And now, without Jehovah have I come up against this land to destroy it? Jehovah said unto me, Go up unto this land, and thou hast destroyed it.'

till my coming in, and I have taken you unto a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards;

lest Hezekiah doth persuade you, saying, Jehovah doth deliver us. 'Have the gods of the nations delivered each his land out of the hand of the king of Asshur?

Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where the gods of Sepharvaim, that they have delivered Samaria out of my hand?

Who among all the gods of these lands are they who have delivered their land out of my hand, that Jehovah doth deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?'

And they keep silent, and have not answered him a word, for a command of the king is, saying, 'Do not answer him.'

and they say unto him, 'Thus said Hezekiah, A day of distress, and rebuke, and despising, is this day; for come have sons unto the birth, and power there is not to bear.

and Isaiah saith unto them, 'Thus do ye say unto your lord, Thus said Jehovah, Be not afraid because of the words that thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Asshur have reviled Me.

Lo, I am giving in him a spirit, and he hath heard a report, and hath turned back unto his land, and I have caused him to fall by the sword in his land.'

Lo, thou hast heard that which the kings of Asshur have done to all the lands -- to devote them -- and thou art delivered!

'Truly, O Jehovah, kings of Asshur have laid waste all the lands and their land,

By the hand of thy servants Thou hast reviled the Lord, and sayest: In the multitude of my chariots I have come up to a high place of hills, The sides of Lebanon, And I cut down the height of its cedars, The choice of its firs, And I enter the high place of its extremity, The forest of its Carmel.

I -- I have dug and drunk waters, And I dry up with the sole of my steps All floods of a bulwark.

Hast thou not heard from afar? -- it I did, From days of old -- that I formed it. Now, I have brought it in, And it is to make desolate, Ruinous heaps -- fenced cities,

And their inhabitants are feeble-handed, They were broken down, and are dried up. They have been the herb of the field, And the greenness of the tender grass, Grass of the roofs, And blasted corn, before it hath risen up.

And thy sitting down, and thy going out, And thy coming in, I have known, And thy anger towards Me.

Because of thy anger towards Me, And thy noise -- it came up into Mine ears, I have put My hook in thy nose, And My bridle in thy lips, And I have caused thee to turn back In the way in which thou camest.

And I have covered over this city, To save it, for Mine own sake, And for the sake of David My servant.'

And it cometh to pass, he is bowing himself in the house of Nisroch his god, and Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons have smitten him with the sword, and they have escaped to the land of Ararat, and Esar-Haddon his son reigneth in his stead.

and saith, 'I pray thee, O Jehovah, remember, I pray Thee, how I have walked habitually before Thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and that which is good in thine eyes I have done;' and Hezekiah weepeth -- a great weeping.

Go, and thou hast said to Hezekiah, Thus said Jehovah, God of David thy father, 'I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tear, lo, I am adding to thy days fifteen years,

and out of the hand of the king of Asshur I deliver thee and this city, and have covered over this city.

I -- I said in the cutting off of my days, I go in to the gates of Sheol, I have numbered the remnant of mine years.

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.

I have set Him till morning as a lion, So doth He break all my bones, From day unto night Thou dost end me.

As a crane -- a swallow -- so I chatter, I mourn as a dove, Drawn up have been mine eyes on high, O Jehovah, oppression is on me, be my surety.

And Isaiah the prophet cometh in unto king Hezekiah, and saith unto him, 'What said these men? and whence come they unto thee?' And Hezekiah saith, 'From a land afar off they have come unto me -- from Babylon.'

And he saith, 'What saw they in thy house?' and Hezekiah saith, 'All that is in my house they saw; there hath not been a thing that I have not shewed them among my treasures.'

Lo, days are coming, and borne hath been all that is in thy house, and that thy fathers have treasured up till this day, to Babylon; there is not left a thing, said Jehovah;

and of thy sons who come forth from thee, whom thou begettest, they take, and they have been eunuchs in a palace of the king of Babylon.'

And revealed hath been the honour of Jehovah, And seen it have all flesh together, For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken.

Lo, nations as a drop from a bucket, And as small dust of the balance, have been reckoned, Lo, isles as a small thing He taketh up.

All the nations are as nothing before Him, Less than nothing and emptiness, They have been reckoned to Him.

Do ye not know -- do ye not hear? Hath it not been declared from the first to you? Have ye not understood From the foundations of the earth?

Yea, they have not been planted, Yea, they have not been sown, Yea, not taking root in the earth is their stock, And also He hath blown upon them, and they wither, And a whirlwind as stubble taketh them away.

Seen have isles and fear, ends of the earth tremble, They have drawn near, yea, they come.

-- And thou, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, Seed of Abraham, My lover,

Whom I have taken hold of, from the ends of the earth, And from its near places I have called thee, And I say to thee, My servant Thou art, I have chosen thee, and not rejected thee.

Be not afraid, for with thee I am, Look not around, for I am thy God, I have strengthened thee, Yea, I have helped thee, yea, I upheld thee, With the right hand of My righteousness.

For I, Jehovah thy God, Am strengthening thy right hand, He who is saying to thee, 'Fear not, I have helped thee.'

Lo, I have set thee for a new sharp threshing instrument, Possessing teeth, thou threshest mountains, And beatest small, and hills as chaff thou makest.

I have stirred up one from the north, And he cometh, From the rising of the sun he calleth in My name, And he cometh in on prefects as on clay, And as a potter treadeth down mire.

Lo, My servant, I take hold on him, My chosen one -- My soul hath accepted, I have put My Spirit upon him, Judgment to nations he bringeth forth.

The former things, lo, have come, And new things I am declaring, Before they spring up I cause you to hear.

I have kept silent from of old, I keep silent, I refrain myself, As a travailing woman I cry out, I desolate and swallow up together.

I make waste mountains and hills, And all their herbs I dry up, And I have made rivers become isles, And ponds I dry up.

And I have caused the blind to go, In a way they have not known, In paths they have not known I cause them to tread, I make a dark place before them become light, And unlevelled places become a plain, These are the things I have done to them, And I have not forsaken them.

And this is a people seized and spoiled, Snared in holes -- all of them, And in houses of restraint they were hidden, They have been for a prey, And there is no deliverer, A spoil, and none is saying, 'Restore.'

Who hath given Jacob for a spoil, And Israel to the spoilers? Is it not Jehovah -- He against whom we sinned? Yea, they have not been willing in His ways to walk, Nor have they hearkened to His law.

And now, thus said Jehovah, Thy Creator, O Jacob, and thy Fashioner, O Israel, Be not afraid, for I have redeemed thee, I have called on thy name -- thou art Mine.

For I -- Jehovah thy God, The Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour, I have appointed Egypt thine atonement, Cush and Seba in thy stead.

Since thou wast precious in Mine eyes, Thou wast honoured, and I have loved thee, And I appoint men in thy stead, And peoples instead of thy life.

Every one who is called by My name, Even for My honour I have created him, I have formed him, yea, I have made him.

He brought out a blind people who have eyes, And deaf ones who have ears.

All the nations have been gathered together, And the peoples are assembled, Who among them declareth this, And former things causeth us to hear? They give their witnesses, And they are declared righteous, And they hear and say, 'Truth.'

Ye are My witnesses, an affirmation of Jehovah, And My servant whom I have chosen, So that ye know and give credence to Me, And understand that I am He, Before Me there was no God formed, And after Me there is none.

Thus said Jehovah, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: 'For your sake I have sent to Babylon, And caused bars to descend -- all of them, And the Chaldeans, whose song is in the ships.

Who is bringing forth chariot and horse, A force, even a strong one: 'Together they lie down -- they rise not, They have been extinguished, As flax they have been quenched.'

Honour me doth the beast of the field, Dragons and daughters of an ostrich, For I have given in a wilderness waters, Floods in a desolate place, To give drink to My people -- My chosen.

This people I have formed for Myself, My praise they recount.

Thou hast not brought in to Me, The lamb of thy burnt-offerings, And with thy sacrifices thou hast not honoured Me, I have not caused thee to serve with a present, Nor wearied thee with frankincense.

And now, hear, O Jacob, My servant, And Israel, whom I have fixed on:

Thus said Jehovah, thy Maker, and thy Former, From the womb He doth help thee; Fear not, my servant Jacob, And Jeshurun, whom I have fixed on.

And they have sprung up as among grass, As willows by streams of water.

Fear not, nor be afraid, Have I not from that time caused thee to hear, and declared? And ye are My witnesses, Is there a God besides Me? yea, there is none, A Rock I have not known.

Half of it he hath burnt in the fire, By this half of it he eateth flesh, He roasteth a roasting, and is satisfied, Yea, he is warm, and saith: 'Aha, I have become warm, I have enjoyed the light.

They have not known, nor do they understand, For He hath daubed their eyes from seeing, Their heart from acting wisely.

And none doth turn it back unto his heart, Nor hath knowledge nor understanding to say, 'Half of it I have burned in the fire, Yea, also, I have baked bread over its coals, I roast flesh and I eat, And its remnant for an abomination I make, To the stock of a tree I fall down.'

I have blotted out, as by a thick cloud, Thy transgressions, And as by a cloud thy sins, Return unto Me, for I have redeemed thee.

Thus said Jehovah, To His anointed, to Cyrus, Whose right hand I have laid hold on, To subdue nations before him, Yea, loins of kings I loose, To open before him two-leaved doors, Yea, gates are not shut:

And have given to thee treasures of darkness, Even treasures of secret places, So that thou knowest that I, Jehovah, Who am calling on thy name -- am the God of Israel.

Drop, ye heavens, from above, And clouds do cause righteousness to flow, Earth openeth, and they are fruitful, Salvation and righteousness spring up together, I, Jehovah, have prepared it.

I made earth, and man on it prepared, I -- My hands stretched out the heavens, And all their host I have commanded.

I have stirred him up in righteousness, And all his ways I make straight, He doth build My city, and My captivity doth send out, Not for price, nor for bribe, said Jehovah of Hosts.

They have been ashamed, And they have even blushed -- all of them, Together gone in confusion have those carving images.

Not in secret have I spoken, in a dark place of the earth, I have not said to the seed of Jacob, In vain seek ye Me, I am Jehovah, speaking righteousness, Declaring uprightness.

Be gathered, and come in, Come nigh together, ye escaped of the nations, They have not known, Who are lifting up the wood of their graven image, And praying unto a god that saveth not.

By Myself I have sworn, Gone out from my mouth in righteousness hath a word, And it turneth not back, That to Me, bow doth every knee, every tongue swear.

Only in Jehovah, said hath one, Have I righteousness and strength, Unto Him he cometh in, And ashamed are all those displeased with Him.

Bowed down hath Bel, stooping is Nebo, Their idols have been for the beast and for cattle, Your burdens are loaded, a burden to the weary.

They have stooped, they have bowed together, They have not been able to deliver the burden, And themselves into captivity have gone.

Calling from the east a ravenous bird, From a far land the man of My counsel, Yea, I have spoken, yea, I bring it in, I have formed it, yea, I do it.

I have brought near My righteousness, It is not far off, And My salvation -- it doth not tarry, And I have given in Zion salvation, To Israel My glory!

I have been wroth against My people, I have polluted Mine inheritance And I give them into thy hand, Thou hast not appointed for them mercies, On the aged thou hast made thy yoke very heavy,

And come in to thee do these two things, In a moment, in one day, childlessness and widowhood, According to their perfection they have come upon thee, In the multitude of thy sorceries, In the exceeding might of thy charms.

Lo, they have been as stubble! Fire hath burned them, They deliver not themselves from the power of the flame, There is not a coal to warm them, a light to sit before it.

So have they been to thee with whom thou hast laboured, Thy merchants from thy youth, Each to his passage they have wandered, Thy saviour is not!

For from the Holy City they have been called, And on the God of Israel been supported, Jehovah of Hosts is His name.

The former things from that time I declared, And from my mouth they have gone forth, And I proclaim them, Suddenly I have done, and it cometh.

And I declare to thee from that time, Before it cometh I have caused thee to hear, Lest thou say, 'Mine idol hath done them, And my graven image, And my molten image did command them.

Thou hast heard, see the whole of it, And ye, do ye not declare? I have caused thee to hear new things from this time, And things reserved that ye knew not.

Now they have been produced and not from that time, Yea, before the day, and thou hast not heard them, Lest thou say, 'Lo, I have known them.'

Yea, thou hast not heard, Yea, thou hast not known, Yea, from that time not opened hath thine ear, For I have known thou dealest treacherously, And 'Transgressor from the belly,' One is crying to thee.

Lo, I have refined thee, and not with silver, I have chosen thee in a furnace of affliction.

I -- I have spoken, yea, I have called him, I have brought him in, And he hath made prosperous his way.

And they have not thirsted in waste places, He hath caused them to go on, Waters from a rock he hath caused to flow to them, Yea, he cleaveth a rock, and flow do waters.

And He saith, 'It hath been a light thing That thou art to Me for a servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And the preserved of Israel to bring back, And I have given thee for a light of nations, To be My salvation unto the end of the earth.'

Thus said Jehovah, Redeemer of Israel, His Holy One, To the despised in soul, To the abominated of a nation, To the servant of rulers: 'Kings see, and have risen, princes, and worship, For the sake of Jehovah, who is faithful, The Holy of Israel, and He chooseth thee.'

And I have made all My mountains for a way, And My highways are lifted up.

Lo, on the palms of the hand I have graven thee, Thy walls are before Me continually.