Isaiah 56-66

American Standard Version

56 Thus saith Jehovah, Keep ye justice, and do righteousness; for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. ² Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that holdeth it fast; that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. ³ Neither let the foreigner, that hath joined himself to Jehovah, speak, saying, Jehovah will surely separate me from his people; neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. ⁴ For thus saith Jehovah of the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and hold fast my covenant: ⁵ Unto them will I give in my house and within my walls a ^[a]memorial and a name ^[b]better than of sons and of daughters; I will give ^[c]them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.

⁶ Also the foreigners that join themselves to Jehovah, to minister unto him, and to love the name of Jehovah, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and holdeth fast my covenant; ⁷ even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. ⁸ The Lord Jehovah, who gathereth the outcasts of Israel, saith, Yet will I gather others to him, ^[d]besides his own that are gathered.

⁹ All ye beasts of the field, ^[e]come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. ¹⁰ His watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber. ¹¹ Yea, the dogs are greedy, they can never have enough; and these are shepherds that cannot understand: they have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, ^[f]from every quarter. ¹² Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to-morrow shall be as this day, a day great beyond measure.

57 The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and ^[g]merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away ^[h]from the evil to come. ² He entereth into peace; they rest in their beds, each one that walketh ^[i]in his uprightness.

³ But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the harlot. ⁴ Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and put out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood, ⁵ ye that inflame yourselves ^[j]among the oaks, under every green tree; that slay the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks? ⁶ Among the smooth stones of the valley is thy portion; they, they are thy lot; even to them hast thou poured a drink-offering, thou hast offered ^[k]an oblation. Shall I be appeased for these things? ⁷ Upon a high and lofty mountain hast thou set thy bed; thither also wentest thou up to offer sacrifice. ⁸ And behind the doors and the posts hast thou set up thy memorial: for thou hast uncovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them: thou lovedst their bed where ^[l]thou sawest it. ⁹ And thou wentest to the king with oil, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thine ambassadors far off, and didst debase thyself even unto Sheol. ¹⁰ Thou wast wearied with the length of thy way; yet saidst thou not, It is in vain: thou didst find ^[m]a quickening of thy strength; therefore thou wast not ^[n]faint.

¹¹ And of whom hast thou been afraid and in fear, that thou liest, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart? have not I held my peace even of long time, and thou fearest me not? ¹² I will declare thy righteousness; and as for thy works, they shall not profit thee. ¹³ When thou criest, let ^[o]them that thou hast gathered deliver thee; but the wind shall take them, a breath shall carry them all away: but he that taketh refuge in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain.

¹⁴ And ^[p]he will say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumbling-block out of the way of my people. ¹⁵ For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite. ¹⁶ For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit would faint before me, and the souls that I have made. ¹⁷ For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him; I hid my face and was wroth; and he went on ^[q]backsliding in the way of his heart. ¹⁸ I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and ^[r]restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. ¹⁹ I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace, to him that is far off and to him that is near, saith Jehovah; and I will heal him. ²⁰ But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it cannot rest, and its waters cast up mire and dirt. ²¹ There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

58 Cry ^[s]aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and declare unto my people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins. ² Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways: as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God, they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near unto God. ³ Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find your own pleasure, and ^[t]exact all your labors. ⁴ Behold, ye fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ^[u]ye fast not this day so as to make your voice to be heard on high. ⁵ Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Jehovah? ⁶ Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? ⁷ Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? ⁸ Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of Jehovah shall be thy rearward. ⁹ Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am.

If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly; ¹⁰ and if thou ^[v]draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall thy light rise in darkness, and thine obscurity be as the noonday; ¹¹ and Jehovah will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in ^[w]dry places, and make strong thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. ¹² And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.

¹³ If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, and the holy of Jehovah honorable; and shalt honor ^[x]it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: ¹⁴ then shalt thou delight thyself in Jehovah; and I will make thee to ride upon the high places of the earth; and I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.

59 Behold, Jehovah’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: ² but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, so that he will not hear. ³ For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue muttereth wickedness. ⁴ None ^[y]sueth in righteousness, and none pleadeth in truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. ⁵ They hatch adders’ eggs, and weave the spider’s web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth; and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. ⁶ Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. ⁷ Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their ^[z]paths. ⁸ The way of peace they know not; and there is no justice in their goings: they have made them crooked paths; whosoever goeth therein doth not know peace.

⁹ Therefore is justice far from us, neither doth righteousness overtake us: we look for light, but, behold, darkness; for brightness, but we walk in obscurity. ¹⁰ We grope for the wall like the blind; yea, we grope as they that have no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the twilight; ^[aa]among them that are lusty we are as dead men. ¹¹ We roar all like bears, and moan sore like doves: we look for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us. ¹² For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities, we know them: ¹³ transgressing and denying Jehovah, and turning away from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. ¹⁴ And justice is turned away backward, and righteousness standeth afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and uprightness cannot enter. ¹⁵ Yea, truth is lacking; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey.

And Jehovah saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. ¹⁶ And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was ^[ab]no intercessor: therefore his own arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it upheld him. ¹⁷ And he put on righteousness as a ^[ac]breastplate, and ^[ad]a helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a mantle. ¹⁸ According to their ^[ae]deeds, accordingly he will repay, wrath to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; to the ^[af]islands he will repay recompense. ¹⁹ So shall they fear the name of Jehovah from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; ^[ag]for he will come as ^[ah]a rushing stream, which the breath of Jehovah driveth. ²⁰ And a Redeemer will come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith Jehovah. ²¹ And as for me, this is my covenant with them, saith Jehovah: my Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith Jehovah, from henceforth and for ever.

60 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of Jehovah is risen upon thee. ² For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples; but Jehovah will arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. ³ And nations shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

⁴ Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: they all gather themselves together, they come to thee; thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be ^[ai]carried in the arms. ⁵ Then thou shalt see and be radiant, and thy heart shall thrill and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned unto thee, the wealth of the nations shall come unto thee. ⁶ The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the ^[aj]dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall ^[ak]proclaim the praises of Jehovah. ⁷ All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee; they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar; and I will ^[al]glorify ^[am]the house of my glory. ⁸ Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? ⁹ Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, for the name of Jehovah thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he hath ^[an]glorified thee.

¹⁰ And foreigners shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favor have I had mercy on thee. ¹¹ Thy gates also shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the wealth of the nations, and their kings led captive. ¹² For that nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. ¹³ The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir-tree, the pine, and the box-tree together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious. ¹⁴ And the sons of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee The city of Jehovah, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁵ Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man passed through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. ¹⁶ Thou shalt also suck the milk of the nations, and shalt suck the breast of kings; and thou shalt know that I, Jehovah, am thy Saviour, and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. ¹⁷ For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron. I will also make thy officers peace, and ^[ao]thine exactors righteousness. ¹⁸ Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, desolation nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. ¹⁹ The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but Jehovah will be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy ^[ap]glory. ²⁰ Thy sun shall no more go down, neither shall thy moon withdraw itself; for Jehovah will be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. ²¹ Thy people also shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. ²² The little one shall become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation; I, Jehovah, will hasten it in its time.

61 The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me; because Jehovah hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the ^[aq]meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and ^[ar]the opening of the prison to them that are bound; ² to proclaim the year of Jehovah’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; ³ to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, that he may be glorified.

⁴ And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. ⁵ And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and foreigners shall be your plowmen and your vine-dressers. ⁶ But ye shall be named the priests of Jehovah; men shall call you the ministers of our God: ye shall eat the wealth of the nations, and ^[as]in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. ⁷ Instead of your shame ye shall have double; and instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be unto them. ⁸ For I, Jehovah, love justice, I hate robbery ^[at]with iniquity; and I will give them their recompense in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. ⁹ And their seed shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which Jehovah hath blessed.

¹⁰ I will greatly rejoice in Jehovah, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom ^[au]decketh himself with a garland, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. ¹¹ For as the earth bringeth forth its bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord Jehovah will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

62 For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burneth. ² And the nations shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory, and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of Jehovah shall name. ³ Thou shalt also be a crown of beauty in the hand of Jehovah, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. ⁴ Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called ^[av]Hephzi-bah, and thy land ^[aw]Beulah; for Jehovah delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. ⁵ For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee; and ^[ax]as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.

⁶ I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that are Jehovah’s remembrancers, ^[ay]take ye no rest, ⁷ and give him no ^[az]rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. ⁸ Jehovah hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy grain to be food for thine enemies; and foreigners shall not drink thy new wine, for which thou hast labored: ⁹ but they that have garnered it shall eat it, and praise Jehovah; and they that have gathered it shall drink it in the courts of my sanctuary.

¹⁰ Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up an ensign ^[ba]for the peoples. ¹¹ Behold, Jehovah hath proclaimed unto the end of the earth, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his ^[bb]recompense before him. ¹² And they shall call them The holy people, The redeemed of Jehovah: and thou shalt be called Sought out, A city not forsaken.

63 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with ^[bc]dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. ² Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winevat? ³ I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the peoples there was no man with me: yea, I ^[bd]trod them in mine anger, and trampled them in my wrath; and their ^[be]lifeblood ^[bf]is sprinkled upon my garments, and I ^[bg]have stained all my raiment. ⁴ For the day of vengeance ^[bh]was in my heart, and ^[bi]the year of my redeemed is come. ⁵ And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my wrath, it upheld me. ⁶ And ^[bj]I trod down the peoples in mine anger, and ^[bk]made them drunk in my wrath, and I ^[bl]poured out their lifeblood on the earth.

⁷ I will make mention of the lovingkindnesses of Jehovah, and the praises of Jehovah, according to all that Jehovah hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. ⁸ For he said, Surely, they are my people, children that will not deal falsely: so he was their Saviour. ^9 [bm]In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

¹⁰ But they rebelled, and grieved his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them. ^11 [bn]Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the ^[bo]shepherds of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit in the midst of them? ¹² that caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses? that divided the waters before them, to make himself an everlasting name? ¹³ that led them through the depths, as a horse in the wilderness, so that they stumbled not? ¹⁴ As the cattle that go down into the valley, the Spirit of Jehovah caused them to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name.

¹⁵ Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where are thy zeal and thy mighty acts? the yearning of thy heart and thy compassions are restrained toward me. ¹⁶ For thou art our Father, though Abraham knoweth us not, and Israel doth not acknowledge us: thou, O Jehovah, art our Father; our Redeemer from everlasting is thy name. ¹⁷ O Jehovah, why dost thou make us to err from thy ways, and hardenest our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance. ¹⁸ Thy holy people possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary. ¹⁹ We are become as they over whom thou never barest rule, as they that were not called by thy name.

64 Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might ^[bp]quake at thy presence, ² as when fire kindleth the brushwood, and the fire causeth the waters to boil; to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence! ³ When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains quaked at thy presence. ⁴ For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye ^[bq]seen a God besides thee, who worketh for him that waiteth for him. ⁵ Thou ^[br]meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou wast wroth, and we sinned: ^[bs]in them have we been of long time; and shall we be saved? ⁶ For we are all become as one that is unclean, and all our righteousnesses are as a polluted garment: and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. ⁷ And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee; for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast ^[bt]consumed us by means of our iniquities.

⁸ But now, O Jehovah, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. ⁹ Be not wroth very sore, O Jehovah, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, look, we beseech thee, we are all thy people. ¹⁰ Thy holy cities are become a wilderness, Zion is become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. ¹¹ Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned with fire; and all our pleasant places are laid waste. ¹² Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O Jehovah? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore?

65 I ^[bu]am inquired of by them that asked not for me; I ^[bv]am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation ^[bw]that was not called by my name. ² I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, that walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts; ³ a people that provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens, and burning incense upon bricks; ⁴ that ^[bx]sit among the graves, and lodge in the ^[by]secret places; that eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; ⁵ that say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me, for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day. ⁶ Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, yea, I will recompense into their bosom, ⁷ your own iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith Jehovah, that have burned incense upon the mountains, and ^[bz]blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I ^[ca]first measure their work into their bosom.

⁸ Thus saith Jehovah, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sake, that I may not destroy them all. ⁹ And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains; and my chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there. ¹⁰ And Sharon shall be a ^[cb]fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me. ¹¹ But ye that forsake Jehovah, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for ^[cc]Fortune, and that fill up mingled wine unto ^[cd]Destiny; ¹² I will destine you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter; because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but ye did that which was evil in mine eyes, and chose that wherein I delighted not.

¹³ Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be put to shame; ¹⁴ behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall wail for ^[ce]vexation of spirit. ¹⁵ And ye shall leave your name for ^[cf]a curse unto my chosen; and the Lord Jehovah will slay thee; and he will call his servants by another name: ¹⁶ so that he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of ^[cg]truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of ^[ch]truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.

¹⁷ For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. ¹⁸ But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. ¹⁹ And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; and there shall be heard in her no more the voice of weeping and the voice of crying. ²⁰ There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed. ²¹ And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. ²² They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people, and my chosen shall ^[ci]long enjoy the work of their hands. ²³ They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for ^[cj]calamity; for they are the seed of the blessed of Jehovah, and their offspring ^[ck]with them. ²⁴ And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. ²⁵ The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith Jehovah.

66 Thus saith Jehovah, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: what manner of house will ye build unto me? and what place shall be my rest? ² For all these things hath my hand made, and so all these things came to be, saith Jehovah: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word. ³ He that killeth an ox is as he that slayeth a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as he that breaketh a dog’s neck; he that offereth ^[cl]an oblation, as he that offereth swine’s blood; he that ^[cm]burneth frankincense, as he that blesseth an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations: ⁴ I also will choose their ^[cn]delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did that which was evil in mine eyes, and chose that wherein I delighted not.

⁵ Hear the word of Jehovah, ye that tremble at his word: Your brethren that hate you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, have said, Let Jehovah be glorified, that we may see your joy; but it is they that shall be put to shame. ⁶ A voice of tumult from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of Jehovah that rendereth recompense to his enemies.

⁷ Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man-child. ⁸ Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall a land be ^[co]born in one day? shall a nation be brought forth at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. ⁹ Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith Jehovah: shall I that cause to bring forth shut the womb? saith thy God.

¹⁰ Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn over her; ¹¹ that ye may suck and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. ¹² For thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream: ^[cp]and ye shall suck thereof; ye shall be borne upon the side, and shall be dandled upon the knees. ¹³ As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And ye shall see it, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like the tender grass: and the hand of Jehovah shall be known toward his servants; and he will have indignation against his enemies.

¹⁵ For, behold, Jehovah will come ^[cq]with fire, and his chariots shall be like the whirlwind; to render his anger with fierceness, and his rebuke with flames of fire. ¹⁶ For by fire will Jehovah execute judgment, and by his sword, upon all flesh; and the slain of Jehovah shall be many. ¹⁷ They that sanctify themselves and purify themselves ^[cr]to go unto the gardens, behind ^[cs]one in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, they shall come to an end together, saith Jehovah.

¹⁸ For I know their works and their thoughts: the time cometh, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and shall see my glory. ¹⁹ And I will set a sign among them, and I will send such as escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations. ²⁰ And they shall bring all your brethren out of all the nations for an oblation unto Jehovah, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith Jehovah, as the children of Israel bring their oblation in a clean vessel into the house of Jehovah. ²¹ And of them also will I take for priests and for Levites, saith Jehovah.

²² For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith Jehovah, so shall your seed and your name remain. ²³ And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith Jehovah. ²⁴ And they shall go forth, and look upon the dead bodies of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.