17 “The poor and needy are seeking water, but there is none,
And their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, will answer them Myself;
As the God of Israel I will not abandon them.
18 I will open rivers on the bare heights,
And springs in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land fountains of water.
19 I will put the cedar in the wilderness,
The acacia, the myrtle, and the olive tree;
I will place the juniper in the desert,
Together with the elm tree and the cypress,
20 So that they may see and recognize,
And consider and gain insight as well,
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21 “Present your case,” the Lord says.
“Bring forward your evidence,”
The King of Jacob says.
22 Let them bring them forward and declare to us what is going to take place;
As for the former events, declare what they were,
So that we may consider them and know their outcome.
Or announce to us what is coming;
23 Declare the things that are going to come afterward,
So that we may know that you are gods;
Indeed, do good or evil, that we may be afraid and fear together.
24 Behold, you are less than nothing,
And your work is less than nothing!
He who chooses you is an abomination.
25 “I have put one from the north into motion, and he has come;
From the rising of the sun he will call on My name;
And he will come upon rulers as upon mortar,
As the potter treads on clay.”
26 Who has declared this from the beginning, that we might know?
Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”?
There was no one at all who declared,
There was no one at all who proclaimed,
There was no one at all who heard your words.
27 “Previously I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’
And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a messenger of good news.’
28 But when I look, there is no one,
And there is no counselor among them
Who, if I ask, can give an answer.
29 Behold, all of them are false;
Their works are nothing,
Their cast metal images are wind and emptiness.
1 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen one in whom My soul delights.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry out nor raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
3 A bent reed He will not break off
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 He will not be disheartened or crushed
Until He has established justice on the earth;
And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”
5 This is what God the Lord says,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread out the earth and its offspring,
Who gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it:
6 “I am the Lord, I have called You in righteousness,
I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the nations,
7 To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
8 I am the Lord, that is My name;
I will not give My glory to another,
Nor My praise to idols.
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
Now I declare new things;
Before they sprout I proclaim them to you.”
10 Sing to the Lord a new song,
Sing His praise from the end of the earth!
You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it;
You islands, and those who live on them.
11 Let the wilderness and its cities raise their voices,
The settlements which Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing aloud,
Let them shout for joy from the tops of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord
And declare His praise in the coastlands.
13 The Lord will go out like a warrior,
He will stir His zeal like a man of war.
He will shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry.
He will prevail against His enemies.
14 “I have kept silent for a long time,
I have kept still and restrained Myself.
Now like a woman in labor I will groan,
I will both gasp and pant.
15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills
And wither all their vegetation;
I will turn the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the ponds.
16 I will lead those who are blind by a way they have not known,
In paths they have not known I will guide them.
I will turn darkness into light before them
And uneven land into plains.
These are the things I will do,
And I will not leave them undone.”
17 They will be turned back and be utterly put to shame,
Who trust in idols,
Who say to cast metal images,
“You are our gods.”
18 Hear, you who are deaf!
And look, you who are blind, so that you may see.
19 Who is blind but My servant,
Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send?
Who is so blind as one who is at peace with Me,
Or so blind as the servant of the Lord?
20 You have seen many things, but you do not retain them;
Your ears are open, but no one hears.
21 The Lord was pleased for His righteousness’ sake
To make the Law great and glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered and pillaged;
All of them are trapped in caves,
Or are hidden away in prisons;
They have become plunder, with no one to save them,
And spoils with no one to say, “Give them back!”
23 Who among you will listen to this?
Who will pay attention and listen in the time to come?
24 Who gave Jacob up for spoils, and Israel to plunderers?
Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned,
And in whose ways they were not willing to walk,
And whose Law they did not obey?
25 So He poured out on him the heat of His anger
And the fierceness of battle;
And it set him aflame all around,
Yet he did not recognize it;
And it burned him, but he paid no attention.
1 But now, this is what the Lord says, He who is your Creator, Jacob,
And He who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine!
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
4 Since you are precious in My sight,
Since you are honored and I love you,
I will give other people in your place and other nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring 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 afar
And My daughters from the ends of the earth,
7 Everyone who is called by My name,
And whom I have created for My glory,
Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”
8 Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes,
And those who are deaf, even though they have ears.
9 All the nations have gathered together
So that the peoples may be assembled.
Who among them can declare this
And proclaim to us the former things?
Let them present their witnesses so that they may be justified,
Or let them hear and say, “It is true.”
10 “You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
And there will be none after Me.
11 I, only I, am the Lord,
And there is no savior besides Me.
12 It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed,
And there was no strange god among you;
So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And I am God.
13 Even from eternity I am He,
And there is no one who can rescue from My hand;
I act, and who can reverse it?”
1 And you were dead in your offenses and sins, 2 in which you previously walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the boundless riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
11 Therefore remember that previously you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the people of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who previously were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the hostility, which is the Law composed of commandments expressed in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two one new person, in this way establishing peace; 16 and that He might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the hostility. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; 18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
1 God be gracious to us and bless us,
And cause His face to shine upon us— Selah
2 That Your way may be known on the earth,
Your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise You, God;
May all the peoples praise You.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy;
For You will judge the peoples with fairness
And guide the nations on the earth. Selah
5 May the peoples praise You, God;
May all the peoples praise You.
6 The earth has yielded its produce;
God, our God, blesses us.
7 God blesses us,
So that all the ends of the earth may fear Him.
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has red eyes?
30 Those who linger long over wine,
Those who go to taste mixed wine.
31 Do not look at wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the cup,
When it goes down smoothly;
32 In the end it bites like a snake
And stings like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange things
And your mind will say perverse things.
34 And you will be like one who lies down in the middle of the sea,
Or like one who lies down on the top of a mast.
35 “They struck me, but I did not become ill;
They beat me, but I did not know it.
When will I awake?
I will seek another drink.”
