word of what will be after this, so that we may be certain that you are gods: yes, do good or do evil, so that we may all see it and be surprised.

Who hath told in advance, that we might know, And beforetime, that we might say Right! Nay, there is none who can tell. Nay, there is none who can let us hear, Nay, there is none who can understand what ye utter.

I first decreed to Zion, 'Look, here's what will happen!' I sent a herald to Jerusalem.

This is what God, Yahweh, says—
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and life to those who walk on it—

I will lead the blind by a way they did not know;
I will guide them on paths they have not known.
I will turn darkness to light in front of them
and rough places into level ground.
This is what I will do for them,
and I will not forsake them.

Who among you will give ear to this, who will hearken and hear what is to come?

Now this is what the Lord says—
the One who created you, Jacob,
and the One who formed you, Israel—
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name; you are Mine.

All nations shall come in one, and be gathered in one people. But which among yonder gods shall declare such things, and tell us what is to come? Let them bring their witnesses, so shall they be free: for then men shall hear it, and say, "It is truth."

And even he am I from the beginning, and there is none that can take anything out of my hand. And what I do, can no man change.

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.

This is what the Lord says—
who makes a way in the sea,
and a path through surging waters,

Remind me of what happened! Let's debate! You, prove to me that you are right!

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.

This is what the Lord, the King of Israel and its Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts, says:

I am the first and I am the last.
There is no God but Me.

Who, like Me, can announce the future?
Let him say so and make a case before Me,
since I have established an ancient people.
Let these gods declare the coming things,
and what will take place.

All who make idols are nothing,
and what they treasure does not profit.
Their witnesses do not see or know anything,
so they will be put to shame.

But from what is left of the wood he makes a god, his carved idol. He falls down before it, he worships it and prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”

No one stops to think. No one has the knowledge or understanding to think yes to think! "Half of it I burned in the fire. I even baked bread on its coals, and I roasted meat and ate it. And am I about to make detestable things from what is left? Am I about to bow down to blocks of wood?"

As for him whose food is the dust of a dead fire, he has been turned from the way by a twisted mind, so that he is unable to keep himself safe by saying, What I have here in my hand is false.

This is what the Lord, your Redeemer who formed you from the womb, says:

I am Yahweh, who made everything;
who stretched out the heavens by Myself;
who alone spread out the earth;

This is what the Lord says to his chosen one, to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold in order to subdue nations before him, and disarm kings, to open doors before him, so gates remain unclosed:

Woe [to the] one who strives with his {maker}, a potsherd among potsherds of earth! Does [the] clay say to the one who fashions it, 'What are you making?' and 'Your work has no hands'?

Woe [to the] one who says to a father, 'What you are begetting?' or to a woman, '[With] what are you in labor?'"

This is what the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel and its Maker, says:
“Ask Me what is to happen to My sons,
and instruct Me about the work of My hands.

This is what the Lord says:

The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush
and the Sabeans, men of stature,
will come over to you
and will be yours;
they will follow you,
they will come over in chains
and bow down to you.
They will confess to you:
God is indeed with you, and there is no other;
there is no other God.

For this is what the Lord says—
God is the Creator of the heavens.
He formed the earth and made it.
He established it;
He did not create it to be empty,
but formed it to be inhabited—
“I am Yahweh,
and there is no other.

I have not given my word in secret, in a place in the underworld; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, Go into a waste land to make request of me: I the Lord say what is true, my word is righteousness.

Let men draw nigh, let them come hither, and ask counsel one at another, and show forth: "What is he, that told this before?" Or, "Who spake of it, ever since the beginning?" Have not I, the LORD, done it: without whom there is none other God? The true God and Saviour, and there is else none but I.

I solemnly make this oath -- what I say is true and reliable: 'Surely every knee will bow to me, every tongue will solemnly affirm;

Even when you are old I will be the same, and when you are grey-haired I will take care of you: I will still be responsible for what I made; yes, I will take you and keep you safe.

Who in your eyes is my equal? or what comparison will you make with me?

Remember what happened long ago,
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and no one is like Me.

Making clear from the first what is to come, and from past times the things which have not so far come about; saying, My purpose is fixed, and I will do all my pleasure;

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

And you said, I will be a queen for ever: you did not give attention to these things, and did not keep in mind what would come after.

Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the interpreters of the heavens, the observers of the stars, who predict according to the new moons what shall come upon thee, stand up, and save thee.

This is what they are to you—
those who have wearied you
and have traded with you from your youth—
each wanders on his own way;
no one can save you.

You have heard; now look at all the evidence! Will you not admit that what I say is true? From this point on I am announcing to you new events that are previously unrevealed and you do not know about.

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

I am Yahweh your God,
who teaches you for your benefit,
who leads you in the way you should go.

This is what the Lord,
the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, says
to one who is despised,
to one abhorred by people,
to a servant of rulers:
“Kings will see and stand up,
and princes will bow down,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel—and He has chosen you.”

This is what the Lord says:

I will answer you in a time of favor,
and I will help you in the day of salvation.
I will keep you, and I will appoint you
to be a covenant for the people,
to restore the land,
to make them possess the desolate inheritances,

This is what the Lord God says:

Look, I will lift up My hand to the nations,
and raise My banner to the peoples.
They will bring your sons in their arms,
and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.

For this is what the Lord says:
“Even the captives of a mighty man will be taken,
and the prey of a tyrant will be delivered;
I will contend with the one who contends with you,
and I will save your children.

This is what the Lord says:

Where is your mother’s divorce certificate
that I used to send her away?
Or who were My creditors that I sold you to?
Look, you were sold for your iniquities,
and your mother was put away
because of your transgressions.

Behold, the LORD God standeth by me: what is he that can condemn me? Lo, they shall be all like as an old cloth, which the moths shall eat up.

Look, all you who kindle a fire,
who encircle yourselves with firebrands;
walk in the light of your fire
and in the firebrands you have lit!
This is what you’ll get from My hand:
you will lie down in a place of torment.

Listen to me, you who know what is right, you people who are aware of my law! Don't be afraid of the insults of men; don't be discouraged because of their abuse!

Yea I, I am even he, that in all things giveth you consolation. What art thou then, that fearest a mortal man; the child of man, which goeth away as doeth the flour,

This is what your Lord says—
Yahweh, even your God,
who defends His people—
“Look, I have removed
the cup of staggering from your hand;
that goblet, the cup of My fury.
You will never drink it again.

For this is what the Lord says:
“You were sold for nothing,
and you will be redeemed without silver.”

For this is what the Lord God says:
“At first My people went down to Egypt to live there,
then Assyria oppressed them without cause.

And now what do I have here?"{declares} Yahweh, "for my people is taken without cause. Its rulers howl," {declares} Yahweh--"and my name [is] reviled continually, all day.

Therefore My people shall know My Name and what it means. Therefore in that day I am the One who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’”

Depart, depart, go out from thence, touch not what is unclean; go out of the midst of her, be ye clean, that bear the vessels of Jehovah.

so he shall sprinkle many nations; because of him, kings shall shut their mouths. For they shall see what has not been told them, and they shall consider with full attention what they have not heard.

Who has believed what we have heard?
And who has the arm of the Lord been revealed to?

He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of suffering who knew what sickness was.
He was like someone people turned away from;
He was despised, and we didn’t value Him.

Having suffered, he will reflect on his work, he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done. "My servant will acquit many, for he carried their sins.

No weapon forged to be used against you will succeed; you will refute everyone who tries to accuse you. This is what the Lord will do for his servants -- I will vindicate them," says the Lord.

Why do you weigh out money for [what is] not food, and your labor for {what cannot satisfy}? Listen carefully to me, and eat [what is] good, and let your soul take pleasure in {rich} food.

so shall be my word that goes out from my mouth. It shall not return to me without success, but shall accomplish what I desire and be successful [in the thing for] which I sent it.

This is what the Lord says:

Preserve justice and do what is right,
for My salvation is coming soon,
and My righteousness will be revealed.

For the Lord says this:
“For the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,
and choose what pleases Me,
and hold firmly to My covenant,

This is what the Lord GOD says, the one who gathers the outcasts of Israel: "I'll gather still others to them besides those already gathered.

I will make clear what your righteousness is like and your works; you will have no profit in them.

And therefore thus he sayeth, "Make ready, make ready, and clean the street, take up what ye can out of the way that leadeth to my people."

For this is what the high and exalted one says, the one who rules forever, whose name is holy: "I dwell in an exalted and holy place, but also with the discouraged and humiliated, in order to cheer up the humiliated and to encourage the discouraged.

They seek Me day after day
and delight to know My ways,
like a nation that does what is right
and does not abandon the justice of their God.
They ask Me for righteous judgments;
they delight in the nearness of God.”

Wherefore have we fasted, and thou seest not; have afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find what pleaseth you, and exact all your labours.

Have I given orders for such a day as this? a day for keeping yourselves from pleasure? is it only a question of the bent head, of putting on haircloth, and being seated in the dust? is this what seems to you a holy day, well-pleasing to the Lord?

If you turn your foot because of the Sabbath, from doing what you please on My holy days, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of Jehovah, honorable; and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words,

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

They have no knowledge of the way of peace, and there is no sense of what is right in their behaviour: they have made for themselves ways which are not straight; whoever goes in them has no knowledge of peace.

And he saw that there was no man, and he was appalled that there was no one who intercedes, so his arm came to assist him, and his righteousness {was what} sustained him.

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

But what are these that flee here like clouds, and as the doves flying to their windows?

Instead of your [former] shame you will have a double portion;
And instead of humiliation your people will shout for joy over their portion.
Therefore in their land they will possess double [what they had forfeited];
Everlasting joy will be theirs.

For as the earth produces its growth,
and as a garden enables what is sown to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations.

What is he, this that cometh from Edom, with stained red clothes of Bozrah, which is so costly cloth, and cometh in so nimbly with all his strength? "I am he that teacheth righteousness, and am of power to help."

And I looked, but there was no helper, and I was appalled, but there was no one who sustains, so my arm came to assist me, and my wrath {was what} sustained me.

For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither has the eye seen, O God, besides you, what he has prepared for him that waits for him.

You welcome the one who joyfully does what is right;
they remember You in Your ways.
But we have sinned, and You were angry.
How can we be saved if we remain in our sins?

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.

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

This is what the Lord says: "When juice is discovered in a cluster of grapes, someone says, 'Don't destroy it, for it contains juice.' So I will do for the sake of my servants -- I will not destroy everyone.

I will even assign you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down in the slaughter; because I called, and ye did not answer, I spoke, and ye did not hear; but ye did what was evil in mine eyes, and chose that wherein I delight not.

Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:

My servants will eat,
but you will be hungry;
My servants will drink,
but you will be thirsty;
My servants will rejoice,
but you will be put to shame.

But rejoice and shout in exultation forever and ever [over] what I [am] about to create! For look! I [am] about to create Jerusalem [as a source of] rejoicing, and her people [as a source of] joy.

No longer will they build a house only to have another live in it, or plant a vineyard only to have another eat its fruit, for my people will live as long as trees, and my chosen ones will enjoy to the fullest what they have produced.

The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
but the serpent’s food will be dust!
They will not do what is evil or destroy
on My entire holy mountain,”
says the Lord.

Thus saith Jehovah: The heavens are my throne, and the earth is my footstool: what is the house that ye will build unto me? and what is the place of my rest?

My hand made them; that is how they came to be," says the Lord. I show special favor to the humble and contrite, who respect what I have to say.

So I will go after trouble for them, and will send on them what they are fearing: because no one made answer to my voice, or gave ear to my word; but they did what was evil in my eyes, going after that in which I took no pleasure.

Hear the word of the Lord, you who respect what he has to say! Your countrymen, who hate you and exclude you, supposedly for the sake of my name, say, "May the Lord be glorified, then we will witness 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!

For this is what the Lord says:

I will make peace flow to her like a river,
and the wealth of nations like a flood;
you will nurse and be carried on her hip
and bounced on her lap.