Bible in 90 Days
19 I will make trees grow in the desert—
cedars, acacia, myrtle, and olive trees.
I will put pine, fir, and cypress trees
growing together in the desert.
20 People will see these things and understand;
they will think carefully about these things and learn
that the Lord’s power did this,
that the Holy One of Israel made these things.”
The Lord Challenges False Gods
21 The Lord says, “Present your case.”
The King of Jacob says, “Tell me your arguments.
22 Bring in your idols to tell us
what is going to happen.
Have them tell us what happened in the beginning.
Then we will think about these things,
and we will know how they will turn out.
Or tell us what will happen in the future.
23 Tell us what is coming next
so we will believe that you are gods.
Do something, whether it is good or bad,
and make us afraid.
24 You gods are less than nothing;
you can’t do anything.
Those who worship you should be hated.
25 “I have brought someone to come out of the north[a]
I have called by name a man from the east, and he knows me.
He walks on kings as if they were mud,
just as a potter walks on the clay.
26 Who told us about this before it happened?
Who told us ahead of time so we could say, ‘He was right’?
None of you told us anything;
none of you told us before it happened;
no one heard you tell about it.
27 I, the Lord, was the first one to tell Jerusalem that the people were coming home.
I sent a messenger to Jerusalem with the good news.
28 I look at the idols, but there is not one that can answer.
None of them can give advice;
none of them can answer my questions.
29 Look, all these idols are false.
They cannot do anything;
they are worth nothing.
The Lord’s Special Servant
42 “Here is my servant, the one I support.
He is the one I chose, and I am pleased with him.
I have put my Spirit upon him,
and he will bring justice to all nations.
2 He will not cry out or yell
or speak loudly in the streets.
3 He will not break a crushed blade of grass
or put out even a weak flame.
He will truly bring justice;
4 he will not lose hope or give up
until he brings justice to the world.
And people far away will trust his teachings.”
5 God, the Lord, said these things.
He created the skies and stretched them out.
He spread out the earth and everything on it.
He gives life to all people on earth,
to everyone who walks on the earth.
6 The Lord says, “I, the Lord, called you to do right,
and I will hold your hand
and protect you.
You will be the sign of my agreement with the people,
a light to shine for all people.
7 You will help the blind to see.
You will free those who are in prison,
and you will lead those who live in darkness out of their prison.
8 “I am the Lord. That is my name.
I will not give my glory to another;
I will not let idols take the praise that should be mine.
9 The things I said would happen have happened,
and now I tell you about new things.
Before those things happen,
I tell you about them.”
A Song of Praise to the Lord
10 Sing a new song to the Lord;
sing his praise everywhere on the earth.
Praise him, you people who sail on the seas and you animals who live in them.
Praise him, you people living in faraway places.
11 The deserts and their cities should praise him.
The settlements of Kedar should praise him.
The people living in Sela should sing for joy;
they should shout from the mountaintops.
12 They should give glory to the Lord.
People in faraway lands should praise him.
13 The Lord will march out like a strong soldier;
he will be excited like a man ready to fight a war.
He will shout out the battle cry
and defeat his enemies.
14 The Lord says, “For a long time I have said nothing;
I have been quiet and held myself back.
But now I will cry out
and strain like a woman giving birth to a child.
15 I will destroy the hills and mountains
and dry up all their plants.
I will make the rivers become dry land
and dry up the pools of water.
16 Then I will lead the blind along a way they never knew;
I will guide them along paths they have not known.
I will make the darkness become light for them,
and the rough ground smooth.
These are the things I will do;
I will not leave my people.
17 But those who trust in idols,
who say to their statues,
‘You are our gods’
will be rejected in disgrace.
Israel Refused to Listen to the Lord
18 “You who are deaf, hear me.
You who are blind, look and see.
19 No one is more blind than my servant Israel
or more deaf than the messenger I send.
No one is more blind than the person I own
or more blind than the servant of the Lord.
20 Israel, you have seen much, but you have not obeyed.
You hear, but you refuse to listen.”
21 The Lord made his teachings wonderful,
because he is good.
22 These people have been defeated and robbed.
They are trapped in pits
or locked up in prison.
Like robbers, enemies have taken them away,
and there is no one to save them.
Enemies carried them off,
and no one said, “Bring them back.”
23 Will any of you listen to this?
Will you listen carefully in the future?
24 Who let the people of Jacob be carried off?
Who let robbers take Israel away?
The Lord allowed this to happen,
because we sinned against him.
We did not live the way he wanted us to live
and did not obey his teaching.
25 So he became very angry with us
and brought terrible wars against us.
It was as if the people of Israel had fire all around them,
but they didn’t know what was happening.
It was as if they were burning,
but they didn’t pay any attention.
God Is Always with His People
43 Now this is what the Lord says.
He created you, people of Jacob;
he formed you, people of Israel.
He says, “Don’t be afraid, because I have saved you.
I have called you by name, and you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.
When you cross rivers, you will not drown.
When you walk through fire, you will not be burned,
nor will the flames hurt you.
3 This is because I, the Lord, am your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I gave Egypt to pay for you,
and I gave Cush and Seba to make you mine.
4 Because you are precious to me,
because I give you honor and love you,
I will give other people in your place;
I will give other nations to save your life.
5 Don’t be afraid, because I am with you.
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west.
6 I will tell the north: Give my people to me.
I will tell the south: Don’t keep my people in prison.
Bring my sons from far away
and my daughters from faraway places.
7 Bring to me all the people who are mine,
whom I made for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
Judah Is God’s Witness
8 Bring out the people who have eyes but don’t see
and those who have ears but don’t hear.
9 All the nations gather together,
and all the people come together.
Which of their gods said this would happen?
Which of their gods can tell what happened in the beginning?
Let them bring their witnesses to prove they were right.
Then others will say, “It is true.”
10 The Lord says, “You are my witnesses
and the servant I chose.
I chose you so you would know and believe me,
so you would understand that I am the true God.
There was no God before me,
and there will be no God after me.
11 I myself am the Lord;
I am the only Savior.
12 I myself have spoken to you, saved you, and told you these things.
It was not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses, and I am God,”
says the Lord.
13 “I have always been God.
No one can save people from my power;
when I do something, no one can change it.”
14 This is what the Lord, who saves you,
the Holy One of Israel, says:
“I will send armies to Babylon for you,
and I will knock down all its locked gates.
The Babylonians will shout their cries of sorrow.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,
the Creator of Israel, your King.”
God Will Save His People Again
16 This is what the Lord says.
He is the one who made a road through the sea
and a path through rough waters.
17 He is the one who defeated the chariots and horses
and the mighty armies.
They fell together and will never rise again.
They were destroyed as a flame is put out.
18 The Lord says, “Forget what happened before,
and do not think about the past.
19 Look at the new thing I am going to do.
It is already happening. Don’t you see it?
I will make a road in the desert
and rivers in the dry land.
20 Even the wild animals will be thankful to me—
the wild dogs and owls.
They will honor me when I put water in the desert
and rivers in the dry land
to give water to my people, the ones I chose.
21 The people I made
will sing songs to praise me.
22 “People of Jacob, you have not called to me;
people of Israel, you have become tired of me.
23 You have not brought me your sacrifices of sheep
nor honored me with your sacrifices.
I did not weigh you down with sacrifices to offer
or make you tired with incense to burn.
24 So you did not buy incense for me;
you did not freely bring me fat from your sacrifices.
Instead you have weighed me down with your many sins;
you have made me tired of your many wrongs.
25 “I, I am the One who erases all your sins, for my sake;
I will not remember your sins.
26 But you should remind me.
Let’s meet and decide what is right.
Tell what you have done and show you are right.
27 Your first father sinned,
and your leaders have turned against me.
28 So I will make your holy rulers unholy.
I will bring destruction on the people of Jacob,
and I will let Israel be insulted.”
The Lord Is the Only God
44 The Lord says, “People of Jacob, you are my servants. Listen to me!
People of Israel, I chose you.”
2 This is what the Lord says, who made you,
who formed you in your mother’s body,
who will help you:
“People of Jacob, my servants, don’t be afraid.
Israel, I chose you.
3 I will pour out water for the thirsty land
and make streams flow on dry land.
I will pour out my Spirit into your children
and my blessing on your descendants.
4 Your children will grow like a tree in the grass,
like poplar trees growing beside streams of water.
5 One person will say, ‘I belong to the Lord,’
and another will use the name Jacob.
Another will sign his name ‘I am the Lord’s,’
and another will use the name Israel.”
6 The Lord, the king of Israel,
is the Lord All-Powerful, who saves Israel.
This is what he says: “I am the beginning and the end.
I am the only God.
7 Who is a god like me?
That god should come and prove it.
Let him tell and explain all that has happened since I set up my ancient people.
He should also tell what will happen in the future.
8 Don’t be afraid! Don’t worry!
I have always told you what will happen.
You are my witnesses.
There is no other God but me.
I know of no other Rock; I am the only One.”
Idols Are Useless
9 Some people make idols, but they are worth nothing.
People treasure them, but they are useless.
Those people are witnesses for the statues, but those people cannot see.
They know nothing, so they will be ashamed.
10 Who made these gods?
Who made these useless idols?
11 The workmen who made them will be ashamed,
because they are only human.
If they all would come together,
they would all be ashamed and afraid.
12 One workman uses tools to heat iron,
and he works over hot coals.
With his hammer he beats the metal and makes a statue,
using his powerful arms.
But when he becomes hungry, he loses his power.
If he does not drink water, he becomes tired.
13 Another workman uses a line and a compass
to draw on the wood.
Then he uses his chisels to cut a statue
and his calipers to measure the statue.
In this way, the workman makes the wood look exactly like a person,
and this statue of a person sits in the house.
14 He cuts down cedars
or cypress or oak trees.
Those trees grew by their own power in the forest.
Or he plants a pine tree, and the rain makes it grow.
15 Then he burns the tree.
He uses some of the wood for a fire to keep himself warm.
He also starts a fire to bake his bread.
But he uses part of the wood to make a god, and then he worships it!
He makes the idol and bows down to it!
16 The man burns half of the wood in the fire.
He uses the fire to cook his meat,
and he eats the meat until he is full.
He also burns the wood to keep himself warm. He says,
“Good! Now I am warm. I can see because of the fire’s light.”
17 But he makes a statue from the wood that is left and calls it his god.
He bows down to it and worships it.
He prays to it and says,
“You are my god. Save me!”
18 Those people don’t know what they are doing. They don’t understand!
It is as if their eyes are covered so they can’t see.
Their minds don’t understand.
19 They have not thought about these things;
they don’t understand.
They have never thought to themselves,
“I burned half of the wood in the fire
and used the hot coals to bake my bread.
I cooked and ate my meat.
And I used the wood that was left to make this hateful thing.
I am worshiping a block of wood!”
20 He doesn’t know what he is doing;
his confused mind leads him the wrong way.
He cannot save himself
or say, “This statue I am holding is a false god.”
The Lord Is the True God
21 “People of Jacob, remember these things!
People of Israel, remember you are my servants.
I made you, and you are my servants.
So Israel, I will not forget you.
22 I have swept away your sins like a big cloud;
I have removed your sins like a cloud that disappears into the air.
Come back to me because I saved you.”
23 Skies, sing for joy because the Lord did great things!
Earth, shout for joy, even in your deepest parts!
Sing, you mountains, with thanks to God.
Sing, too, you trees in the forest!
The Lord saved the people of Jacob!
He showed his glory when he saved Israel.
24 This is what the Lord says, who saved you,
who formed you in your mother’s body:
“I, the Lord, made everything,
stretching out the skies by myself
and spreading out the earth all alone.
25 I show that the signs of the lying prophets are false;
I make fools of those who do magic.
I confuse even the wise;
they think they know much, but I make them look foolish.
26 I make the messages of my servants come true;
I make the advice of my messengers come true.
I say to Jerusalem,
‘People will live in you again!’
I say to the towns of Judah,
‘You will be built again!’
I say to Jerusalem’s ruins,
‘I will repair you.’
27 I tell the deep waters, ‘Become dry!
I will make your streams become dry!’
28 I say of Cyrus,[b] ‘He is my shepherd
and will do all that I want him to do.
He will say to Jerusalem, “You will be built again!”
He will tell the Temple, “Your foundations will be rebuilt.”’”
God Chooses Cyrus to Free Israel
45 This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, his appointed king:
“I hold your right hand
and will help you defeat nations
and take away other kings’ power.
I will open doors for you
so city gates will not stop you.
2 I will go before you
and make the mountains flat.
I will break down the bronze gates of the cities
and cut through their iron bars.
3 I will give you the wealth that is stored away
and the hidden riches
so you will know I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who calls you by name.
4 I do these things for my servants, the people of Jacob,
and for my chosen people, the Israelites.
Cyrus, I call you by name,
and I give you a title of honor even though you don’t know me.
5 I am the Lord. There is no other God;
I am the only God.
I will make you strong,
even though you don’t know me,
6 so that everyone will know
there is no other God.
From the east to the west they will know
I alone am the Lord.
7 I made the light and the darkness.
I bring peace, and I cause troubles.
I, the Lord, do all these things.
8 “Sky above, make victory fall like rain;
clouds, pour down victory.
Let the earth receive it,
and let salvation grow,
and let victory grow with it.
I, the Lord, have created it.
9 “How terrible it will be for those who argue with the God who made them.
They are like a piece of broken pottery among many pieces.
The clay does not ask the potter,
‘What are you doing?’
The thing that is made doesn’t say to its maker,
‘You have no hands.’
10 How terrible it will be for the child who says to his father,
‘Why are you giving me life?’
How terrible it will be for the child who says to his mother,
‘Why are you giving birth to me?’”
11 This is what the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker, says:
“You ask me about what will happen.
You question me about my children.
You give me orders about what I have made.
12 I made the earth
and all the people living on it.
With my own hands I stretched out the skies,
and I commanded all the armies in the sky.
13 I will bring Cyrus to do good things,
and I will make his work easy.
He will rebuild my city
and set my people free
without any payment or reward.
The Lord All-Powerful says this.”
14 The Lord says,
“The goods made in Egypt and Cush
and the tall people of Seba
will come to you
and will become yours.
The Sabeans will walk behind you,
coming along in chains.
They will bow down before you
and pray to you, saying,
‘God is with you,
and there is no other God.’”
15 God and Savior of Israel,
you are a God that people cannot see.
16 All the people who make idols will be put to great shame;
they will go off together in disgrace.
17 But Israel will be saved by the Lord,
and that salvation will continue forever.
Never again will Israel be put to shame.
18 The Lord created the heavens.
He is the God who formed the earth and made it.
He did not want it to be empty,
but he wanted life on the earth.
This is what the Lord says:
“I am the Lord. There is no other God.
19 I did not speak in secret
or hide my words in some dark place.
I did not tell the family of Jacob
to look for me in empty places.
I am the Lord, and I speak the truth;
I say what is right.
20 “You people who have escaped from other nations,
gather together and come before me;
come near together.
People who carry idols of wood don’t know what they are doing.
They pray to a god who cannot save them.
21 Tell these people to come to me.
Let them talk about these things together.
Who told you long ago that this would happen?
Who told about it long ago?
I, the Lord, said these things.
There is no other God besides me.
I am the only good God. I am the Savior.
There is no other God.
22 “All people everywhere,
follow me and be saved.
I am God. There is no other God.
23 I will make a promise by my own power,
and my promise is true;
what I say will not be changed.
I promise that everyone will bow before me
and will promise to follow me.
24 People will say about me, ‘Goodness and power
come only from the Lord.’”
Everyone who has been angry with him
will come to him and be ashamed.
25 But with the Lord’s help, the people of Israel
will be found to be good,
and they will praise him.
False Gods Are Useless
46 Bel and Nebo bow down.
Their idols are carried by animals.
The statues are only heavy loads that must be carried;
they only make people tired.
2 These gods will all bow down.
They cannot save themselves
but will all be carried away like prisoners.
3 “Family of Jacob, listen to me!
All you people from Israel who are still alive, listen!
I have carried you since you were born;
I have taken care of you from your birth.
4 Even when you are old, I will be the same.
Even when your hair has turned gray, I will take care of you.
I made you and will take care of you.
I will carry you and save you.
5 “Can you compare me to anyone?
No one is equal to me or like me.
6 Some people are rich with gold
and weigh their silver on the scales.
They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god.
Then they bow down and worship it.
7 They put it on their shoulders and carry it.
They set it in its place, and there it stands;
it cannot move from its place.
People may yell at it, but it cannot answer.
It cannot save them from their troubles.
8 “Remember this, and do not forget it!
Think about these things, you who turn against God.
9 Remember what happened long ago.
Remember that I am God, and there is no other God.
I am God, and there is no one like me.
10 From the beginning I told you what would happen in the end.
A long time ago I told you things that have not yet happened.
When I plan something, it happens.
What I want to do, I will do.
11 I am calling a man from the east to carry out my plan;
he will come like a hawk from a country far away.
I will make what I have said come true;
I will do what I have planned.
12 Listen to me, you stubborn people,
who are far from what is right.
13 I will soon do the things that are right.
I will bring salvation soon.
I will save Jerusalem
and bring glory to Israel.”
God Will Destroy Babylon
47 The Lord says, “City of Babylon, go down and sit in the dirt.
People of Babylon, sit on the ground.
You are no longer the ruler.
You will no longer be called
tender or beautiful.
2 You must use large stones to grind grain into flour.
Remove your veil and your nice skirts.
Uncover your legs and cross the rivers.
3 People will see your nakedness;
they will see your shame.
I will punish you;
I will punish every one of you.”
4 Our Savior is named the Lord All-Powerful;
he is the Holy One of Israel.
5 “Babylon, sit in darkness and say nothing.
You will no longer be called the queen of kingdoms.
6 I was angry with my people,
so I rejected those who belonged to me.
I gave them to you,
but you showed them no mercy.
You even made the old people
work very hard.
7 You said, ‘I will live forever
as the queen.’
But you did not think about these things
or consider what would happen.
8 “Now, listen, you lover of pleasure.
You think you are safe.
You tell yourself,
‘I am the only important person.
I will never be a widow
or lose my children.’
9 Two things will happen to you suddenly, in a single day.
You will lose your children and your husband.
These things will truly happen to you,
in spite of all your magic,
in spite of your powerful tricks.
10 You do evil things, but you feel safe
and say, ‘No one sees what I do.’
Your wisdom and knowledge
have fooled you.
You say to yourself,
‘I am God, and no one is equal to me.’
11 But troubles will come to you,
and you will not know how to stop them.
Disaster will fall on you,
and you will not be able to keep it away.
You will be destroyed quickly;
you will not even see it coming.
12 “Keep on using your tricks
and doing all your magic
that you have used since you were young.
Maybe they will help you;
maybe you will be able to scare someone.
13 You are tired of the advice you have received.
So let those who study the sky—
those who tell the future by looking at the stars and the new moons—
let them save you from what is about to happen to you.
14 But they are like straw;
fire will quickly burn them up.
They cannot save themselves
from the power of the fire.
They are not like coals that give warmth
nor like a fire that you may sit beside.
15 You have worked with these people,
and they have been with you since you were young,
but they will not be able to help you.
Everyone will go his own way,
and there will be no one left to save you.”
God Controls the Future
48 The Lord says, “Family of Jacob, listen to me.
You are called Israel,
and you come from the family of Judah.
You swear by the Lord’s name
and praise the God of Israel,
but you are not honest or sincere.
2 You call yourselves people of the holy city,
and you depend on the God of Israel,
who is named the Lord All-Powerful.
3 Long ago I told you what would happen.
I said these things and made them known;
suddenly I acted, and these things happened.
4 I knew you were stubborn;
your neck was like an iron muscle,
and your head was like bronze.
5 So a long time ago I told you about these things;
I told you about them before they happened
so you couldn’t say, ‘My idols did this,
and my wooden and metal statues made these things happen.’
6 “You heard and saw everything that happened,
so you should tell this news to others.
Now I will tell you about new things,
hidden things that you don’t know yet.
7 These things are happening now, not long ago;
you have not heard about them before today.
So you cannot say, ‘We already knew about that.’
8 But you have not heard me; you have not understood.
Even long ago you did not listen to me.
I knew you would surely turn against me;
you have fought against me since you were born.
9 But for my own sake I will be patient.
People will praise me for not becoming angry
and destroying you.
10 I have made you pure, but not by fire, as silver is made pure.
I have purified you by giving you troubles.
11 I do this for myself, for my own sake.
I will not let people speak evil against me,
and I will not let some god take my glory.
Israel Will Be Free
12 “People of Jacob, listen to me.
People of Israel, I have called you to be my people.
I am God;
I am the beginning and the end.
13 I made the earth with my own hands.
With my right hand I spread out the skies.
When I call them,
they come together before me.”
14 All of you, come together and listen.
None of the gods said these things would happen.
The Lord has chosen someone
to attack the Babylonians;
he will carry out his wishes against Babylon.
15 “I have spoken; I have called him.[c]
I have brought him, and I will make him successful.
16 Come to me and listen to this.
From the beginning I have spoken openly.
From the time it began, I was there.”
Now, the Lord God
has sent me with his Spirit.
17 This is what the Lord, who saves you,
the Holy One of Israel, says:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you to do what is good,
who leads you in the way you should go.
18 If you had obeyed me,
you would have had peace like a full-flowing river.
Good things would have flowed to you like the waves of the sea.
19 You would have had many children,
as many as the grains of sand.
They would never have died out
nor been destroyed.”
20 My people, leave Babylon!
Run from the Babylonians!
Tell this news with shouts of joy to the people;
spread it everywhere on earth.
Say, “The Lord has saved his servants, the people of Jacob.”
21 They did not become thirsty when he led them through the deserts.
He made water flow from a rock for them.
He split the rock,
and water flowed out.
22 “There is no peace for evil people,” says the Lord.
God Calls His Special Servant
49 All of you people in faraway places, listen to me.
Listen, all you nations far away.
Before I was born, the Lord called me to serve him.
The Lord named me while I was still in my mother’s womb.
2 He made my tongue like a sharp sword.
He hid me in the shadow of his hand.
He made me like a sharp arrow.
He hid me in the holder for his arrows.
3 He told me, “Israel, you are my servant.
I will show my glory through you.”
4 But I said, “I have worked hard for nothing;
I have used all my power, but I did nothing useful.
But the Lord will decide what my work is worth;
God will decide my reward.”
5 The Lord made me in the body of my mother
to be his servant,
to lead the people of Jacob back to him
so that Israel might be gathered to him.
The Lord will honor me,
and I will get my strength from my God.
6 Now he told me,
“You are an important servant to me
to bring back the tribes of Jacob,
to bring back the people of Israel who are left alive.
But, more importantly, I will make you a light for all nations
to show people all over the world the way to be saved.”
7 The Lord who saves you
is the Holy One of Israel.
He speaks to the one who is hated by the people,
to the servant of rulers.
This is what he says: “Kings will see you and stand to honor you;
great leaders will bow down before you,
because the Lord can be trusted.
He is the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
The Day of Salvation
8 This is what the Lord says:
“At the right time I will hear your prayers.
On the day of salvation I will help you.
I will protect you,
and you will be the sign of my agreement with the people.
You will bring back the people to the land
and give the land that is now ruined back to its owners.
9 You will tell the prisoners, ‘Come out of your prison.’
You will tell those in darkness, ‘Come into the light.’
The people will eat beside the roads,
and they will find food even on bare hills.
10 They will not be hungry or thirsty.
Neither the hot sun nor the desert wind will hurt them.
The God who comforts them will lead them
and guide them by springs of water.
11 I will make my mountains into roads,
and the roads will be raised up.
12 Look, people are coming to me from far away,
from the north and from the west,
from Aswan in southern Egypt.”
13 Heavens and earth, be happy.
Mountains, shout with joy,
because the Lord comforts his people
and will have pity on those who suffer.
Jerusalem and Her Children
14 But Jerusalem said, “The Lord has left me;
the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 The Lord answers, “Can a woman forget the baby she nurses?
Can she feel no kindness for the child to which she gave birth?
Even if she could forget her children,
I will not forget you.
16 See, I have written your name on my hand.
Jerusalem, I always think about your walls.
17 Your children will soon return to you,
and the people who defeated you and destroyed you will leave.
18 Look up and look around you.
All your children are gathering to return to you.”
The Lord says, “As surely as I live,
your children will be like jewels
that a bride wears proudly.
19 “You were destroyed and defeated,
and your land was made useless.
But now you will have more people than the land can hold,
and those people who destroyed you will be far away.
20 Children were born to you while you were sad,
but they will say to you,
‘This place is too small for us.
Give us a bigger place to live.’
21 Then you will say to yourself,
‘Who gave me all these children?
I was sad and lonely,
defeated and separated from my people.
So who reared these children?
I was left all alone.
Where did all these children come from?’”
22 This is what the Lord God says:
“See, I will lift my hand to signal the nations;
I will raise my banner for all the people to see.
Then they will bring your sons back to you in their arms,
and they will carry your daughters on their shoulders.
23 Kings will teach your children,
and daughters of kings will take care of them.
They will bow down before you
and kiss the dirt at your feet.
Then you will know I am the Lord.
Anyone who trusts in me will not be disappointed.”
24 Can the wealth a soldier wins in war be taken away from him?
Can a prisoner be freed from a powerful soldier?
25 This is what the Lord says:
“The prisoners will be taken from the strong soldiers.
What the soldiers have taken will be saved.
I will fight your enemies,
and I will save your children.
26 I will force those who trouble you to eat their own flesh.
Their own blood will be the wine that makes them drunk.
Then everyone will know
I, the Lord, am the One who saves you;
I am the Powerful One of Jacob who saves you.”
Israel Was Punished for Its Sin
50 This is what the Lord says:
“People of Israel, you say I divorced your mother.
Then where is the paper that proves it?
Or do you think I sold you
to pay a debt?
Because of the evil things you did, I sold you.
Because of the times she turned against me, your mother was sent away.
2 I came home and found no one there;
I called, but no one answered.
Do you think I am not able to save you?
Do I not have the power to save you?
Look, I need only to shout and the sea becomes dry.
I change rivers into a desert,
and their fish rot because there is no water;
they die of thirst.
3 I can make the skies dark;
I can make them black like clothes of sadness.”
God’s Servant Obeys
4 The Lord God gave me the ability to teach
so that I know what to say to make the weak strong.
Every morning he wakes me.
He teaches me to listen like a student.
5 The Lord God helps me learn,
and I have not turned against him
nor stopped following him.
6 I offered my back to those who beat me.
I offered my cheeks to those who pulled my beard.
I won’t hide my face from them
when they make fun of me and spit at me.
7 The Lord God helps me,
so I will not be ashamed.
I will be determined,
and I know I will not be disgraced.
8 He shows that I am innocent, and he is close to me.
So who can accuse me?
If there is someone, let us go to court together.
If someone wants to prove I have done wrong,
he should come and tell me.
9 Look! It is the Lord God who helps me.
So who can prove me guilty?
Look! All those who try will become useless like old clothes;
moths will eat them.
10 Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys his servant?
That person may walk in the dark
and have no light.
Then let him trust in the Lord
and yet depend on his God.
11 But instead, some of you want to light your own fires
and make your own light.
So, go, walk in the light of your fires,
and trust your own light to guide you.
But this is what you will receive from me:
You will lie down in a place of pain.
Jerusalem Will Be Saved
51 The Lord says, “Listen to me,
those of you who try to live right and follow the Lord.
Look at the rock from which you were cut;
look at the stone quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look at Abraham, your ancestor,
and Sarah, who gave birth to your ancestors.
Abraham had no children when I called him,
but I blessed him and gave him many descendants.
3 So the Lord will comfort Jerusalem;
he will show mercy to those who live in her ruins.
He will change her deserts into a garden like Eden;
he will make her empty lands like the garden of the Lord.
People there will be very happy;
they will give thanks and sing songs.
4 “My people, listen to me;
my nation, pay attention to me.
I will give the people my teachings,
and my decisions will be like a light to all people.
5 I will soon show that I do what is right.
I will soon save you.
I will use my power and judge all nations.
All the faraway places are waiting for me;
they wait for my power to help them.
6 Look up to the heavens.
Look around you at the earth below.
The skies will disappear like clouds of smoke.
The earth will become useless like old clothes,
and its people will die like flies.
But my salvation will continue forever,
and my goodness will never end.
7 “You people who know what is right should listen to me;
you people who follow my teachings should hear what I say.
Don’t be afraid of the evil things people say,
and don’t be upset by their insults.
8 Moths will eat those people as if they were clothes,
and worms will eat them as if they were wool.
But my goodness will continue forever,
and my salvation will continue from now on.”
9 Wake up, wake up, and use your strength,
powerful Lord.
Wake up as you did in the old times,
as you did a long time ago.
With your own power, you cut Rahab into pieces
and killed that sea monster.
10 You dried up the sea
and the waters of the deep ocean.
You made the deepest parts of the sea into a road
for your people to cross over and be saved.
11 The people the Lord has freed will return
and enter Jerusalem with joy.
Their happiness will last forever.
They will have joy and gladness,
and all sadness and sorrow will be gone far away.
12 The Lord says, “I am the one who comforts you.
So why should you be afraid of people, who die?
Why should you fear people who die like the grass?
13 Have you forgotten the Lord who made you,
who stretched out the skies
and made the earth?
Why are you always afraid
of those angry people who trouble you
and who want to destroy?
But where are those angry people now?
14 People in prison will soon be set free;
they will not die in prison,
and they will have enough food.
15 I am the Lord your God,
who stirs the sea and makes the waves roar.
My name is the Lord All-Powerful.
16 I will give you the words I want you to say.
I will cover you with my hands and protect you.
I made the heavens and the earth,
and I say to Jerusalem, ‘You are my people.’”
God Punished Israel
17 Awake! Awake!
Get up, Jerusalem.
The Lord was very angry with you;
your punishment was like wine in a cup.
The Lord made you drink that wine;
you drank the whole cup until you stumbled.
18 Jerusalem had many people,
but there was not one to lead her.
Of all the people who grew up there,
no one was there to guide her.
19 Troubles came to you two by two,
but no one will feel sorry for you.
There was ruin and disaster, great hunger and fighting.
No one can comfort you.
20 Your people have become weak.
They fall down and lie on every street corner,
like animals caught in a net.
They have felt the full anger of the Lord
and have heard God’s angry shout.
21 So listen to me, poor Jerusalem,
you who are drunk but not from wine.
22 Your God will defend his people.
This is what the Lord your God says:
“The punishment I gave you is like a cup of wine.
You drank it and could not walk straight.
But I am taking that cup of my anger away from you,
and you will never be punished by my anger again.
23 I will now give that cup of punishment to those who gave you pain,
who told you,
‘Bow down so we can walk over you.’
They made your back like dirt for them to walk on;
you were like a street for them to travel on.”
Jerusalem Will Be Saved
52 Wake up, wake up, Jerusalem! Become strong!
Be beautiful again,
holy city of Jerusalem.
The people who do not worship God and who are not pure
will not enter you again.
2 Jerusalem, you once were a prisoner.
Now shake off the dust and stand up.
Jerusalem, you once were a prisoner.
Now free yourself from the chains around your neck.
3 This is what the Lord says:
“You were not sold for a price,
so you will be saved without cost.”
4 This is what the Lord God says:
“First my people went down to Egypt to live.
Later Assyria made them slaves.
5 “Now see what has happened,” says the Lord.
“Another nation has taken away my people for nothing.
This nation who rules them makes fun of me,” says the Lord.
“All day long they speak against me.
6 This has happened so my people will know who I am,
and so, on that future day, they will know
that I am the one speaking to them.
It will really be me.”
7 How beautiful is the person
who comes over the mountains to bring good news,
who announces peace
and brings good news,
who announces salvation
and says to Jerusalem,
“Your God is King.”
8 Listen! Your guards are shouting.
They are all shouting for joy!
They all will see with their own eyes
when the Lord returns to Jerusalem.
9 Jerusalem, your buildings are destroyed now,
but shout and rejoice together,
because the Lord has comforted his people.
He has saved Jerusalem.
10 The Lord will show his holy power
to all the nations.
Then everyone on earth
will see the salvation of our God.
11 You people, leave, leave; get out of Babylon!
Touch nothing that is unclean.
You men who carry the Lord’s things used in worship,
leave there and make yourselves pure.
12 You will not be forced to leave Babylon quickly;
you will not be forced to run away,
because the Lord will go before you,
and the God of Israel will guard you from behind.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.