Messengers from Babylon Visit Hezekiah 39:1 At that time Merodach-Baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been ill and had recovered. 39:2 Hezekiah welcomed them and showed them his storehouse with its silver, gold, spices, and high-quality olive oil, as well as his
The Lord Returns to Jerusalem 40:1 “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God. 40:2 “Speak kindly to Jerusalem, and tell her that her time of warfare is over, that her punishment is completed. For the LORD has made her pay double for all her sins.” 40:3 A voice cries out, “In the wilderness clear a way for the LORD; construct in the desert a
The Lord Challenges the Nations 41:1 “Listen to me in silence, you coastlands! Let the nations find renewed strength! Let them approach and then speak; let us come together for debate! 41:2 Who stirs up this one from the east? Who officially commissions him for service? He hands nations over to him, and enables him to subdue kings. He makes them like dust with
The Lord Commissions His Special Servant 42:1 “Here is my servant whom I support, my chosen one in whom I take pleasure. I have placed my spirit on him; he will make just decrees for the nations. 42:2 He will not cry out or shout; he will not publicize himself in the streets. 42:3 A crushed reed he will not break, a dim
The Lord Will Rescue His People 43:1 Now, this is what the LORD says, the one who created you, O Jacob, and formed you, O Israel: “Don’t be afraid, for I will protect you. I call you by name, you are mine. 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I am with you; when you pass through the streams, they will not
The Lord Will Renew Israel 44:1 “Now, listen, Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen!” 44:2 This is what the LORD, the one who made you, says – the one who formed you in the womb and helps you: “Don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen! 44:3 For I will pour water on the parched ground and cause
45:1 This is what the LORD says to his chosen one, to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold in order to subdue nations before him, and disarm kings, to open doors before him, so gates remain unclosed: 45:2 “I will go before you and level mountains. Bronze doors I will shatter and iron bars I will hack through. 45:3 I will give you hidden treasures, riches
The Lord Carries His People 46:1 Bel kneels down, Nebo bends low. Their images weigh down animals and beasts. Your heavy images are burdensome to tired animals. 46:2 Together they bend low and kneel down; they are unable to rescue the images; they themselves head off into captivity. 46:3 “Listen to me, O family of Jacob, all you who are left from the family
Babylon Will Fall 47:1 “Fall down! Sit in the dirt, O virgin daughter Babylon! Sit on the ground, not on a throne, O daughter of the Babylonians! Indeed, you will no longer be called delicate and pampered. 47:2 Pick up millstones and grind flour! Remove your veil, strip off your skirt, expose your legs, cross the streams! 47:3 Let your private parts be exposed! Your genitals will
The Lord Appeals to the Exiles 48:1 Listen to this, O family of Jacob, you who are called by the name ‘Israel,’ and are descended from Judah, who take oaths in the name of the LORD, and invoke the God of Israel – but not in an honest and just manner. 48:2 Indeed, they live in the holy city; they trust in the