af[See ver. 3 above]
da[See ver. 1 above]
df[See ver. 7 above]
dy[See ver. 3 above]
fm[See ver. 1 above]
gt[See ver. 19 above]
gu[See ver. 20 above]
iy[See ver. 6 above]
kh[See ver. 17 above]

Isaiah 44:15-28

15Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. aHe prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”

18They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an babomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 cHe feeds on dashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not ea lie in my right hand?”

The Lord Redeems Israel

21 Remember these things, O Jacob,
and Israel, for you are fmy servant;
I formed you; you are my servant;
gO Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
22 hI have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud
and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.
23 iSing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it;
shout, O jdepths of the earth;
break forth into singing, O mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
kand will be glorified
Or  will display his beauty
in Israel.
24 Thus says the Lord, myour Redeemer,
nwho formed you from the womb:
oI am the Lord, who made all things,
pwho alone stretched out the heavens,
who spread out the earth by myself,
25who frustrates the signs of liars
and makes fools of diviners,
qwho turns wise men back
and makes their knowledge foolish,
26 rwho confirms the word of his servant
and fulfills the counsel of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’
sand of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built,
and I will raise up their ruins’;
27 twho says to the deep, ‘Be dry;
I will dry up your rivers’;
28who says of uCyrus, ‘He is vmy shepherd,
and he shall fulfill all my purpose’;
saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’
wand of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”

Isaiah 45

Cyrus, God’s Instrument

1 Thus says the Lord to xhis anointed, to Cyrus,
ywhose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and zto loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:
2I will go before you
and aalevel the exalted places,
Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint  level the mountains

acI will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
3 adI will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, aewho call you by your name.
4For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
afI call you by your name,
agI name you, though you do not know me.
5 ahI am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
aiI equip you, though you do not know me,
6 ajthat people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7I form light and create darkness,
I make well-being and akcreate calamity;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
8 alShower, O heavens, from above,
and amlet the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
let the earth cause them both to sprout;
I the Lord have created it.
9 anWoe to him who strives with him who formed him,
a pot among earthen pots!
aoDoes the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
or ‘Your work has no handles’?
10Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”
11 Thus says apthe Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:
aqAsk me of things to come;
will you command me arconcerning my children and asthe work of my hands?
A slight emendation yields  will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands?

12 auI made the earth
and created man on it;
it was my hands avthat stretched out the heavens,
and awI commanded all their host.
13 axI have stirred him up in righteousness,
ayand I will make all his ways level;
azhe shall build my city
baand set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,”
says the Lord of hosts.

The Lord, the Only Savior

14 Thus says the Lord:
bb“The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,
and the Sabeans, men of stature,
shall come over to you bcand be yours;
they shall follow you;
they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.
They will plead with you, saying:
Surely God is in you, and there is no other,
no god besides him.’”
15 bdTruly, you are a God who hides himself,
O God of Israel, the Savior.
16 beAll of them are put to shame and confounded;
the makers of idols go in confusion together.
17But Israel is saved by the Lord
with everlasting salvation;
bfyou shall not be put to shame or confounded
to all eternity.
18 bgFor thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he bhdid not create it empty,
bihe formed it to be inhabited!):
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 bjI did not speak in secret,
in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
bkSeek me in vain.’
Hebrew  in emptiness

I the Lord speak bmthe truth;
I declare what is right.
20 bn“Assemble yourselves and come;
draw near together,
you survivors of the nations!
boThey have no knowledge
who bpcarry about their wooden idols,
bqand keep on praying to a god
that cannot save.
21 brDeclare and present your case;
let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God bsand a Savior;
there is none besides me.
22 Turn to me and be saved,
btall the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 buBy myself I have sworn;
from my mouth has gone out in bvrighteousness
a word that shall not return:
bwTo me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear allegiance.’
Septuagint  every tongue shall confess to God

24 byOnly in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
are righteousness and bzstrength;
to him shall come and be ashamed
caall who were incensed against him.
25In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
shall be justified and shall glory.”

Isaiah 46

The Idols of Babylon and the One True God

1 cbBel bows down; Nebo stoops;
their idols are on beasts and livestock;
these things you carry are borne
as burdens on weary beasts.
2They stoop; they bow down together;
they cannot save the burden,
but ccthemselves go into captivity.
3 Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
cdwho have been borne by me from before your birth,
carried from the womb;
4 ceeven to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.
5 cf“To whom will you liken me and make me equal,
and compare me, that we may be alike?
6 cgThose who lavish gold from the purse,
and weigh out silver in the scales,
hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
chthen they fall down and worship!
7 ciThey lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,
they set it in its place, and it stands there;
cjit cannot move from its place.
If one cries to it, it does not answer
or save him from his trouble.
8 Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, ckyou transgressors,
9remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
10 cldeclaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, cm‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
11 cncalling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
coI have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it.
12 Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,
you who are far from righteousness:
13 cpI bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,
and my salvation will not delay;
cqI will put salvation in Zion,
for Israel my glory.”

Isaiah 47

The Humiliation of Babylon

1 crCome down and sit in the dust,
O virgin csdaughter of Babylon;
ctsit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of cuthe Chaldeans!
cvFor you shall no more be called
tender and delicate.
2Take the millstones and cwgrind flour,
cxput off your veil,
strip off your robe, uncover your legs,
pass through the rivers.
3Your nakedness shall be uncovered,
and your disgrace shall be seen.
I will take vengeance,
and I will spare no one.
4 cyOur Redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name
is the Holy One of Israel.
5 czSit in silence, and go into darkness,
O daughter of dathe Chaldeans;
for you shall no more be called
dbthe mistress of kingdoms.
6 dcI was angry with my people;
I profaned my heritage;
I gave them into your hand;
ddyou showed them no mercy;
on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy.
7You said, “I shall be demistress forever,”
so that you did not lay these things to heart
or remember their end.
8 Now therefore hear this, dfyou lover of pleasures,
dgwho sit securely,
who say in your heart,
dhI am, and there is no one besides me;
diI shall not sit as a widow
or know the loss of children”:
9 djThese two things shall come to you
in a moment, dkin one day;
the loss of children and widowhood
shall come upon you in full measure,
dlin spite of your many sorceries
and the great power of your enchantments.
10 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,
dmI am, and there is no one besides me.”
11But evil shall come upon you,
which you will not know how to charm away;
disaster shall fall upon you,
for which you will not be able to atone;
dnand ruin shall come upon you suddenly,
of which you know nothing.
12 doStand fast in your enchantments
and your many sorceries,
with which you have labored from your youth;
perhaps you may be able to succeed;
perhaps you may inspire terror.
13You are wearied with your many counsels;
let them stand forth and save you,
dpthose who divide the heavens,
who gaze at the stars,
who at the new moons make known
what shall come upon you.
14 Behold, dqthey are like stubble;
drthe fire consumes them;
they cannot deliver themselves
from the power of the flame.
No coal for warming oneself is this,
no fire to sit before!
15Such to you are those with whom you have labored,
who have done business with you from your youth;
they wander about, each in his own direction;
there is no one to save you.

Isaiah 48

Israel Refined for God’s Glory

1 Hear this, O house of Jacob,
dswho are called by the name of Israel,
and dtwho came from the waters of Judah,
duwho swear by the name of the Lord
and confess the God of Israel,
but not in truth or right.
2For they call themselves after the holy city,
dvand stay themselves on the God of Israel;
the Lord of hosts is his name.
3 “The former things dwI declared of old;
they went out from my mouth, and I announced them;
then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.
4Because I know that dxyou are obstinate,
and your neck is an iron sinew
and your forehead brass,
5 dyI declared them to you from of old,
before they came to pass I announced them to you,
lest you should say, dz‘My idol did them,
my carved image and my metal image commanded them.’
6 “You have heard; now see all this;
and will you not declare it?
From this time forth eaI announce to you new things,
hidden things that you have not known.
7They are created now, not long ago;
before today you have never heard of them,
lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’
8You have never heard, you have never known,
from of old your ear has not been opened.
For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously,
and that ebfrom before birth you were called a rebel.
9 ec“For my name’s sake I defer my anger;
for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,
that I may not cut you off.
10Behold, I have refined you, edbut not as silver;
eeI have tried
Or  I have chosen
you in the furnace of affliction.
11 egFor my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
for how should my name
Hebrew lacks  my name
be profaned?
eiMy glory I will not give to another.

The Lord’s Call to Israel

12 Listen to me, O Jacob,
and Israel, whom I called!
I am he; ejI am the first,
and I am the last.
13My hand eklaid the foundation of the earth,
and my right hand elspread out the heavens;
emwhen I call to them,
they stand forth together.
14 Assemble, all of you, and listen!
enWho among them has declared these things?
The Lord loves him;
eohe shall perform his purpose on Babylon,
and his arm shall be against epthe Chaldeans.
15 eqI, even I, have spoken and called him;
I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.
16 erDraw near to me, hear this:
from the beginning I have not spoken in secret,
from the time it came to be I have been there.”
And now esthe Lord God has sent me, and his Spirit.
17 Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you to profit,
who leads you in the way you should go.
18 etOh that you had paid attention to my commandments!
euThen your peace would have been like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;
19 evyour offspring would have been like the sand,
and your descendants like its grains;
their name would never be cut off
or destroyed from before me.”
20 ewGo out from Babylon, flee from exChaldea,
declare this eywith a shout of joy, proclaim it,
send it out to the end of the earth;
say, ez“The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
21 faThey did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;
fbhe made water flow for them from the rock;
he split the rock and the water gushed out.
22 fc“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”

Isaiah 49

The Servant of the Lord

1 Listen to me, fdO coastlands,
and give attention, you peoples fefrom afar.
ffThe Lord called me from the womb,
from the body of my mother he named my name.
2 fgHe made my mouth like a sharp sword;
fhin the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow;
in his quiver he hid me away.
3And he said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, fiin whom I will be glorified.”
Or  I will display my beauty

4 fkBut I said, “I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my right is with the Lord,
and my recompense with my God.”
5 flAnd now the Lord says,
he fmwho formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him;
and that Israel might be gathered to him—
for fnI am honored in the eyes of the Lord,
and my God has become my strength
6he says:
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
foI will make you fpas a light for the nations,
that fqmy salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
7 Thus says the Lord,
frthe Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
fsto one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,
the servant of rulers:
ftKings shall see and arise;
princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

The Restoration of Israel

8 Thus says the Lord:
fu“In a fvtime of favor I have answered you;
in a day of salvation I have helped you;
I will keep you fwand give you
as a covenant to the people,
to establish the land,
fxto apportion the desolate heritages,
9 fysaying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’
to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’
fzThey shall feed along the ways;
on all bare heights shall be their pasture;
10 gathey shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,
for he who has pity on them gbwill lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
11 gcAnd I will make all my mountains a road,
and my highways shall be raised up.
12 gdBehold, these shall come from afar,
and behold, gethese from the north and from the west,
Hebrew  from the sea

and these from the land of Syene.”
Dead Sea Scroll; Masoretic Text Sinim

13 ghSing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord gihas comforted his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted.
14 But Zion said, gj“The Lord has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”
15 gk“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.
16Behold, glI have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.
17Your builders make haste;
Dead Sea Scroll; Masoretic Text  Your children make haste

gnyour destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you.
18 goLift up your eyes around and see;
they all gather, they come to you.
gpAs I live, declares the Lord,
gqyou shall put them all on as an ornament;
you shall bind them on as a bride does.
19 Surely your waste and your desolate places
and your devastated land
grsurely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 gsThe children of your bereavement
will yet say in your ears:
gt‘The place is too narrow for me;
make room for me to dwell in.’
21Then you will say in your heart:
Who has borne me these?
guI was bereaved and barren,
exiled and put away,
but who has brought up these?
Behold, I was left alone;
from where have these come?’”
22 Thus says the Lord God:
Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,
gvand raise my signal to the peoples;
gwand they shall bring your sons in their arms,
Hebrew  in their bosom

and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
23 gyKings shall be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.
gzWith their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,
and halick the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
hbthose who wait for me hcshall not be put to shame.”
24 Can the prey be taken from the mighty,
or the captives of a tyrant
Dead Sea Scroll, Syriac, Vulgate (see also verse 25); Masoretic Text  of a righteous man
be rescued?
25For thus says the Lord:
heEven the captives of the mighty shall be taken,
and the prey of the tyrant be rescued,
for I will contend with those who contend with you,
and I will save your children.
26 hfI will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,
and they shall be drunk hgwith their own blood as with wine.
Then all flesh shall know
that hhI am the Lord your Savior,
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Isaiah 50

Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience

1 Thus says the Lord:
Where is hiyour mother’s certificate of divorce,
with which hjI sent her away?
Or hkwhich of my creditors is it
to whom I have sold you?
hlBehold, for your iniquities you were sold,
and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
2 hmWhy, when I came, was there no man;
why, when I called, was there no one to answer?
hnIs my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?
Or have I no power to deliver?
hoBehold, by my rebuke hpI dry up the sea,
hqI make the rivers a desert;
hrtheir fish stink for lack of water
and die of thirst.
3 hsI clothe the heavens with blackness
and make sackcloth their covering.”
4 The Lord God has given htme
the tongue of those who are taught,
that huI may know how to sustain with a word
hvhim who is weary.
Morning by morning he awakens;
he awakens my ear
to hear as those who are taught.
5 hwThe Lord God has opened my ear,
hxand I was not rebellious;
I turned not backward.
6 hyI gave my back to those who strike,
and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
from disgrace and spitting.
7 But the Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
hztherefore I have set my face like a flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
8 iaHe who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who is my adversary?
Let him come near to me.
9 ibBehold, the Lord God helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up.
10 Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys icthe voice of his servant?
idLet him who walks in darkness
and has no light
trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on his God.
11Behold, all you who kindle a fire,
who equip yourselves with burning torches!
Walk by the light of your fire,
and by the torches that you have kindled!
ieThis you have from my hand:
you shall lie down in torment.

Isaiah 51

The Lord’s Comfort for Zion

1 ifListen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the Lord:
look to the rock from which you were hewn,
and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2Look to Abraham your father
and to Sarah who bore you;
for ighe was but one when I called him,
that I might bless him and multiply him.
3For the Lord ihcomforts Zion;
he comforts all her waste places
and makes her wilderness like iiEden,
her desert like ijthe garden of the Lord;
ikjoy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the voice of song.
4 il“Give attention to me, my people,
and give ear to me, my nation;
imfor a law
Or  for teaching; also verse 7
will go out from me,
and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.
5 ioMy righteousness draws near,
my salvation has gone out,
and my arms will judge the peoples;
ipthe coastlands hope for me,
and for my arm they wait.
6 iqLift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look at the earth beneath;
irfor the heavens vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;
Or  will die like gnats

itbut my salvation will be forever,
and my righteousness will never be dismayed.
7 iuListen to me, you who know righteousness,
the people ivin whose heart is my law;
iwfear not the reproach of man,
nor be dismayed at their revilings.
8 ixFor the moth will eat them up like a garment,
and the worm will eat them like wool,
iybut my righteousness will be forever,
and my salvation to all generations.”
9 izAwake, awake, japut on strength,
O jbarm of the Lord;
awake, jcas in days of old,
the generations of long ago.
Was it not you who cut jdRahab in pieces,
who pierced jethe dragon?
10 jfWas it not you who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,
who made the depths of the sea a way
for the redeemed to pass over?
11 jgAnd the ransomed of the Lord shall return
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
12 “I, I am he jhwho comforts you;
who are you that you are afraid of jiman who dies,
of the son of man who is made jjlike grass,
13and have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,
jkwho stretched out the heavens
and jllaid the foundations of the earth,
and you fear continually all the day
because of the wrath of jmthe oppressor,
when he sets himself to destroy?
And where is the wrath of jnthe oppressor?
14 joHe who is bowed down shall speedily be released;
he shall not die and go down jpto the pit,
neither shall his bread be lacking.
15I am the Lord your God,
jqwho stirs up the sea so that its waves roar
the Lord of hosts is his name.
16 jrAnd I have put my words in your mouth
jsand covered you in the shadow of my hand,
jtestablishing
Or planting
the heavens
and jvlaying the foundations of the earth,
and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”
17 jwWake yourself, wake yourself,
stand up, O Jerusalem,
jxyou who have drunk from the hand of the Lord
the cup of his wrath,
who have drunk to the dregs
the bowl, jythe cup of staggering.
18 jzThere is none to guide her
among all the sons she has borne;
there is none to take her by the hand
among all the sons she has brought up.
19 kaThese two things have happened to you—
who will console you?—
devastation and destruction, famine and sword;
who will comfort you?
Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Masoretic Text how shall I comfort you

20 kcYour sons have fainted;
they lie at the head of every street
like an kdantelope kein a net;
they are full of the wrath of the Lord,
the rebuke of your God.
21 kfTherefore hear this, you who are afflicted,
who are drunk, but not with wine:
22Thus says your Lord, the Lord,
your God kgwho pleads the cause of his people:
Behold, I have taken from your hand khthe cup of staggering;
the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more;
23 kiand I will put it into the hand of your tormentors,
kjwho have said to you,
Bow down, that we may pass over’;
and kkyou have made your back like the ground
and like the street for them to pass over.”

Isaiah 52:1-7

The Lord’s Coming Salvation

1 klAwake, awake,
put on your strength, O Zion;
kmput on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, knthe holy city;
kofor there shall no more come into you
the uncircumcised and the unclean.
2 kpShake yourself from the dust and arise;
be seated, O Jerusalem;
kqloose the bonds from your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion.
3For thus says the Lord: kr“You were sold for nothing, and ksyou shall be redeemed without money.” 4For thus says the Lord God: kt“My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing.
Or  the Assyrian has oppressed them of late
5Now therefore what have I here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail,” declares the Lord, “and kvcontinually all the day my name is despised. 6Therefore my people shall know my name. kwTherefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am.”

7 kxHow beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, kywho brings good news of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
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