Category: Isaiah

The Lord versus the Nations’ Gods

1 “Be silent before Me, islands!

And let peoples renew their strength.

Let them approach, then let them testify;

let us come together for the trial.

2 Who has stirred him up from the east?

He calls righteousness to his feet.

TheLordhands nations over to him,

and he subdues kings.

He makes them like dust with his sword,

like wind-driven stubble with his bow.

3 He pursues them, going on safely,

hardly touching the path with his feet.

4 Who has performed and done this,

calling the generations from the beginning?

I, Yahweh, am the first,

and with the last— I am He.”

5 The islands see and are afraid,

the whole earth trembles.

They approach and arrive.

6 Each one helps the other,

and says to another, “Take courage! ”

7 The craftsman encourages the metalworker;

the one who flattens with the hammer

supports the one who strikes the anvil,

saying of the soldering, “It is good.”

He fastens it with nails so that it will not fall over.

8 But you, Israel, My servant,

Jacob, whom I have chosen,

descendant of Abraham, My friend—

9 I broughtyou from the ends of the earth

and called you from its farthest corners.

I said to you: You are My servant;

I have chosen you and not rejected you.

10 Do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be afraid, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you; I will help you;

I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.

11 Be sure that all who are enraged against you

will be ashamed and disgraced;

those who contend with you

will become as nothing and will perish.

12 You will look for those who contend with you,

but you will not find them.

Those who war against you

will become absolutely nothing.

13 For I, Yahweh your God,

hold your right hand

and say to you: Do not fear,

I will help you.

14 Do not fear, you worm Jacob,

you menof Israel:

I will help you —

this is theLord’s declaration.

Your Redeemeris the Holy One of Israel.

15 See, I will make you into a sharp threshing board,

new, with many teeth.

You will thresh mountains and pulverize them

and make hills into chaff.

16 You will winnow them

and a wind will carry them away,

a gale will scatter them.

But you will rejoice in theLord;

you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.

17 The poor and the needy seek water, but there is none;

their tongues are parched with thirst.

I, Yahweh, will answer them;

I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

18 I will open rivers on the barren heights,

and springs in the middle of the plains.

I will turn the desert into a pool of water

and dry land into springs of water.

19 I will plant cedars in the desert,

acacias, myrtles, and olive trees.

I will put juniper trees in the desert,

elms and cypress trees together,

20 so that all may see and know,

consider and understand,

that the hand of theLordhas done this,

the Holy One of Israel has createdit.

21 “Submit your case,” says theLord.

“Present your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.

22 “Let them come and tell us

what will happen.

Tell us the past events,

so that we may reflect on them

and know the outcome,

or tell us the future.

23 Tell us the coming events,

then we will know that you are gods.

Indeed, do something good or bad,

then we will be in aweand perceive.

24 Look, you are nothing

and your work is worthless.

Anyone who chooses you is detestable.

25 “I have raised up one from the north,and he has come,

one from the eastwho invokes Myname.

He will march over rulers as if they were mud,

like a potter who treads the clay.

26 Who told about this from the beginning,

so that we might know,

and from times past,

so that we might say: He is right?

No one announced it,

no one told it,

no one heard your words.

27 I was the first to say to Zion:

Look! Here they are!

And I gave a herald of good news to Jerusalem.

28 When I look, there is no one;

there is no counselor among them;

when I ask them, they have nothing to say.

29 Look, all of them are a delusion;

their works are nonexistent;

their images are wind and emptiness.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/ISA/41-7871ad2ab745f8f179986e281c8a1d9d.mp3?version_id=72—

The Servant’s Mission

1 “Thisis My Servant;I strengthen Him,

this is My Chosen One;I delight in Him.

I have put My Spirit on Him;

He will bring justiceto the nations.

2 He will not cry out or shout

or make His voice heard in the streets.

3 He will not break a bruised reed,

and He will not put out a smoldering wick;

He will faithfully bring justice.

4 He will not grow weak or be discouraged

until He has established justice on earth.

The islands will wait for His instruction.”

5 This is what God, Yahweh, says —

who created the heavens and stretched them out,

who spread out the earth and what comes from it,

who gives breath to the people on it

and lifeto those who walk on it—

6 “I, Yahweh, have called You

for a righteous purpose,

and I will hold You by Your hand.

I will keep You and appoint You

to be a covenant for the people

and a light to the nations,

7 in order to open blind eyes,

to bring out prisoners from the dungeon,

and those sitting in darkness from the prison house.

8 I am Yahweh, that is My name;

I will not give My glory to another

or My praise to idols.

9 The past events have indeed happened.

Now I declare new events;

I announce them to you before they occur.”

A Song of Praise

10 Sing a new song to theLord;

sing His praise from the ends of the earth,

you who go down to the sea with all that fills it,

you islands with yourinhabitants.

11 Let the desert and its cities shout,

the settlements where Kedar dwells cry aloud.

Let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy;

let them cry out from the mountaintops.

12 Let them give glory to theLord

and declare His praise in the islands.

13 TheLordadvances like a warrior;

He stirs up His zeal like a soldier.

He shouts, He roars aloud,

He prevails over His enemies.

14 “I have kept silent from ages past;

I have been quiet and restrained Myself.

But now, I will groan like a woman in labor,

gasping breathlessly.

15 I will lay waste mountains and hills

and dry up all their vegetation.

I will turn rivers into islands

and dry up marshes.

16 I will lead the blind by a way they did not know;

I will guide them on paths they have not known.

I will turn darkness to light in front of them

and rough places into level ground.

This is what I will do for them,

and I will not forsake them.

17 They will be turned back and utterly ashamed —

those who trust in idols

and say to metal-plated images:

You are our gods!

Israel’s Blindness and Deafness

18 “Listen, you deaf!

Look, you blind, so that you may see.

19 Who is blind but My servant,

or deaf like My messenger I am sending?

Who is blind like My dedicated one,

or blind like the servant of theLord?

20 Though seeing many things,you do not obey.

Though his ears are open, he does not listen.”

21 TheLordwas pleased, because of His righteousness,

to magnify His instruction and make it glorious.

22 But this is a people plundered and looted,

all of them trapped in holes

or imprisoned in dungeons.

They have become plunder

with no one to rescue them

and loot, with no one saying, “Give it back! ”

23 Who among you will pay attention to this?

Let him listen and obey in the future.

24 Who gave Jacob to the robber,

and Israel to the plunderers?

Was it not theLord?

Have we not sinned against Him?

They were not willing to walk in His ways,

and they would not listen to His instruction.

25 So He poured out on Jacob His furious anger

and the power of war.

It surrounded him with fire, but he did not know it;

it burned him, but he paid no attention.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/ISA/42-d25a2942ccd1b96949c183713d5c5631.mp3?version_id=72—

Restoration of Israel

1 Now this is what theLordsays —

the One who created you, Jacob,

and the One who formed you, Israel—

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by your name; you are Mine.

2 I will be with you

when you pass through the waters,

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not overwhelm you.

You will not be scorched

when you walk through the fire,

and the flame will not burn you.

3 For I Yahweh your God,

the Holy One of Israel, and your Savior,

give Egypt as a ransom for you,

Cush and Seba in your place.

4 Because you are precious in My sight

and honored, and I love you,

I will give people in exchange for you

and nations instead of your life.

5 Do not fear, for I am with you;

I will bring your descendants from the east,

and gather you from the west.

6 I will say to the north: Give them up!

and to the south: Do not hold them back!

Bring My sons from far away,

and My daughters from the ends of the earth—

7 everyone called by My name

and created for My glory.

I have formed him; indeed, I have made him.”

8 Bring out a people who are blind, yet have eyes,

and are deaf, yet have ears.

9 All the nations are gathered together,

and the peoples are assembled.

Who among them can declare this,

and tell us the former things?

Let them present their witnesses

to vindicate themselves,

so that people may hear and say, “It is true.”

10 “You are My witnesses”—

this is theLord’s declaration —

“and My servant whom I have chosen,

so that you may know and believe Me

and understand that I am He.

No god was formed before Me,

and there will be none after Me.

11 I, I am Yahweh,

and there is no other Savior but Me.

12 I alone declared, saved, and proclaimed —

and not some foreign godamong you.

So you are My witnesses” —

this is theLord’s declaration —

“andI am God.

13 Also, from today on I am He alone,

and none can deliver from My hand.

I act, and who can reverse it? ”

God’s Deliverance of Rebellious Israel

14 This is what theLord, your Redeemer,the Holy One of Israelsays:

Because of you, I will send to Babylon

and bring all of them as fugitives,

even the Chaldeansin the ships in which they rejoice.

15 I am Yahweh, your Holy One,

the Creator of Israel, your King.

16 This is what theLordsays —

who makes a way in the sea,

and a path through surging waters,

17 who brings out the chariot and horse,

the army and the mighty one together

(they lie down, they do not rise again;

they are extinguished, quenched like a wick) —

18 “Do not remember the past events,

pay no attention to things of old.

19 Look, I am about to do something new;

even now it is coming. Do you not see it?

Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness,

riversin the desert.

20 The animals of the field will honor Me,

jackals and ostriches,

because I provide water in the wilderness,

and rivers in the desert,

to give drink to My chosen people.

21 The people I formed for Myself

will declare My praise.

22 “But Jacob, you have not called on Me,

because, Israel, you have become weary of Me.

23 You have not brought Me your sheep for burnt offerings

or honored Me with your sacrifices.

I have not burdened you with offerings

or wearied you with incense.

24 You have not bought Me aromatic cane with silver,

or satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices.

But you have burdened Me with your sins;

you have wearied Mewith your iniquities.

25 “It is I who sweep away your transgressions

for My own sake

and remember your sins no more.

26 Take Me to court; let us argue our case together.

State your case, so that you may be vindicated.

27 Your first father sinned,

and your mediators have rebelled against Me.

28 So I defiled the officers of the sanctuary,

and set Jacob apart for destruction

and Israel for abuse.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/ISA/43-6f150f12a5b6019ba96b062788de7013.mp3?version_id=72—

Spiritual Blessing

1 “And now listen, Jacob My servant,

Israel whom I have chosen.

2 This is the word of theLord

your Maker who formed you from the womb;

Hewill help you:

Do not fear; Jacob is My servant;

I have chosen Jeshurun.

3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land

and streams on the dry ground;

I will pour out My Spiriton your descendants

and My blessing on your offspring.

4 They will sprout amongthe grass

like poplars by flowing streams.

5 This one will say, ‘I am theLord’s’;

another will call himself by the name of Jacob;

still another will write on his hand, ‘TheLord’s,’

and name himself by the name of Israel.”

No God Other Than Yahweh

6 This is what theLord, the King of Israel and its Redeemer,theLordof Hosts, says:

I am the first and I am the last.

There is no God but Me.

7 Who, like Me, can announce the future?

Let him say so and make a case before Me,

since I have established an ancient people.

Let these gods declarethe coming things,

and what will take place.

8 Do not be startled or afraid.

Have I not told you and declared it long ago?

You are my witnesses!

Is there any God but Me?

There is no other Rock;I do not know any.

9 All who make idols are nothing,

and what they treasure does not profit.

Their witnesses do not see or know anything,

so they will be put to shame.

10 Who makes a god or casts a metal image

for no profit?

11 Look, all its worshipers will be put to shame,

and the craftsmen are humans.

They all will assemble and stand;

they all will be startled and put to shame.

12 The ironworker labors over the coals,

shapes the idol with hammers,

and works it with his strong arm.

Also he grows hungry and his strength fails;

he doesn’t drink water and is faint.

13 The woodworker stretches out a measuring line,

he outlines it with a stylus;

he shapes it with chisels

and outlines it with a compass.

He makes it according to a human likeness,

like a beautiful person,

to dwell in a temple.

14 He cuts downcedars for his use,

or he takes a cypress or an oak.

He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest.

He plants a laurel, and the rain makes it grow.

15 It serves as fuel for man.

He takes some of it and warms himself;

also he kindles a fire and bakes bread;

he even makes it into a god and worships it;

he makes an idol from it and bows down to it.

16 He burns half of it in a fire,

and he roasts meat on that half.

He eats the roast and is satisfied.

He warms himself and says, “Ah!

I am warm, I see the blaze.”

17 He makes a god or his idol with the rest of it.

He bows down to it and worships;

He prays to it,“Save me, for you are my god.”

18 Such peopledo not comprehend

and cannot understand,

for He has shut their eyesso they cannot see,

and their minds so they cannot understand.

19 No one reflects,

no one has the perception or insight to say,

“I burned half of it in the fire,

I also baked bread on its coals,

I roasted meat and ate.

I will make something detestablewith the rest of it,

and I will bow down to a block of wood.”

20 He feeds onashes.

His deceived mind has led him astray,

and he cannot deliver himself,

or say, “Isn’t there a lie in my right hand? ”

21 Remember these things, Jacob,

and Israel, for you are My servant;

I formed you, you are My servant;

Israel, you will never be forgotten by Me.

22 I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud,

and your sins like a mist.

Return to Me,

for I have redeemed you.

23 Rejoice, heavens,for theLordhas acted;

shout, depths of the earth.

Break out into singing, mountains,

forest, and every tree in it.

For theLordhas redeemed Jacob,

and glorifies Himself through Israel.

Restoration of Israel through Cyrus

24 This is what theLord, your Redeemerwho formed you from the womb,says:

I am Yahweh, who made everything;

who stretched out the heavens by Myself;

who alone spread out the earth;

25 who destroys the omens of the false prophets

and makes fools of diviners;

who confounds the wise

and makes their knowledge foolishness;

26 who confirms the message of His servant

and fulfills the counsel of His messengers;

who says to Jerusalem, “She will be inhabited,”

and to the cities of Judah, “They will be rebuilt,”

and I will restore her ruins;

27 who says to the depths of the sea, “Be dry,”

and I will dry up your rivers;

28 who says to Cyrus,“My shepherd,

he will fulfill all My pleasure”

and says to Jerusalem, “She will be rebuilt,”

and of the temple, “Its foundation will be laid.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/ISA/44-e815a6e60f596d44bb88a8781f0bf9d8.mp3?version_id=72—

1 TheLordsays this to Cyrus, His anointed,

whose right hand I have grasped

to subdue nations before him,

to disarmkings,

to open the doors before him

and the gates will not be shut:

2 “I will go before you

and level the uneven places;

I will shatter the bronze doors

and cut the iron bars in two.

3 I will give you the treasures of darkness

and riches from secret places,

so that you may know that I, Yahweh,

the God of Israel call you by your name.

4 I call you by your name,

because of Jacob My servant

and Israel My chosen one.

I give a name to you,

though you do not know Me.

5 I am Yahweh, and there is no other;

there is no God but Me.

I will strengthenyou,

though you do not know Me,

6 so that all may know from the rising of the sun to its setting

that there is no one but Me.

I am Yahweh, and there is no other.

7 I form light and create darkness,

I make success and create disaster;

I, Yahweh, do all these things.

8 “Heavens, sprinkle from above,

and let the skies shower righteousness.

Let the earth open up

so that salvation will sprout

and righteousness will spring up with it.

I, Yahweh, have created it.

9 “Woe to the one who argues with his Maker —

one clay pot among many.

Does clay say to the one forming it,

‘What are you making?’

Or does your work say,

‘He has no hands’?

10 How absurd is the one who says to his father,

‘What are you fathering?’

or to his mother,

‘What are you giving birth to? ’ ”

11 This is what theLord,

the Holy One of Israeland its Maker, says:

“Ask Me what is to happen toMy sons,

and instruct Me about the work of My hands.

12 I made the earth,

and created man on it.

It was My hands that stretched out the heavens,

and I commanded all their host.

13 I have raised him up in righteousness,

and will level all roads for him.

He will rebuild My city,

and set My exiles free,

not for a price or a bribe,”

says theLordof Hosts.

God Alone is the Savior

14 This is what theLordsays:

The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush

and the Sabeans, men of stature,

will come over to you

and will be yours;

they will follow you,

they will come over in chains

and bow down to you.

They will confessto you:

God is indeed with you,and there is no other;

there is no other God.

15 Yes, You are a God who hides Himself,

God of Israel, Savior.

16 All of them are put to shame, even humiliated;

the makers of idols go in humiliation together.

17 Israel will be saved by theLord

with an everlasting salvation;

you will not be put to shame or humiliated

for all eternity.

18 For this is what theLordsays —

God is the Creator of the heavens.

He formed the earth and made it.

He established it;

He did not create it to be empty,

but formed it to be inhabited—

“I am Yahweh,

and there is no other.

19 I have not spoken in secret,

somewhere in a land of darkness.

I did not say to the descendants of Jacob:

Seek Me in a wasteland.

I, Yahweh, speak truthfully;

I say what is right.

20 “Come, gather together,

and draw near, you fugitives of the nations.

Those who carry their wooden idols,

and pray to a god who cannot save,

have no knowledge.

21 Speak up and present your case—

yes, let them take counsel together.

Who predicted this long ago?

Who announced it from ancient times?

Was it not I, Yahweh?

There is no other God but Me,

a righteous God and Savior;

there is no one except Me.

22 Turn to Me and be saved,

all the ends of the earth.

For I am God,

and there is no other.

23 By Myself I have sworn;

Truth has gone from My mouth,

a word that will not be revoked:

Every knee will bowto Me,

every tongue will swear allegiance.

24 It will be said to Me: Righteousness and strength

is only in theLord.”

All who are enraged against Him

will come to Him and be put to shame.

25 All the descendants of Israel

will be justified and find glory through theLord.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/ISA/45-a6d430e48a0764cf5347583d9b031b43.mp3?version_id=72—

There is No One Like God

1 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.

2 The gods cower; they crouch together;

they are not able to rescue the burden,

but they themselves go into captivity.

3 “Listen to Me, house of Jacob,

all the remnant of the house of Israel,

who have been sustained from the womb,

carried along since birth.

4 I will be the same until your old age,

and I will bear you up when you turn gray.

I have made you, and I will carry you;

I will bear and save you.

5 “Who will you compare Me or make Me equal to?

Who will you measure Me with,

so that we should be like each other?

6 Those who pour out their bags of gold

and weigh out silver on scales —

they hire a goldsmith and he makes it into a god.

Then they kneel and bow down to it.

7 They lift it to their shoulder and bear it along;

they set it in its place, and there it stands;

it does not budge from its place.

They cry out to it but it doesn’t answer;

it saves no one from his trouble.

8 “Remember this and be brave;

take it to heart, you transgressors!

9 Remember what happened long ago,

for I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and no one is like Me.

10 I declare the end from the beginning,

and from long ago what is not yet done,

saying: My plan will take place,

and I will do all My will.

11 I call a bird of preyfrom the east,

a man for My purpose from a far country.

Yes, I have spoken; so I will also bring it about.

I have planned it; I will also do it.

12 Listen to me, you hardhearted,

far removed from justice:

13 I am bringing My justice near;

it is not far away,

and My salvation will not delay.

I will put salvation in Zion,

My splendor in Israel.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/ISA/46-5130c7da4af81ea88c5f54eb418f8879.mp3?version_id=72—

The Fall of Babylon

1 “Go down and sit in the dust,

Virgin Daughter Babylon.

Sit on the ground without a throne,

Daughter Chaldea!

For you will no longer be called pampered and spoiled.

2 Take millstones and grind meal;

remove your veil,

strip off your skirt, bare your thigh,

wade through the streams.

3 Your nakedness will be uncovered,

and your shame will be exposed.

I will take vengeance;

I will spare no one.

4 The Holy One of Israel is our Redeemer;

Yahweh of Hosts is His name.

5 “Daughter Chaldea,

sit in silenceand go into darkness.

For you will no longer be called mistress of kingdoms.

6 I was angry with My people;

I profaned My possession,

and I placed them under your control.

You showed them no mercy;

you made your yoke very heavy on the elderly.

7 You said, ‘I will be the mistress forever.’

You did not take these things to heart

or think about their outcome.

8 “So now hear this, lover of luxury,

who sits securely,

who says to herself,

‘I exist, and there is no one else.

I will never be a widow

or know the loss of children.’

9 These two things will happen to you

suddenly, in one day:

loss of children and widowhood.

They will happen to you in their entirety,

in spite of your many sorceries

and the potency of your spells.

10 You were secure in your wickedness;

you said, ‘No one sees me.’

Your wisdom and knowledge

led you astray.

You said to yourself,

‘I exist, and there is no one else.’

11 But disaster will happen to you;

you will not know how to avert it.

And it will fall on you,

but you will be unable to ward it off.

Devastation will happen to you suddenly

and unexpectedly.

12 So take your stand with your spells

and your many sorceries,

which you have wearied yourself with from your youth.

Perhaps you will be able to succeed;

perhaps you will inspire terror!

13 You are worn out with your many consultations.

So let them stand and save you —

the astrologers,who observe the stars,

who predict monthly

what will happen to you.

14 Look, they are like stubble;

fire burns them up.

They cannot deliver themselves

from the powerof the flame.

This is not a coal for warming themselves,

or a fire to sit beside!

15 This is what they are to you —

those who have wearied you

and have traded with you from your youth —

each wanders on his own way;

no one can save you.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/ISA/47-22a1b0dbf66d4c57c8bfa14fd073d648.mp3?version_id=72—

Israel Must Leave Babylon

1 “Listen to this, house of Jacob —

those who are called by the name Israel

and have descended fromJudah,

who swear by the name of Yahweh

and declare the God of Israel,

but not in truth or righteousness.

2 For they are named after the Holy City,

and lean on the God of Israel;

His name is Yahweh of Hosts.

3 I declared the past events long ago;

they came out of My mouth; I proclaimed them.

Suddenly I acted, and they occurred.

4 Because I know that you are stubborn,

and your neck is iron

and your forehead bronze,

5 therefore I declared to you long ago.

I announced it to you before it occurred,

so you could not claim, ‘My idol caused them;

my carved image and cast idol control them.’

6 You have heard it. Observe it all.

Will you not acknowledge it?

From now on I will announce new things to you,

hidden things that you have not known.

7 They have been created now, and not long ago;

you have not heard of them before today,

so you could not claim, ‘I already knew them! ’

8 You have never heard; you have never known;

For a long time your ears have not been open.

For I knew that you were very treacherous,

and were known as a rebel from birth.

9 I will delay My anger for the honor of My name,

and I will restrain Myself for your benefit and for My praise,

so that you will not be destroyed.

10 Look, I have refined you,but not as silver;

I have testedyou in the furnace of affliction.

11 I will act for My own sake, indeed, My own,

for how can Ibe defiled?

I will not give My glory to another.

12 “Listen to Me, Jacob,

and Israel, the one called by Me:

I am He; I am the first,

I am also the last.

13 My own hand founded the earth,

and My right hand spread out the heavens;

when I summoned them,

they stood up together.

14 All of you, assemble and listen!

Who among the idolshas declared these things?

TheLordloves him;

he will accomplish His will against Babylon,

and His arm will be against the Chaldeans.

15 I — I have spoken;

yes, I have called him;

I have brought him,

and he will succeed in his mission.

16 Approach Me and listen to this.

From the beginning I have not spoken in secret;

from the time anything existed, I was there.”

And now the LordGod

has sent me and His Spirit.

17 This is what theLord, your Redeemer,the Holy One of Israelsays:

I am Yahweh your God,

who teaches you for your benefit,

who leads you in the way you should go.

18 If only you had paid attention to My commands.

Then your peace would have been like a river,

and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

19 Your descendants would have been as countless as the sand,

and the offspring of your body like its grains;

their name would not be cut off

or eliminated from My presence.

20 Leave Babylon,

flee from the Chaldeans!

Declare with a shout of joy,

proclaim this,

let it go out to the end of the earth;

announce,

“TheLordhas redeemed His servantJacob! ”

21 They did not thirst

when He led them through the deserts;

He made water flow for them from the rock;

He split the rock, and water gushed out.

22 “There is no peace for the wicked,” says theLord.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/ISA/48-952068ab4962e60d261c3b40127156e9.mp3?version_id=72—

The Servant Brings Salvation

1 Coastlands,listen to me;

distant peoples, pay attention.

TheLordcalledme before I was born.

He named me while I was in my mother’s womb.

2 He made my words like a sharp sword;

He hid me in the shadow of His hand.

He made me like a sharpened arrow;

He hid me in His quiver.

3 He said to me, “You are My Servant, Israel;

I will be glorified in him.”

4 But I myself said: I have labored in vain,

I have spent my strength for nothing and futility;

yet my vindication is with theLord,

and my reward is with my God.

5 And now, says theLord,

who formed me from the womb to be His Servant,

to bring Jacob back to Him

so that Israel might be gathered to Him;

for I am honored in the sight of theLord,

and my God is my strength —

6 He says,

“It is not enough for you to be My Servant

raising up the tribes of Jacob

and restoring the protected ones of Israel.

I will also make you a light for the nations,

to be My salvation to the ends of the earth.”

7 This is what theLord,

the Redeemerof Israel, his Holy One, says

to one who is despised,

to one abhorred by people,

to a servant of rulers:

“Kings will see and stand up,

and princeswill bow down,

because of theLord, who is faithful,

the Holy One of Israel— and He has chosen you.”

8 This is what theLordsays:

I will answer you in a time of favor,

and I will help you in the day of salvation.

I will keep you, and I will appoint you

to be a covenant for the people,

to restore the land,

to make them possess the desolate inheritances,

9 saying to the prisoners: Come out,

and to those who are in darkness: Show yourselves.

They will feed along the pathways,

and their pastures will be on all the barren heights.

10 They will not hunger or thirst,

the scorching heat or sun will not strike them;

for their compassionate One will guide them,

and lead them to springs of water.

11 I will make all My mountains into a road,

and My highways will be raised up.

12 See, these will come from far away,

from the north and from the west,

and from the land of Sinim.

13 Shout for joy, you heavens!

Earth, rejoice!

Mountains break into joyful shouts!

For theLordhas comforted His people,

and will have compassion on His afflicted ones.

Zion Remembered

14 Zion says, “TheLordhas abandoned me;

The Lord has forgotten me! ”

15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child,

or lack compassion for the child of her womb?

Even if these forget,

yet I will not forget you.

16 Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;

your walls are continually before Me.

17 Your buildershurry;

those who destroy and devastate you will leave you.

18 Look up, and look around.

They all gather together; they come to you.

As I live” —

this is theLord’s declaration —

“you will wear all your childrenas jewelry,

and put them on as a bride does.

19 For your waste and desolate places

and your land marked by ruins —

will now be indeed too small for the inhabitants,

and those who swallowed you up will be far away.

20 Yet as you listen, the children

that you have been deprived of will say,

‘This place is too small for me;

make room for me so that I may settle.’

21 Then you will say within yourself,

‘Who fathered these for me?

I was deprived of my children and unable to conceive,

exiled and wandering —

but who brought them up?

See, I was left by myself —

but these, where did they come from? ’ ”

22 This is what the LordGodsays:

Look, I will lift up My hand to the nations,

and raise My banner to the peoples.

They will bring your sons in their arms,

and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.

23 Kings will be your foster fathers,

and their queensyour nursing mothers.

They will bow down to you

with their faces to the ground,

and lick the dust at your feet.

Then you will know that I am Yahweh;

those who put their hope in Me

will not be put to shame.

24 Can the prey be taken from the mighty,

or the captives of the righteousbe delivered?

25 For this is what theLordsays:

“Even the captives of a mighty man will be taken,

and the prey of a tyrant will be delivered;

I will contend with the one who contends with you,

and I will save your children.

26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,

and they will be drunk with their own blood

as with sweet wine.

Then all flesh will know

that I, Yahweh, am your Savior,

and your Redeemer,the Mighty One of Jacob.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/ISA/49-53d3983018f1c6f5b5febf0731e0ebde.mp3?version_id=72—

1 This is what theLordsays:

Where is your mother’s divorce certificate

that I used to send her away?

Or who were My creditors that I sold you to?

Look, you were sold for your iniquities,

and your mother was put away

because of your transgressions.

2 Why was no one there when I came?

Why was there no one to answer when I called?

Is My hand too short to redeem?

Or do I have no power to deliver?

Look, I dry up the sea by My rebuke;

I turn the rivers into a wilderness;

their fish rot because of lack of water

and die of thirst.

3 I dress the heavens in black

and make sackcloth their clothing.

The Obedient Servant

4 The LordGodhas given Me

the tongue of those who are instructed

to know how to sustain the weary with a word.

He awakens Me each morning;

He awakens My ear to listen like those being instructed.

5 The LordGodhas opened My ear,

and I was not rebellious;

I did not turn back.

6 I gave My back to those who beat Me,

and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard.

I did not hide My face from scorn and spitting.

7 The LordGodwill help Me;

therefore I have not been humiliated;

therefore I have set My face like flint,

and I know I will not be put to shame.

8 The One who vindicates Me is near;

who will contend with Me?

Let us confront each other.

Who has a case against Me?

Let him come near Me!

9 In truth, the LordGodwill help Me;

who will condemn Me?

Indeed, all of them will wear out like a garment;

a moth will devour them.

10 Who among you fears theLord,

listening to the voice of His Servant?

Who among you walks in darkness,

and has no light?

Let him trust in the name of Yahweh;

let him lean on his God.

11 Look, all you who kindle a fire,

who encircle yourselves withfirebrands;

walk in the light of your fire

and in the firebrands you have lit!

This is what you’ll get from My hand:

you will lie down in a place of torment.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/ISA/50-20d23d573bcb35437ded65e4e944fb27.mp3?version_id=72—