Cutting down cedars for himself, he {chooses} a holm tree and an oak, and he lets it grow strong for him among [the] trees of [the] forest. He plants a cedar, and [the] rain makes [it] grow.

And it {becomes fuel for a human}, and he takes some of it and grows warm; also, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also, he makes a god and bows in worship; he makes himself an image and bows down to it!

And he makes the remainder of it into a god! He bows down to his idol, and he bows in worship and prays to him, and he says, "Save me, for you [are] my god!"

They do not know, and they do not understand, for their eyes [are] besmeared {so that they cannot see}, their {minds} {so that they have no insight}.

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.'

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.

"Remember these things, Jacob, and Israel, for you [are] my servant: I formed you; you [are] my servant; Israel, you will not be forgotten by me!

I have wiped your transgressions out like cloud and your sins like mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you!"

Sing for joy, heavens, for Yahweh has done [it]! Shout, depths of [the] earth! Break forth, mountains, [in] rejoicing, forest and every tree in it, for Yahweh has redeemed Jacob, and he will show his glory in Israel!

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.

I destroy the tokens of witches, and make the Soothsayers go wrong. As for the wise, I turn them backward, and make their cunning foolishness.

Who makes the word of his servants certain, and gives effect to the purposes of his representatives; who says of Jerusalem, Her people will come back to her; and of the towns of Judah, I will give orders for their building, and will make her waste places fertile again:

Who says of Cyrus, He will take care of my sheep, and will do all my pleasure: who says of Jerusalem, I will give the word for your building; and of the Temple, Your bases will be put in place.

for the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen one. And I call you by your name; I give you a name of honor, though you do not know me.

I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God but me: I will make you ready for war, though you had no knowledge of me:

that it might be known from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, that all is nothing without me. For I am the LORD, and there is else none.

form light and create darkness; make peace and create evil; I [am] Yahweh; do all these [things].

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?

Alas, for one who saith to a father, What begettest thou? Or to a woman What dost thou bring forth?

Thus sayeth the LORD, even the holy one and maker of Israel: Ask me of things for to come, concerning my sons; and put me in remembrance, as touching the works of my hands.

I have made the earth, and created man upon it. With my hands have I spread forth heaven, and given a commandment for all the Host thereof.

I myself have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make all his paths smooth. He himself shall build my city, and he shall set my exiles free, not for price or a gift," says Yahweh of hosts.

The LORD hath said moreover: The occupiers of Egypt, the merchants of the Ethiopians and Sabees, shall come unto thee with tribute; they shall be thine, they shall follow thee, and go with chains upon their feet. They shall fall down before thee, and make supplication unto thee. For God, without whom there is none other God, shall be with thee.

But the Lord will make Israel free with an eternal salvation: you will not be put to shame or made low for ever and ever.

For thus says Yahweh, {who created} the heavens, he [is] God, {who formed} the earth and {who made} it. He himself established it; he did not create it [as] emptiness-- he formed it for inhabiting. "I [am] Yahweh and there is none besides [me].

I have not spoken secretly, neither in dark places of the earth. It is not for naught, that I said unto the seed of Jacob, "Seek me." I am the LORD which, when I speak, declareth the thing that is righteous and true.

“Declare and present your defense of idols;
Indeed, let them consult together.
Who announced this [rise of Cyrus and his conquests] long before it happened?
Who declared it long ago?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no other God besides Me,
A [consistently and uncompromisingly] just and righteous God and a Savior;
There is none except Me.

Turn to me and be saved, all [the] ends of [the] earth, for I [am] God and there is none besides [me].

Only in Yahweh - for me, Hath one said, Is there righteousness and strength, Unto him, shall come and turn pale - All who have been incensed against him:

Bel crouches; Nebo cowers.
Their idols are consigned to beasts and cattle.
The images you carry are loaded,
as a burden for the weary animal.

They are sunk down, and fallen together; for they may not ease them of their burden, therefore must they go into captivity.

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.

As for those who take gold out of a bag, and put silver in the scales, they give payment to a gold-worker, to make it into a god; they go down on their faces and give it worship.

They put him on their backs, and take him up, and put him in his fixed place, from which he may not be moved; if a man gives a cry for help to him, he is unable to give an answer, or get him out of his trouble.

Remember [the] former things from {a long time ago}, for I [am] God and there is none besides [me], God and [there is] none like me,

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.

I bring my righteousness near; [it is] not far. And my salvation will not delay; and I will put salvation in Zion, for Israel my glory."

Come down and sit on [the] dust, virgin daughter of Babylon! Sit on the ground without a throne, daughter of Chaldea! For {they shall no longer call} you tender and delicate.

Thy shame shall be discovered, and thy privities shall be seen. For I will avenge me of thee, and will show no mercy to thee as I do to other men,

As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.

Sit silently and go into the darkness, daughter of Chaldea, for {they shall no longer call} you mistress of kingdoms.

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 thou saidst, I shall be a mistress for ever; so that thou didst not take these things to heart, thou didst not remember the end thereof.

yet these two things shall come upon thee in a moment, in one day, loss of children and widowhood; they shall come upon thee in full measure for the multitude of thy sorceries, for the great abundance of thine enchantments.

For thou hast confided in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath seduced thee; and thou hast said in thy heart, It is I, and there is none but me.

And evil shall come upon you, you will not know; it will be on the lookout for her. And disaster shall fall upon you; you will not be able to {avert} it. And ruin shall come on you suddenly; you do not know.

But your mind is troubled by the number of your guides: let them now come forward for your salvation: the measurers of the heavens, the watchers of the stars, and those who are able to say from month to month what things are coming on you.

Look! They are like stubble; [the] fire burns them completely. They cannot deliver {themselves} from [the] {power} of [the] flame; there is no coal {for warming oneself}, [no] fire before which to sit.

Thus shall they be to thee for whom thou didst labor, thy merchants, from thy youth; they wandered a man to his other side; none saving thee.

For they call themselves {after the holy city}, and they lean on the God of Israel-- Yahweh of hosts [is] his name.

For this reason I made it clear to you in the past, before it came I gave you word of it: for fear that you might say, My god did these things, and my pictured and metal images made them come about.

Hear and consider all these things, whether it was ye that prophesied them: But as for me, I told thee before at the beginning, new and secret things that thou knewest not of.

They have only now been effected, and not in the past: and before this day they had not come to your ears; for fear that you might say, I had knowledge of them.

Neither have you heard, nor have you known, nor from {of old} has your ear been opened. For I knew you would deal treacherously, very treacherously, and you [are] called a rebel from [the] womb.

For the sake of my name I {refrain from} my anger, and [for] my praise I restrain [it] for you [so as] not to cut you off.

See, I have been testing you for myself like silver; I have put you through the fire of trouble.

For my own sake, for my own sake I do [it]; for why should it be defiled? And I will not give my glory to another."

I, even I, have given the word; I have sent for him: I have made him come, and have given effect to his undertakings.

Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am Jehovah thy God, who teacheth thee for thy profit, who leadeth thee in the way that thou shouldest go.

And [when] he led them through the deserts, they were not thirsty; he made water flow from [the] rock for them, and he split [the] rock, and [the] water gushed out.

"There is no peace," says Yahweh, "for the wicked."

And he maketh my mouth as a sharp sword, In the shadow of His hand He hath hid me, And He maketh me for a clear arrow, In His quiver He hath hid me.

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 Yahweh says, who formed me from [the] womb as a servant for him, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might not be gathered, for I am honored in the eyes of Yahweh, and my God has become my strength.

And he says, "It is trivial {for you to be} a servant for me, to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel. I will give you as a light [to the] nations, to be my salvation to the end of the earth."

Thus says Yahweh, the redeemer of Israel, his holy one, to the one who despises life, to the one who abhors [the] nation, to [the] slave of rulers: "Kings shall see and stand up; princes, and they shall bow down, for the sake of Yahweh, who [is] faithful, the holy one of Israel, and he has chosen you."

Thus saith Jehovah: In a time of acceptance have I answered thee, and in the day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the land, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;

They shall not be hungry or thirsty, and heat and sun shall not strike them, for he who takes pity on them will lead them, and he will guide them to springs of water.

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

Sing for joy, heavens, and rejoice, earth! Mountains must break forth [in] rejoicing! For Yahweh has comforted his people, and he will take pity on his afflicted ones.

Will a woman give up the child at her breast, will she be without pity for the fruit of her body? yes, these may, but I will not let you go out of my memory.

Lift up, round about, thine eyes and see, All those, have gathered themselves together - have come to thee! As I live, Declareth Yahweh, - Surely all those as an ornament, shalt thou put on, And bind them about thee for a girdle as a bride.

Surely your sites of ruins and desolate [places] and land of ruins, surely now you will be {too cramped for your} inhabitants, and those who engulfed you will be far away.

Yet the children {born when you were bereaved} will say in your {hearing}, "The place is [too] cramped for me; {make room} for me so that I can dwell."

Then shall you say in your heart, Who has begotten for me these, since I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and moving to and fro? and who has brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?

This is the word of the Lord God: See, I will make a sign with my hand to the nations, and put up my flag for the peoples; and they will take up your sons on their beasts, and your daughters on their backs.

And kings shall be thy nursing-fathers, and their princesses thy nursing-mothers: they shall bow down to thee with the face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet. And thou shalt know that I am Jehovah; for they shall not be ashamed who wait on me.

But thus says Yahweh: "Indeed a captive of [the] mighty shall be taken, and [the] war-booty [of] [the] tyrant shall be rescued, for I myself will dispute [with] your opponent, and I myself will save your children.

And the flesh of your attackers will be taken by themselves for food; and they will take their blood for drink, as if it was sweet wine: and all men will see that I the Lord am your saviour, even he who takes up your cause, the Strong One of Jacob.

Thus saith Jehovah: Where is the bill of your mother's divorce, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, through your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.

Wherefore did I come, and there was no man? I called, and there was none to answer? Is my hand at all shortened that I cannot redeem, or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make rivers a wilderness; their fish stink because there is no water, and die for thirst.

As for heaven, I clothe it with darkness, and put as it were a sack upon it.

The Lord Yahweh has given me [the] tongue of pupil, to know how to help [the] weary [with] a word. He awakens {morning by morning}, awakens an ear for me to listen as [do] the pupils.

The Lord Yahweh has opened an ear for me, and I, I was not rebellious. I did not turn backwards;

For the Lord Jehovah will help me; therefore have I not been confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.

he who obtains rights for me [is] near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand together. Who [is] the master of my judgment? Let him approach me.

See, the Lord God is my helper; who will give a decision against me? truly, all of them will become old like a robe; they will be food for the worm.

Who among you has the fear of the Lord, giving ear to the voice of his servant who has been walking in the dark and has no light? Let him put his faith in the name of the Lord, looking to his God for support.

Behold, all ye kindling a fire, girding yourselves with fiery darts: go ye in the light of your fire, and in the fiery darts ye kindled. From my hand was this to you; ye shall lie down for sorrow.

Give ear to me, you who are searching for righteousness, who are looking for the Lord: see the rock from which you were cut out, and the hole out of which you were taken.

Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah; she brought you forth. For I called him {alone}, but I blessed him and made him numerous."

For Yahweh will comfort Zion; he will comfort all its sites of ruins. And he will {make} its wilderness like Eden, and its desert like the garden of Yahweh. Joy and gladness will be found in it, thanksgiving and [the] {sound} of song.

"Listen attentively to me, my people, and my nation, listen to me! For a teaching will go out from me, and I will cause my justice to rest for a light to [the] peoples.

My righteousness [is] near; my salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge [the] peoples. [The] coastlands wait for me, and for my arm they wait.

Lift up your eyes to the heavens and look to the earth beneath, for [the] heavens will be torn to pieces like smoke, and the earth will be worn out like garment, and those who inhabit her will die like gnats. But my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will not be broken to pieces.

Hearken unto Me, ye who know righteousness, A people, in whose heart is My law, Fear ye not the reproach of men, And for their reviling be not affrighted,

For a moth will eat them like garments; a moth will devour them like wool, but my righteousness will be forever, and my salvation for {generation after generation}."

Are you not the one who dried up [the] sea, [the] waters of [the] great deep, the one who {made} [the] depths of [the] sea a way for those who are redeemed to cross over?

Those whom the Lord has made free will come back with songs to Zion; and on their heads will be eternal joy: delight and joy will be theirs, and sorrow and sounds of grief will be gone for ever.

I, I am he comforting you: who thou? and shalt thou be afraid of man he shall die, and of the son of man shall be given for grass?