Therefore thus sayeth the LORD, "Forsomuch as this people, when they be in trouble, do honor me with their mouth, and with their lips, whereas their heart nevertheless is far from me; and the fear which they owe unto me, that turn they to men's laws and doctrines;

Woe be unto them that seek so deep, to hide their imagination before the LORD, which rehearse their counsels in the darkness, and say, "Who seeth us, or who knoweth us?"

Doubtless, your destruction is, in reputation, as the potter's clay. And doth the work say of him that made it, "He made me not?" And doth an earthen vessel say of the potter, "He understandeth not?"

See ye not that it is hard at hand, that Lebanon shall be turned into a low field, and that the low field shall be as the wood?

And in that day, shall deaf men hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see, even out of the cloud and out of darkness.

But Pharaoh's help shall be your confusion, and the comfort in the Egyptian's shadow shall be your own shame.

For the Egyptian's help shall be but vain and lost. Therefore I told you also that your pride should have an end.

They dare say to the Prophets, "See not," and unto them that be clear of judgment, "Tell us of nothing for to come, but speak friendly words unto us, and preach us false things.

And your destruction shall be like as an earthen pot, which breaketh no man touching it, yea and breaketh so sore, that a man shall not find a shiver of it to fetch fire in, or to take water withal out of the pit."

Ye shall destroy also the covering of your silver images, and the decking of your golden idols. Even as filthiness shall ye put them away, and say, "Get you hence."

Then will he give rain to the seed that ye shall sow in the earth, and give you bread of the increase of the earth, so that all shall be plenteous and abundant. Thy cattle also shall he feed in the broad meadows;

For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, "Like as the lion or lion's whelps roareth upon the prey that he hath gotten, and is not afraid though the multitude of shepherds cry out upon him, neither abashed for all the heap of them: So shall the LORD of Hosts come down from the mount Zion, and defend his hill.

Like as birds flutter about their nests, so shall the LORD of Hosts keep, save, defend and deliver Jerusalem.

Assyria also shall be slain with the sword: not with a man's sword, neither shall the sword of any man devour him. And he shall flee from the slaughter, and his servants shall be taken prisoners.

O ye rich idle cities, ye that fear no peril: ye shall be abashed and removed, when ye see the bareness, the nakedness, and preparing to war.

For as the infants weep when their mothers' teats are dried, so shall you weep for your fair fields and fruitful vineyards.

My people's field shall bring thorns and thistles, for in every house is voluptuousness; and in the cities, willfulness.

O how happy shall ye be, when ye shall safely sow your seed beside all waters, and drive thither the feet of your oxen and asses.

Wherefore woe be unto thee, O robber: shalt not thou be robbed also? And unto thee that layest wait: as who say there should no wait be laid for thee? Woe unto thee which doest hurt: even so shalt thou be hurt also. And as thou layest wait, so shall wait be laid for thee also.

The sinners at Zion are afraid, and a sudden fearfulness is come upon the hypocrites. "What is he among us," say they, "that will dwell by that consuming fire? Which of us may abide that everlasting heat?"

He that leadeth a godly life - say I - and speaketh the truth; He that abhorreth to do violence and deceit; he that keepeth his hand that he touch no reward; which stoppeth his ears, that he hear no counsel against the innocent; which holdeth down his eyes, that he see none evil.

His eyes shall see the king in his glory, and in the wide world;

There shalt thou not see a people of a strange tongue to have so diffused a language, that it may not be understood: neither so strange a speech but it shall be perceived.

There shall Zion be seen, the head city of our solemn feasts. There shall thine eyes see Jerusalem, that glorious habitation; the tabernacle that never shall remove, whose nails shall never be taken out; world without end, whose cords everyone shall never corrupt.

There are the cords so laid abroad, that they cannot be better; The mast set up of such a fashion, that no banner nor sail hangeth thereon; but there is dealt great spoil: yea, lame men run after the prey;

so that their slain shall be cast out, and their bodies stink; that even the very hills shall be wet with the blood of them.

And the LORD's sword shall be full of blood, and be rusty with the fatness and blood of lambs and goats, with the fatness of the kidneys of wethers. For the LORD shall kill a great offering in Bozrah. and a great slaughter in the land of Idumaea.

so that it shall not be quenched day nor night, but smoke evermore and so forth to lie waste. And no man shall go through thy land forever.

Say unto them that are of a fearful heart, "Be of good cheer, and fear not. Behold, your God cometh, to take vengeance, and to reward, God cometh his own self, and will deliver you."

Then shall the lame man leap as a hart and the dumb man's tongue shall give thanks. In the wilderness also, there shall wells spring, and floods of water in the desert.

And the king of the Assyrians sent Rabshakeh from Lachish toward Jerusalem, against king Hezekiah, with a grievous Host; which set him by the conduit of the over pool, in the way that goeth through the fuller's land.

And so there came forth unto him Eliakim, Hilkiah's son, the president; Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph's son, the secretary.

Lo, thou puttest thy trust in a broken staff of reed: I mean Egypt, which he that leaneth upon, it goeth into his hand and shooteth him through. Even so is Pharaoh the king of Egypt, unto all them that trust in him.

But if thou wouldest say unto me: 'We trust in the LORD our God': is not he that God whose High places and altars Hezekiah took down, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem to worship only before this altar?

Moreover, thinkest thou that I am come down hither, to destroy this land without the LORD's will? The LORD said unto me: Go down into the land, that thou mayest destroy it.'"

But thus sayeth the king of Assyria, 'Obtain my favour, incline to me: so may every man enjoy his vineyards and fig trees, and drink the water of his cistern:

Let not Hezekiah deceive you, when he sayeth unto you, 'The LORD shall deliver us.' Might the gods of the Gentiles keep every man's land, from the power of the king of the Assyrians?

Or which, of all the Gods of the lands, hath delivered their country out of my power, so that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?"

Unto this Hezekiah's messengers held their tongues, and answered not one word: for the king had charged them that they should give him none answer.

So came Eliakim, Hilkiah's son the President, Shebna the Scribe, and Joah, Asaph's son the Secretary, unto Hezekiah with rent clothes, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah,

and Isaiah gave them this answer, "Say thus unto your lord, 'Thus sayeth the LORD: Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the king of the Assyrians' servants have blasphemed me.

"Say thus to Hezekiah king of Judah: Let not thy God deceive thee, in whom thou hopest, and which sayest, 'Jerusalem shall not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.'

Incline thine ear LORD, and consider, open thine eyes, O LORD, and see; and ponder all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent his embassage to blaspheme the living God.

and cast their gods in the fire. Notwithstanding, those were no gods; but the works of men's hands, of wood or stone, therefore have they destroyed them.

I will give thee also this token, O Hezekiah: this year shalt thou eat that is kept in store, and the next year such as groweth of himself, and in the third year ye shall sow and reap, yea ye shall plant vineyards, and enjoy the fruits thereof.

And I will keep and save the city, sayeth he: for mine own, and for my servant David's sake.'"

So Sennacherib the king of the Assyrians brake up, and dwelt at Nineveh.

Behold, I will return the shadow of Ahaz's dial, that now is laid out with the Sun, and bring it ten degrees backward.'" So the Sun turned ten degrees backward, the which he was desended afore.

I spake within myself, 'I shall never visit the LORD God in this life: I shall never see man among the dwellers of the world.

Mine age is folden up together, and taken away from me, like a shepherd's cottage: my life is hewn off, like as a weaver cutteth off his web. While I was yet taking my rest, he hewed me off, and made an end of me in one day.'

Then chattered I like a swallow, and like a crane, and mourned as a dove. I lift up mine eyes to the height: 'O LORD,' say I, 'violence is done unto me, be thou surety for me.'

What shall I say? The Lord hath made a promise to me. Yea, and he himself hath performed it. I shall therefore, as long as I live, remember bitterness of my life.

Behold, bitter as gall was my pensiveness: so sore longed I for health. And it was thy pleasure to deliver me from the filthy pit: for thou it is, O Lord, that hath cast all my sins behind thy back.

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

At that same time Merodachbaladan, Baladan's son, king of Babylon, sent letters and presents to Hezekiah. For he understood how that he had been sick, and was recovered again.

And Hezekiah was glad thereof, and showed them the commodities of his treasure, of silver, of gold, of spices and roots, of precious oils, and all that was in his cupboards and treasure houses. There was not one thing in Hezekiah's house, and so throughout all his kingdom, but he let them see it.

Yea, and part of thy sons, that shall come of thee, and whom thou shalt get, shall be carried hence, and become gelded chamberlains in the king of Babylon's court."

Comfort Jerusalem, and tell her that her travail is at an end, that her offense is pardoned, that she hath received of the LORD's hand sufficient correction for all her sins.

For the glory of the LORD shall appear, and all flesh shall at once see it. For why? The mouth of the LORD hath spoken it."

When the grass is withered, the flower falleth away. Even so is the people as grass, when the breath of the LORD bloweth upon them.

Moreover the voice cried thus, "Go up unto the hill, O Zion, thou that bringest good tidings; lift up thy voice with power, O thou preacher Jerusalem. Lift it up without fear, and say unto the cities of Judah, 'Behold, your God!'

so that they be not planted, nor sown again, neither their stock rooted again in the earth? For as soon as he bloweth upon them, they wither and fade away, like the straw in a whirlwind.

Lift up your eyes on high, and consider who hath made those things, which come out by so great heaps; and he can call them all by their names. For there is nothing hid unto the greatness of his power, strength, and might.

"How may then Jacob think, or how may Israel say, 'My ways are hid from the LORD, and my God knoweth not of my judgments.'

The Isles saw and did fear, and ye ends of the earth were abashed, drew nigh, and came hither.

So that whoso seeketh after them, shall not find them. Thy destroyers shall perish, and so shall they that undertake to make battle against thee.

For I, thy LORD and God, will strengthen thy righthand. Even I that say unto thee, 'Fear not,' I will help thee.

All this do I, that they altogether may see a mark, perceive with their hearts and consider, that the hand of the LORD maketh these things, and that the holy one of Israel bringeth them to pass.

Either, let them show us things for to come, and tell us what shall be done hereafter: so shall we know, that they be gods. Show something, either good or bad: so will we both knowledge the same, and tell it out.

Who declared this from the beginning, and we will know him; or from the old times, and we will confess and say that he is righteous? But there is none that showeth or declareth anything; there is none also that heareth your words.

The first is he that shall say unto Zion, "Behold, behold, they are present!" And to Israel itself will I give an Evangelist.

Sing unto the LORD, a new song of thanksgiving; blow out his praise unto the end of the world. They that be upon the sea, and all that is therein, praise him; the Isles and they that dwell in them.

And therefore let them convert, and be ashamed earnestly, that hope in Idols and say to fashioned images, "Ye are our gods."

Hear, O ye deaf men, and sharpen your sights to see, O ye blind!

But who is blinder, than my servant? Or so deaf, as my messengers, whom I send unto thee? For who is so blind as the perfect man, and so blind as the LORD's servant?

I will say to the North, 'Let go.' And to the South, 'Keep not back: but bring me my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the world:

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."

Moreover, thus sayeth the LORD, even he that maketh a way in the sea, and a footpath in the mighty waters;

Whereas I yet am even he only, that for mine own self's sake do away thine offenses, and forget thy sins: so that I will never think upon them.

So hear now, O Jacob my servant, and Israel whom I have chosen.

For thus sayeth the LORD, that made thee, fashioned thee, and helped thee, even from thy mother's womb: Be not afraid, O Jacob my servant, thou righteous, whom I have chosen.

One will say, "I am the LORD's." Another will call under the name of Jacob. The third shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and give himself under the name of Israel.

All carvers of Images are but vain, and the carved images that they love can do no good. They must bear record themselves, that seeing they can neither see nor understand they shall be confounded.

The smith taketh iron, and tempereth it with hot coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and maketh it with all the strength of his arms: yea, sometimes he is faint for very hunger, and so thirsty, that he hath no more power.

Yet men neither consider nor understand; because their eyes are stopped that they cannot see, and their hearts, that they can not perceive.

The keeping of dust, and foolishness of heart hath turned them aside: so that none of them can have a free conscience to think, "Do not I err?"

For thus sayeth the LORD thy redeemer, even he that fashioned thee from thy mother's womb: I am the LORD, which do all things myself alone. I only have spread out the heavens, and I only have laid the foundation of the earth.

But I set up the purpose of my servants, and fulfill the counsel of my messengers. I say unto Jerusalem, "Turn again," and to the cities of Judah, "Be ye builded again," and I repair their decayed places.

I say to the ground, "Be dry," and I dry up thy water floods.

I say to Cyrus, "Thou art mine herdsman," so that he shall fulfill all things after my will. I say unto Jerusalem, "Be thou builded," and to the temple, "Be thou fast grounded."

and that for Jacob my servant's sake, and for Israel my chosen. For I called thee by name, and ordained thee before thou knewest me.

And therefore turn you unto me, all ye ends of the earth; so shall ye be saved, for I am God, and there is else none.

Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all ye that remain yet of the household of Israel, whom I have borne from your mother's womb, and brought you up from your birth, till ye were grown:

Yet must he be taken on men's shoulders and borne, and set in his place, that he may stand and not move. Alas that men should cry unto him, which giveth no answer; and delivereth not the man that calleth upon him, from his trouble.

I was so wroth with my people, that I punished mine inheritance, and gave them into thy power. Nevertheless, thou showedest them no mercy, but even the very aged men of them, didst thou oppress right sore with thy yoke.

Hear now therefore, thou willful, that sittest so careless, and speakest thus in thine heart, "I am alone, and without me is there none; I shall never be widow, nor desolate again."

Thou hast hitherto had many counsels of them; so let the heaven gazers and the beholders of stars come on now and deliver thee: yea, and let them show when these new things shall come upon thee.

Even so shall they be unto thee whom thou hast used and occupied from thy youth. Every one shall show thee his erroneous way, yet shall none of them defend thee.

Nevertheless, I have ever since the beginning showed thee of things for to come, and declared them unto thee before they came to pass: that thou shouldest not say, "Mine Idol hath done it; my carved or cast image hath showed it."