So the metal-worker put heart into the gold-worker, and he who was hammering the metal smooth said kind words to the iron-worker, saying of the plate, It is ready: and he put it together with nails, so that there might be no slipping.

thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from the extremities thereof, and to whom I said, Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee and not rejected thee,

The first, I said to Zion, Behold, behold them! and to Jerusalem, I will give one that bringeth glad tidings.

Thus said God, Jehovah, preparing The heavens, and stretching them out, Spreading out the earth and its productions, Giving breath to the people on it, And spirit to those walking in it.

See, the things said before have come about, and now I give word of new things: before they come I give you news of them.

And this people was plundered and spoiled; snaring all of them in holes, and they were hid in houses of prisons: they were for plunder and none delivering; a treading down, and none said, Turn back

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.

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.

Thus said Jehovah, Who is giving in the sea a way, And in the strong waters a path.

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.

Thus said Jehovah, king of Israel, And his Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts: 'I am the first, and I the last, And besides Me there is no God.

Thus said Jehovah, thy redeemer, And thy framer from the womb: 'I am Jehovah, doing all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself, Spreading out the earth -- who is with Me?

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:

Alas for him who contendeth with his Fashioner, - A potsherd, should contend with the potsherds of the ground! Shall it be said by the clay, unto him that is fashioning it, What wouldst thou make? Or, thy work say, of thee, He hath no hands?

Thus said Jehovah, The Holy One of Israel, and his Former: Ask Me of the things coming concerning My sons, Yea, concerning the work of My hands, ye command Me.'

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.

Thus said Jehovah, 'The labour of Egypt, And the merchandise of Cush, And of the Sebaim -- men of measure, Unto thee pass over, and thine they are, After thee they go, in fetters they pass over, And unto thee they bow themselves, Unto thee they pray: Only in thee is God, And there is none else, no other God.

For thus said Jehovah, Creator of heaven, He is God, Former of earth, and its Maker, He established it -- not empty He prepared it, For inhabiting He formed it: 'I am Jehovah, and there is none else.

I have spoken not in secrecy, in a place, a land, of darkness, I have not said to the descendants of Jacob, 'Seek me {in vain}!' I, Yahweh, [am] speaking righteousness, declaring uprightness.

Only in Jehovah, it is said of me, is righteousness and strength; even to him shall men come; and all they that were incensed against him shall be put to shame.

Sending for a bird of strong flight from the east, the man of my purpose from a far country; I have said it, and I will give effect to it; the thing designed by me will certainly be done.

And you said, "I shall be an eternal mistress forever!" You did not set these [things] upon your heart; you did not remember its end.

And you felt secure in your wickedness; you said, "{No one} sees me." Your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, "I [am], and besides me [there is] no one."

Thus said Jehovah, thy redeemer, The Holy One of Israel, 'I am Jehovah thy God, teaching thee to profit, Causing thee to tread in the way thou goest.

Ye shall go away from Babylon, and escape the Chaldeans with a merry voice. This shall be spoken of, declared abroad, and go forth unto the end of the world: so that it shall be said, "The LORD hath defended his servant Jacob,

There is no peace, said Jehovah, to the wicked!

And he said to me, "You [are] my servant, Israel, in whom I will show my glory."

But I myself said, "I have labored in vain; I have used up my strength for nothing and vanity! Nevertheless, my justice [is] with Yahweh, and my reward [is] with my God."

And now, said Jehovah, who is forming me from the belly for a servant to Him, To bring back Jacob unto Him, (Though Israel is not gathered, Yet I am honoured in the eyes of Jehovah, And my God hath been my strength.)

And he said, It is too small a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel: I will also give you for a light to the Gentiles, that you may be my salvation unto the ends 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.'

Thus said Jehovah: 'In a time of good pleasure I answered thee, And in a day of salvation I helped thee, And I keep thee, and give thee, For a covenant of the people, To establish the earth, To cause to inherit desolate inheritances.

But Zion said, "Yahweh has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me!"

And thou hast said in thy heart: 'Who hath begotten for me -- these? And I bereaved and gloomy, A captive, and turned aside, And these -- who hath nourished? Lo, I -- I was left by myself, these -- whence are they?

Thus said the Lord Jehovah: 'Lo, I lift up unto nations My hand, And unto peoples I raise up Mine ensign, And they have brought thy sons in the bosom, And thy daughters on the shoulder are carried.

For thus said Jehovah: Even the captive of the mighty is taken, And the prey of the terrible is delivered, And with thy striver I strive, and thy sons I save.

Thus said Jehovah: 'Where is this -- the bill of your mother's divorce, Whom I sent away? Or to which of My creditors have I sold you? Lo, for your iniquities ye have been sold, And for your transgressions Hath your mother been sent away.

Thus said thy Lord Jehovah, and thy God, He pleadeth for his people: 'Lo, I have taken out of thy hand the cup of trembling, The goblet, the cup of My fury, Thou dost not add to drink it any more.

And I will put it in the hand of your tormenters, who have said to {you}, 'Bow down that we may {pass} over [you]!' And you have {made} your back like the ground, and like the street for those who {pass} over [you]."

For thus said Jehovah: 'For nought ye have been sold, And not by money are ye redeemed.'

For thus said the Lord Jehovah: 'To Egypt My people went down at first to sojourn there, And Asshur -- for nought he hath oppressed it.

Men were cruel to him, but he was gentle and quiet; as a lamb taken to its death, and as a sheep before those who take her wool makes no sound, so he said not a word.

Sing, O barren, she hath not borne! Break forth with singing, and cry aloud, She hath not brought forth! For more are the sons of the desolate, Than the sons of the married one, said Jehovah.

For, as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, Called thee hath Jehovah, Even a youthful wife when she is refused, said thy God.

In overflowing wrath I hid my face for a moment from thee, And in kindness age-during I have loved thee, Said thy Redeemer -- Jehovah!

For the mountains depart, and the hills remove, And My kindness from thee departeth not, And the covenant of My peace removeth not, Said hath thy loving one -- Jehovah.

Thus said Jehovah: 'Keep ye judgment, and do righteousness, For near is My salvation to come, And My righteousness to be revealed.'

For thus said Jehovah of the eunuchs, Who do keep My sabbaths, And have fixed on that which I desired, And are keeping hold on My covenant:

You are wearied in the length of your way; yet you said not, There is no hope: you have found the life of your own hand; therefore you were not grieved.

And it shall be said, Cast up, cast up, prepare the way, take up the stumbling-blocks out of the way of my people.

For thus said the high and exalted One, Inhabiting eternity, and holy is His name: 'In the high and holy place I dwell, And with the bruised and humble of spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of bruised ones,'

Producing the fruit of the lips, 'Peace, peace,' to the far off, and to the near, And I have healed him, said Jehovah.

There is no peace, said my God, to the wicked!

Then the Lord will be your delight; and I will put you on the high places of the earth; and I will give you the heritage of Jacob your father: for the mouth of the Lord has said it.

For your hands are unclean with blood, and your fingers with sin; your lips have said false things, and your tongue gives out deceit.

And I -- this is My covenant with them, said Jehovah, My Spirit that is on thee, And My words that I have put in thy mouth, Depart not from thy mouth, And from the mouth of thy seed, And from the mouth of thy seed's seed, said Jehovah, From henceforth unto the age!

But as for you, ye shall be called priests of Jehovah; it shall be said of you: Ministers of our God. Ye shall eat the wealth of the nations, and into their glory shall ye enter.

It shall no longer be said of you, "Forsaken," and it shall no longer be said of your land, "Desolation!" but {you will} be called "My Delight [Is] In Her," and your land, "Married," for Yahweh delights in you, and your land shall be married.

And he said, "Surely my people [are] children; they will not break faith." And he became a Savior to them.

Then the early days came to their minds, the days of Moses his servant: and they said, Where is he who made the keeper of his flock come up from the sea? where is he who put his holy spirit among them,

"I let myself be sought by [those who] did not ask; I let myself be found by [those who] did not seek me. I said, 'Here I am; here I am!' to a nation [that] did not call on my name;

Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, said Jehovah, Who have made perfume on the mountains, And on the heights have reproached Me, And I have measured their former work into their bosom.'

Thus saith Jehovah: As the new wine is found in the cluster, and it is said, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it; so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all.

Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, My servants do eat, and ye do hunger, Lo, My servants do drink, and ye do thirst, Lo, My servants rejoice, and ye are ashamed,

Wolf and lamb do feed as one, And a lion as an ox eateth straw, As to the serpent -- dust is its food, They do no evil, nor destroy, In all My holy mountain, said Jehovah!

Thus said Jehovah: The heavens are My throne, And the earth My footstool, Where is this -- the house that ye build for Me? And where is this -- the place -- My rest?

Hear the word of Yahweh, you who are frightened at his word: Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you for my name's sake have said, "Let Yahweh be honored so that we may see your joy!" But they themselves shall be ashamed.

'Do I bring to the birth, And not cause to bring forth?' saith Jehovah, 'Am not I He who is causing to beget? I have also restrained,' said thy God.

For thus said Jehovah: 'Lo, I am stretching out to her peace as a river, And as an overflowing stream the honour of nations, And ye have sucked, on the side ye are carried, And on the knees ye are dandled.

And they have brought all your brethren out of all the nations, A present to Jehovah, On horses, and on chariot, and on litters, And on mules, and on dromedaries, Unto My holy mountain Jerusalem, said Jehovah, As the sons of Israel bring the present in a clean vessel, Into the house of Jehovah.

And also of them I take for priests, For Levites, said Jehovah.

And it hath been from month to month, And from sabbath to sabbath, Come do all flesh to bow themselves before Me, Said Jehovah.

The Lord said to me,

Then I said, "Ah, Lord Yahweh! Look, I do not know [how] to speak, for I [am] a youth."

But Yahweh said to me, "You must not say, 'I [am] a youth,' for to {whomever} I send you, you will go, and {whatever} I command you, you will speak.

Then Yahweh stretched out his hand and he touched my mouth, and Yahweh said to me, "Look, I have put my words in your mouth.

And the word of Yahweh came to me, {saying}, "What [are] you seeing, Jeremiah?" And I said, "I [am] seeing a branch of an almond tree."

Then Yahweh said to me, "You did well to see, for I [am] watching over my word to perform it."

And the word of Yahweh came to me a second [time], {saying}, "What [are] you seeing?" And I said, "I [am] seeing a {boiling} pot, and its face [is] from [the] face of [the] north."

Then Yahweh said to me, "From [the] north disaster will be unleashed on all the inhabitants of the land.

The Lord spoke to me. He said:

'Go, and thou hast called in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus said Jehovah: I have remembered for thee The kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, Thy going after Me in a wilderness, in a land not sown.

Thus said Jehovah: What -- have your fathers found in Me perversity, That they have gone far off from Me, And go after the vanity, and become vain,

And they said not, Where is Jehovah, that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and of pits, in a land of drought and of the shadow of death, in a land that no one passeth through, and where no man dwelleth?

The priests said not, Where is Jehovah? and they that handled the law knew me not; and the shepherds transgressed against me; and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.

"For from long ago you have broken your yoke, you tore to pieces your bonds. And you said, 'I will not serve!' But on every high hill and under every leafy tree you [were] lying down [as] a prostitute.

Restrain your foot from [being] barefoot, and your throat from thirst. But you said, '[It is] hopeless. No! For I have loved strangers, and after them I will go.'

O generation, see ye the word of Jehovah: A wilderness have I been to Israel? A land of thick darkness? Wherefore have My people said, 'We mourned, We come not in again unto Thee.'

And still you said, I have done no wrong; truly, his wrath is turned away from me. See, I will take up the cause against you, because you say, I have done no wrong.

He hath said, If a man send away his wife, and she go from him and become another man's, will he return unto her, again? would not that land be, utterly defiled? And, thou, hast been unchaste with many neighbours, and yet thinkest to return unto me! Declareth Yahweh.

Will he be angry for ever? will he keep his wrath to the end? These things you have said, and have done evil and have had your way.

Then Yahweh said to me in the days of Josiah, the king, "Have you seen what apostate Israel has done? She has gone on every high hill and under every leafy tree and she has prostituted [herself] there.

And I said after she had done all these things, She will return unto me; but she returned not: and her treacherous sister Judah saw it.

Then Yahweh said to me, "Apostate Israel has proved herself more upright than treacherous Judah.

Go, and thou hast proclaimed these words toward the north, and hast said, Turn back, O backsliding Israel, An affirmation of Jehovah! I cause not Mine anger to fall upon you, For I am kind, an affirmation of Jehovah, I watch not to the age.

But I said, How I will put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of the nations! and I said, Ye shall call me My Father, and shall not turn away from following me.

For thus said Jehovah, To the man of Judah, and to Jerusalem: Till for yourselves tillage, And do not sow unto the thorns.

The Lord said, "Announce this in Judah and proclaim it in Jerusalem: 'Sound the trumpet throughout the land!' Shout out loudly, 'Gather together! Let us flee into the fortified cities!'

Then I said, "Ah, Lord Yahweh, surely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, 'It will be peace for you,' while the sword reaches up to the throat."

At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, "{A hot wind from the barren heights} in the desert, {in the direction of} the daughter of my people, not to winnow and not to cleanse,