Listen to this, O family of Jacob, you who are called by the name 'Israel,' and are descended from Judah, who take oaths in the name of the Lord, and invoke the God of Israel -- but not in an honest and just manner.

Indeed, they live in the holy city; they trust in the God of Israel, whose name is the Lord who commands armies.

Listen to me, O Jacob, Israel, whom I summoned! I am the one; I am present at the very beginning and at the very end.

All of you, gather together and listen! Who among them announced these things? The Lord's ally will carry out his desire against Babylon; he will exert his power against the Babylonians.

This is what the Lord, your protector, says, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you how to succeed, who leads you in the way you should go.

Listen to me, you coastlands! Pay attention, you people who live far away! The Lord summoned me from birth; he commissioned me when my mother brought me into the world.

He said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, through whom I will reveal my splendor."

So now the Lord says, the one who formed me from birth to be his servant -- he did this to restore Jacob to himself, so that Israel might be gathered to him; and I will be honored in the Lord's sight, for my God is my source of strength --

This is what the Lord, the protector of Israel, their Holy One, says to the one who is despised and rejected by nations, a servant of rulers: "Kings will see and rise in respect, princes will bow down, because of the faithful Lord, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you."

You will say to the prisoners, 'Come out,' and to those who are in dark dungeons, 'Emerge.' They will graze beside the roads; on all the slopes they will find pasture.

They will not be hungry or thirsty; the sun's oppressive heat will not beat down on them, for one who has compassion on them will guide them; he will lead them to springs of water.

Can a woman forget her baby who nurses at her breast? Can she withhold compassion from the child she has borne? Even if mothers were to forget, I could never forget you!

Your children hurry back, while those who destroyed and devastated you depart.

Yes, your land lies in ruins; it is desolate and devastated. But now you will be too small to hold your residents, and those who devoured you will be far away.

Then you will think to yourself, 'Who bore these children for me? I was bereaved and barren, dismissed and divorced. Who raised these children? Look, I was left all alone; where did these children come from?'"

Kings will be your children's guardians; their princesses will nurse your children. With their faces to the ground they will bow down to you and they will lick the dirt on your feet. Then you will recognize that I am the Lord; those who wait patiently for me are not put to shame.

I offered my back to those who attacked, my jaws to those who tore out my beard; I did not hide my face from insults and spitting.

The one who vindicates me is close by. Who dares to argue with me? Let us confront each other! Who is my accuser? Let him challenge me!

Look, the sovereign Lord helps me. Who dares to condemn me? Look, all of them will wear out like clothes; a moth will eat away at them.

Who among you fears the Lord? Who obeys his servant? Whoever walks in deep darkness, without light, should trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.

Look, all of you who start a fire and who equip yourselves with flaming arrows, walk in the light of the fire you started and among the flaming arrows you ignited! This is what you will receive from me: you will lie down in a place of pain.

"Listen to me, you who pursue godliness, who seek the Lord! Look at the rock from which you were chiseled, at the quarry from which you were dug!

Look at Abraham, your father, and Sarah, who gave you birth. When I summoned him, he was a lone individual, but I blessed him and gave him numerous descendants.

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!

Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return; they will enter Zion with a happy shout. Unending joy will crown them, happiness and joy will overwhelm them; grief and suffering will disappear.

"I, I am the one who consoles you. Why are you afraid of mortal men, of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass?

Why do you forget the Lord, who made you, who stretched out the sky and founded the earth? Why do you constantly tremble all day long at the anger of the oppressor, when he makes plans to destroy? Where is the anger of the oppressor?

The one who suffers will soon be released; he will not die in prison, he will not go hungry.

I am the Lord your God, who churns up the sea so that its waves surge. The Lord who commands armies is his name!

These double disasters confronted you. But who feels sorry for you? Destruction and devastation, famine and sword. But who consoles you?

So listen to this, oppressed one, who is drunk, but not from wine!

I will put it into the hand of your tormentors who said to you, 'Lie down, so we can walk over you.' You made your back like the ground, and like the street for those who walked over you."

And now, what do we have here?" says the Lord. "Indeed my people have been carried away for nothing, those who rule over them taunt," says the Lord, "and my name is constantly slandered all day long.

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.'"

How delightful it is to see approaching over the mountains the feet of a messenger who announces peace, a messenger who brings good news, who announces deliverance, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"

Leave! Leave! Get out of there! Don't touch anything unclean! Get out of it! Stay pure, you who carry the Lord's holy items!

Who would have believed what we just heard? When was the Lord's power revealed through him?

He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant.

He was led away after an unjust trial -- but who even cared? Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living; because of the rebellion of his own people he was wounded.

"Shout for joy, O barren one who has not given birth! Give a joyful shout and cry out, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one are more numerous than the children of the married woman," says the Lord.

For your husband is the one who made you -- the Lord who commands armies is his name. He is your protector, the Holy One of Israel. He is called "God of the entire earth."

"Indeed, the Lord will call you back like a wife who has been abandoned and suffers from depression, like a young wife when she has been rejected," says your God.

Even if the mountains are removed and the hills displaced, my devotion will not be removed from you, nor will my covenant of friendship be displaced," says the Lord, the one who has compassion on you.

Look, I create the craftsman, who fans the coals into a fire and forges a weapon. I create the destroyer so he might devastate.

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.

"Hey, all who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come! Buy and eat! Come! Buy wine and milk without money and without cost!

The rain and snow fall from the sky and do not return, but instead water the earth and make it produce and yield crops, and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.

The people who do this will be blessed, the people who commit themselves to obedience, who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it, who refrain from doing anything that is wrong.

No foreigner who becomes a follower of the Lord should say, 'The Lord will certainly exclude me from his people.' The eunuch should not say, 'Look, I am like a dried-up tree.'"

For this is what the Lord says: "For the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths and choose what pleases me and are faithful to my covenant,

As for foreigners who become followers of the Lord and serve him, who love the name of the Lord and want to be his servants -- all who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it, and who are faithful to my covenant --

The sovereign Lord says this, the one who gathers the dispersed of Israel: "I will still gather them up."

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.

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

At whom are you laughing? At whom are you opening your mouth and sticking out your tongue? You are the children of rebels, the offspring of liars,

you who practice ritual sex under the oaks and every green tree, who slaughter children near the streams under the rocky overhangs.

Whom are you worried about? Whom do you fear, that you would act so deceitfully and not remember me or think about me? Because I have been silent for so long, you are not afraid of me.

When you cry out for help, let your idols help you! The wind blows them all away, a breeze carries them away. But the one who looks to me for help will inherit the land and will have access to my holy mountain."

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.

I have seen their behavior, but I will heal them and give them rest, and I will once again console those who mourn.

I am the one who gives them reason to celebrate. Complete prosperity is available both to those who are far away and those who are nearby," says the Lord, "and I will heal them.

Your perpetual ruins will be rebuilt; you will reestablish the ancient foundations. You will be called, 'The one who repairs broken walls, the one who makes the streets inhabitable again.'

We grope along the wall like the blind, we grope like those who cannot see; we stumble at noontime as if it were evening. Though others are strong, we are like dead men.

Honesty has disappeared; the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed. The Lord watches and is displeased, for there is no justice.

"A protector comes to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their rebellious deeds," says the Lord.

"As for me, this is my promise to them," says the Lord. "My spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and descendants from this time forward," says the Lord.

Who are these who float along like a cloud, who fly like doves to their shelters?

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 announce the year when the Lord will show his favor, the day when our God will seek vengeance, to console all who mourn,

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.

Their descendants will be known among the nations, their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will recognize that the Lord has blessed them."

I post watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they should keep praying all day and all night. You who pray to the Lord, don't be silent!

But those who harvest the grain will eat it, and will praise the Lord. Those who pick the grapes will drink the wine in the courts of my holy sanctuary."

Who is this who comes from Edom, dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah? Who is this one wearing royal attire, who marches confidently because of his great strength? "It is I, the one who announces vindication, and who is able to deliver!"

Why are your clothes red? Why do you look like someone who has stomped on grapes in a vat?

He said, "Certainly they will be my people, children who are not disloyal." He became their deliverer.

His people remembered the ancient times. Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea, along with the shepherd of his flock? Where is the one who placed his holy Spirit among them,

the one who made his majestic power available to Moses, who divided the water before them, gaining for himself a lasting reputation,

who led them through the deep water? Like a horse running on flat land they did not stumble.

As when fire ignites dry wood, or fire makes water boil, let your adversaries know who you are, and may the nations shake at your presence!

Since ancient times no one has heard or perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who intervenes for those who wait for him.

You assist those who delight in doing what is right, who observe your commandments. Look, you were angry because we violated them continually. How then can we be saved?

We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight. We all wither like a leaf; our sins carry us away like the wind.

"I made myself available to those who did not ask for me; I appeared to those who did not look for me. I said, 'Here I am! Here I am!' to a nation that did not invoke my name.

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.

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 as for you who abandon the Lord and forget about worshiping at my holy mountain, who prepare a feast for the god called 'Fortune,' and fill up wine jugs for the god called 'Destiny' --

Never again will one of her infants live just a few days or an old man die before his time. Indeed, no one will die before the age of a hundred, anyone who fails to reach the age of a hundred will be considered cursed.

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.

The one who slaughters a bull also strikes down a man; the one who sacrifices a lamb also breaks a dog's neck; the one who presents an offering includes pig's blood with it; the one who offers incense also praises an idol. They have decided to behave this way; they enjoy these disgusting practices.

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.

Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen this? Can a country be brought forth in one day? Can a nation be born in a single moment? Yet as soon as Zion goes into labor she gives birth to sons!

Be happy for Jerusalem and rejoice with her, all you who love her! Share in her great joy, all you who have mourned over her!

"As for those who consecrate and ritually purify themselves so they can follow their leader and worship in the sacred orchards, those who eat the flesh of pigs and other disgusting creatures, like mice -- they will all be destroyed together," says the Lord.

I will perform a mighty act among them and then send some of those who remain to the nations -- to Tarshish, Pul, Lud (known for its archers), Tubal, Javan, and to the distant coastlands that have not heard about me or seen my splendor. They will tell the nations of my splendor.

"They will go out and observe the corpses of those who rebelled against me, for the maggots that eat them will not die, and the fire that consumes them will not die out. All people will find the sight abhorrent."

The following is a record of what Jeremiah son of Hilkiah prophesied. He was one of the priests who lived at Anathoth in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin.

Do not be afraid of those to whom I send you, for I will be with you to protect you," says the Lord.

Then the Lord said, "This means destruction will break out from the north on all who live in the land.