Chapter XLIV: Part 44

22. And (yet) it (is) a people spoiled and robbed, ensnared in holes all of them, and in houses of confinement they are hidden. They have become a spoil, and there is none delivering; a prey, and there is none saying, Restore! 23. Who among you will give ear to this, and hearken and hear for the time to come? 24. Who has given Jacob for a prey, and Israel to spoilers? Hast not Jehovah, against whom we have sinned? and they were not willing in His ways to walk, and did not hearken to His law. 25. And He poured upon him fury, (even) His wrath and the violence of war: and it set him on fire round about, and he knew it not; and it burned him, and he will not lay it to heart.

XLIII.--[Israel is the peculiar people of Jehovah, cherished and favoured at the expense of other nations, vers. 1-4. But these are one day to become partakers of the same advantages, vers. 5-9. The proofs of the Divine protection are afforded by the history of Israel, vers. 10-13. One of the most remarkable, yet future, is the downfall of Babylon and the liberation of the exiles, vers. 14, 15. An analogous example was the deliverance from Egypt, vers. 16, 17. But both these instances shall be forgotten in comparison with the great change which awaits the Church hereafter, vers. 18-21. Of all these distinguishing favours none was owing to the merit of the people, but all to the sovereign grace of God, vers. 22-25. The people were not only destitute of merit, but deserving of punishment, which they had experienced and must experience again, vers. 26-28.]

1. And now, thus saith Jehovah, thy Creator, O Jacob, and thy Former, O Israel, Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called by thy name, thou art Mine. 2. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be scorched, and the flame shall not burn thee. 3. For I, Jehovah, thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour, have given (as) thy ransom Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba, instead of thee. 4. Since thou wast precious in My eyes; thou hast been honoured, and I have loved thee, and will give men instead of thee, and nations instead of thy life.

5. Fear not, for I (am) with thee; from the east I will make thy seed come, and from the west I will gather thee; 6. I will say to the north, Give, and to the south, Withhold not, let My sons come from far, and My daughters from the ends of the earth; 7. Every one called by My name, and for My glory I have created him; I have formed him yea, I have made him. 8. He hath brought out the blind people, and there are eyes (to them), and the deaf, and (there are) ears to them. 9. All the nations are gathered together, and the people are to be assembled. Who among them will declare this, and let us hear the first things? Let them produce their witnesses and be justified; and (if they cannot do this) let them hear (My witnesses), and say, (it is) the truth.

10. Ye are My witnesses saith Jehovah, and My servant whom I have chosen, that ye may know and believe Me, and may understand that I am He; before Me was not formed a god, and after Me there shall not be; 11. I, I, Jehovah, and beside Me there is no Saviour. 12. I have told and have saved and have declared, and there is not among you (any) stranger; and ye are My witnesses, saith Jehovah, and I (am) God. 13. Even from the day I am He, and there is no one freeing from My hand; I will do, and who will undo it?

14. Thus saith Jehovah, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down fugitives all of them; and the Chaldeans, in the ships their shout; 15. I, Jehovah, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.

16. Thus saith Jehovah, the (One) giving in the sea a way, and in mighty waters a path; 17. the (One) bringing out chariot and horse, force and strong; together shall they lie, they shall not rise; they are extinct, like tow they are quenched.

18. Remember not former things, and old things consider not. 19. Behold I (am) doing (something) new, it is yet to sprout; do you not know it? Yes, I will place in the wilderness a way, in the desert streams. 20. The living creature of the field shall honour Me, jackass and ostriches; because I have given in the wilderness waters, and streams in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen. 21. This people I have formed for Myself; My praise shall they recount.

22. And not Me hast thou called, O Jacob; for thou hast been weary of Me, O Israel. 23. Thou hast not brought to Me the sheep of thy burnt-offering, and (with) thy sacrifices thou hast not honoured Me. I have not made thee serve with oblations, and I have not wearied thee with incense. 24. Thou hast not brought for Me sweet cane with honey, and with the fat of thy sacrifices thou hast not drenched Me; thou hast only made Me serve with thy sins, and wearied Me with thine iniquities. 25. I, I am He blotting out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and thy sins I will not remember.

26. Remind Me; let us plead together: state (thy case) that thou mayest be justified. 27. Thy first father sinned, and thy interpreters rebelled against Me. 28. And I will profane the holy chiefs, and will give up Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.

XLIV.--[The chapter opens, like the fortieth and forty-third, with cheering promises to Israel, followed by reasons for confiding in them, drawn from the wisdom, power, and goodness of Jehovah. The specific promise, which constitutes the theme or basis of the prophecy, is that of abundant spiritual influences and their fruits; not only internal prosperity, but large accessions from without, vers. 1-5. The pledge for the fulfilment of this promise is afforded by the proofs of God's omniscience, as contrasted with all other gods, vers. 6-9. The folly of image-worship is then established by two arguments. The first is, that idols are themselves the creatures of mere men, vers. 10-14. The other is, that they are not only made, and made by man, but made of the very same materials applied to the most trivial domestic uses, vers. 15-20. From this demonstration of the power of Jehovah to perform His promise we are now brought back to the promise itself, vers. 21-24. This is again confirmed by an appeal to God's creative power, and illustrated by the raising up of Cyrus as a deliverer to Israel, vers. 25-28.]

1. And now hear, Jacob My servant, and Israel whom I have chosen. 2. Thus saith Jehovah, Thy Maker and thy Former from the womb will help thee; fear not, My servant Jacob, and Jeshurun whom I have chosen. 3. For I will pour waters upon the thirsty, and flowing (waters) on the dry (land); I will pour My Spirit on thy seed, and My blessing on thine offspring. 4. And they shall spring up in the midst of the grass, like willows by the water-courses. 5. They shall say, To Jehovah I (belong); and this shall call on the name of Jacob; and this shall inscribe with his hand, To Jehovah, and with the name of Israel shall entitle.

6. Thus saith Jehovah, King of Israel, and his Redeemer Jehovah of hosts; I (am) first, and I (am) last, and without Me there is no God. 7. And who, like Me, will call, and tell it, and state it to Me, since I placed the ancient people; and coming things and things which are to come will tell to them? 8. Quake not and fear not; have I not let thee hear and told thee, and are ye not My witnesses? Is there a God without Me? I know not (any). 9. The image-carvers all of them are vanity, and their desired ones are worthless; and their witnesses themselves will not see and will not know, that they may be ashamed.

10. Who formed the god and cast the image to no use? 11. Lo, all his fellows shall be ashamed, and the workmen themselves are of men; they shall assemble all of them, they shall stand, they shall tremble, they shall be ashamed together. 12. He has carved (iron) with a graver, and has wrought (it) in the coals, and with his hammer he will shape it. Besides, he is hungry and has no strength, he has not drunk water and is faint. 13. He has carved wood, he has stretched a line, he will mark it with the awl, he will form it with the chisel, and with the compass he will mark it, and then he will make it after the model of a man, like the beauty of mankind, to dwell in a house. 14. To hew him down cedars, and (now) he has taken a cypress and an oak--and has raised it for himself among the trees of the forest--he has planted a pine, and the rain shall increase (it). 15. And it shall be to man for fuel, and he has taken of them and warmed himself; yea, he will kindle and bake bread; yea, he will form a god and fall prostrate; he has made it a graven image and bowed down to them. 16. Half of it he hath burned in the fire; on half of it he will eat flesh, he will roast and be filled; yea, he will warm himself and say, Aha, I am warm, I have seen fire. 17. And the rest of it he has made into a god, into his graven image; he will bow down to it, and will worship, and will pray to it, and say, Deliver me, for thou (art) my god. 18. They have not known, and they will not understand, for He hath smeared their eyes from seeing, their hearts from doing wisely. 19. And he will not bring it home to himself, and there (is) not knowledge, and (there is) not understanding to say, Half of it I have burned in the fire, and have also baked bread on its coals; I will roast flesh and eat, and the rest of it I will make to (be) an abomination; to a log of wood I will cast myself down. 20. Feeding on ashes, (his) heart is deceived; it has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself; and he will not say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

21. Remember these (things), Jacob and Israel, for thou art My servant; I have formed thee, a servant unto Me art thou; Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten by Me. 22. I have blotted out, like a cloud, thy transgressions, and like a vapour, thy sins; return to Me, for I have redeemed thee. 23. Sing, O heavens, for Jehovah hath done (it); shout, ye lower parts of the earth; break forth, ye mountains, Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob, and in Israel He will glorify Himself. 24. Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, and thy Former from the womb, I, Jehovah, making all, stretching the heavens alone, spreading the earth by Myself.

25. Breaking the signs of babblers, and diviners He will madden; turning sages back, and their knowledge He will stultify; 26. confirming the word of His servant, and the counsel of His messengers He will fulfil; the (One) saying as to Jerusalem, She shall be inhabited, and as the cities of Judah, They shall be built, and the ruins will I raise; 27. the (One) saying to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy floods; 28. the (One) saying as to Cyrus, My shepherd, and all My pleasure he will fulfil, and saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built, and (to) the temple, Thou shalt be founded.

XLV.--[The chapter opens, in direct continuation of the forty-fourth, with a further prophecy of Cyrus and of his successors, vers. 1-3. These are then referred to the power of God and His design of mercy towards His people, so that all misgivings or distrust must be irrational and impious, vers. 4-13. Then leaving Cyrus out of view, the prophet turns his eyes to the nations, and declares that they must be subdued, but only in order to be blessed and saved, which is declared to have been the Divine purpose, and revealed as such from the beginning, vers 14-25.]

1. Thus saith Jehovah to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held fast, to tread down before him nations, and the loins of kings I will loose; to open before him double doors, and gates shall not be shut. 2. I will go before thee, and uneven places will I level; doors of brass I will break, and bars of iron I will cut. 3. And I will give thee treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, in order that thou mayest know that I Jehovah, the (One) calling thee by name, am the God of Israel.

4. For the sake of My servant Jacob and Israel My chosen, therefore will I call thee by thy name: I will give thee a title, and thou hast not known Me. 5. I am Jehovah, and there is no other; except Me there is no God; I will gird thee, and thou hast not known Me; 6. that they may know, from the rising of the sun to the west, that there is none without Me; I am Jehovah, and there is no other. 7. Forming light and creating darkness, making peace and creating evil, I (am) Jehovah doing all these things. 8. Distil, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds pour out righteousness; let the earth open, and let salvation and righteousness grow, let him bring (them) forth together. I Jehovah have created it. 9. Woe to him striving with his Maker--a potsherd with potsherds of the earth. Shall clay say to its former, What art thou doing? and thy work, He has no hands? 10. Woe to him saying to a father, What wilt thou beget? and to a mother, What wilt thou bring forth? 11. Thus saith Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel and his Maker, Ask Me (of) the things to come; concerning My sins and concerning the work of My hands, ye may command Me. 12. I make the earth, and man upon it I created; I, My hands, spread the heavens, and all their host commanded. 13. I, and no other, raised him up in righteousness, and all his ways will I make straight; (it is) he (that) shall build My city, and My captivity he will send (home), not for reward, and not for hire, saith Jehovah of hosts.

14. Thus saith Jehovah, The toil of Egypt, and the gain of Cush, and the Sebaim men of measure unto thee shall pass, and to thee shall they belong, after thee shall they go, in chains shall they pass over; and unto thee shall they bow themselves, to thee shall they pray, saying, Only in thee (is) God, and there is none besides, no (other) God. 15. Verily Thou art a God hiding Thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour! 16. They are ashamed and also confounded all of them together, they are gone away in confusion--the carvers of images. 17. Israel is saved in Jehovah (with) an everlasting salvation; ye shall not be ashamed, and ye shall not be confounded for ever. 18. For thus saith Jehovah, the Creator of the heavens--He is God--the Former of the earth and its Maker--He established it--not to be empty did He create it--to be inhabited He formed it--I am Jehovah, and there is none besides. 19. Not in secret have I spoken, in a dark place of the earth; I have not said to the seed of Jacob, In vain seek ye Me. I (am) Jehovah, speaking truth, declaring right things. 20. Gather yourselves and come; draw near together, ye escaped of the nations. They know not, those carrying the wood, their graven image, and praying to a god (who) cannot save. 21. Bring forward and bring near! Yea, let them consult together. Who hath caused this to be heard of old, since thou declared it! Have not I Jehovah? and there is no other God besides Me; a righteous and a saving God, there is none besides Me. 22. Turn unto Me and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none besides. 23. By Myself I have sworn; the word is gone out of a mouth of righteousness, and shall not return, that unto Me shall bow every knee, shall swear every tongue. 24. Only in Jehovah have I, says he, righteousness and strength; unto Him shall he come, and all that were incensed at Him shall be ashamed. 25. In Jehovah shall be justified and boast themselves all the seed of Israel.

XLVI.--[In conformation of the general threats and promises with which chap. xlv. is wound up, the prophet now exhibits the particular case of the Babylonian idols, as a single instance chosen from the whole range of past and future history. They are described as fallen and gone away into captivity, wholly unable to protect their worshippers or save themselves, vers. 1, 2. With these he then contrasts Jehovah's constant care of Israel in times past and in time to come, vers. 3, 4. The contrast is carried out by another description of the origin and impotence of idols, vers. 5-7, and another assertion of Jehovah's sole Divinity, as proved by His knowledge and control of the future, and by the raising up of Cyrus in particular, vers. 8-11. This brings him back to the same solemn warning of approaching judgments, and the same alternative of life and death, with which the foregoing chapter closes, vers. 12, 13.]

1. Bel is bowed down, Nebo stooping; their images are (consigned) to the beasts and to the cattle. Your burdens are packed up (as) a load to the weary (beast). 2. They stoop, they bow together; they cannot save the load; themselves are gone into captivity.

3. Hearken unto Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, those borne from the belly, those carried from the womb. 4. And to old age I am He, and to grey hair I will bear (you); I have done it, and I will carry and I will bear and save (you).

5. To whom will ye liken Me, and equal and compare Me, that we may be like? 6. The prodigals will weigh gold from the bag, and silver with the rod; they will hire a gilder, and he will make it a god: they will bow down, yea, they will fall prostrate. 7. They will lift him on the shoulder, they will carry him, they will set him in his place, and he will stand (there); from his place he will not move; yea, one will cry to him, and he will not answer, from his distress he will not save him.

8. Remember this, and show yourselves men; bring it home, ye apostates, (to) your mind. 9. Remember former things of old, for I am the Mighty, and there is no other God, and there is none like Me, 10. declaring from the first the last, and from ancient time the things which are not (yet) done, saying, My counsel shall stand and all My pleasure I will do. 11. Calling from the east a bird of prey, from a land of distance the man of His counsel; I have both said and will also bring it to pass, I have formed (the plan) and will also do it.

12. Hearken to Me, ye stout of heart, those far from righteousness. 13. I have brought near My righteousness, it shall not be far off; and My salvation, it shall not tarry; and I will place in Zion My salvation, to Israel My glory.

XLVII.--[Having exemplified his general doctrine, as to God's ability and purpose to do justice both to friends and foes, by exhibiting the downfall of the Babylonian idols, Isaiah now attains the same end by predicting the downfall of Babylon itself, and of the state to which it gave its name. Under the figure of a royal virgin, she is threatened with extreme degradation and exposure, vers 1-3. Connecting this event with Israel and Israel's God, as the great themes which it was intended to illustrate, he predicts the fall of the empire more distinctly, ver. 5, and assigns as a reason the oppression of God's people, ver. 6, pride and self-confidence, ver. 7-9, especially reliance upon human wisdom and upon superstitious arts, all which would prove entirely insufficient to prevent the great catastrophe, vers. 10-15.]

1. Come down! Sit on the dust, virgin daughter of Babel! There is no throne, daughter of Chasdim! For thou shalt not continue to be called tender and delicate. 2. Take millstones and grind meal! Remove thy veil, lift up thy skirt, uncover the leg, cross streams! 3. Let thy nakedness be uncovered, likewise let thy shame be seen. I will take vengeance; I shall encounter no man.

4. Our Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts (is) His name, the Holy One of Israel.

5. Sit in silence and go into darkness, daughter of Chasdim! For thou shalt not continue to be called mistress of kingdoms. 6. I was wroth against My people; I profaned My heritage; and I gave them into thy hand. Thou didst not show them mercy; on the ancient thou didst aggravate thy yoke exceedingly; 7. and thou saidst, For ever I shall be a mistress (of kingdoms); until (at last) thou didst not lay these things to heart, thou didst not remember the end of it. 8. And now, hear this, thou voluptuous one, the (one) sitting in security, the (one) saying in her heart, I (am) and none besides; I shall not sit (as) a widow, and I shall not know the loss of children; 9. and they shall come to thee,--these two suddenly, loss of children and widowhood in the midst of the multitude of thy enchantments, in the midst of the multitude of thy spells. 10. And (yet) thou art secure in thy wickedness; thou hast said, there is no one seeing me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it has seduced thee; and thou hast said in thy heart, I am, and there is no other. 11. And so there cometh upon thee evil,--thou shalt not know how to charm it away; and there shall fall upon thee ruin,--thou shalt not be able to avert it; and there shall come upon thee suddenly a crash,--thou shalt not know (it). 12. Persist now in thy spells and in the abundance of thy charms, in which thou hast wearied thyself; perhaps thou wilt be able to succeed, perhaps thou wilt grow strong. 13. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsel. Now let them stand and save thee, the dividers of the heavens, the star-gazers, making known at the new-moon what shall come upon thee. 14. Behold, they are like stubble, fire has burned them; they cannot deliver themselves from the hand of the flame; (this fire) is not a coal (at which) to warm one's self; a fire to sit before. 15. Thus are they to thee; and so are (even) thy traders: each to his own quarter, straight before him, they wander; there is no one saving thee.

XLVIII.--[Although Israel is God's chosen and peculiar people, he is in himself unworthy of the honour and unfaithful to the trust, vers. 1, 2. Former predictions had been uttered expressly to prevent his ascribing the event to other gods, vers. 3-5. For the same reason new predictions will be uttered now, of events which have never been distinctly foretold, vers. 6-8. God's continued favour to His people has no reference to merit upon their part, but is the fruit of His own sovereign mercy, and intended to promote His own designs, vers. 9-11. He again asserts His own exclusive deity, as proved by the creation of the world, by the prediction of events still future, and especially by the raising up of Cyrus, as a promised instrument to execute His purpose, vers 12-16. The sufferings of Israel are a fruit of his own sin, but his prosperity and glory, of God's sovereign grace, vers. 17-19. The book closes as it opened, with a promise of deliverance from exile, accompanied in this case by a solemn limitation of the promise to its proper objects, vers. 20-22.]

1. Here this, O house of Jacob, the man called by the name of Israel, and from the waters of Judah they have come out; those swearing by the name of Jehovah, and (who) of the God of Israel makes mention, not in truth and not in righteousness. 2. Nor from the Holy City they are called, and upon the God of Israel rely; Jehovah of hosts is His name.

3. The former things since then I declared, and out of My mouth they went forth, and I cause them to be heard; suddenly do I do (them), and they come to pass. 4. Because I know that thou art hard, and an iron sinew (is) thy neck, and thy forehead brass, 5. therefore I told thee long ago; before it comes I have let thee hear (it), lest thou say, My idol did them, my graven image and my molten image ordered them.

6. Thou has heard the (prediction), see all of it accomplished. And ye, will ye not predict (something)? I have made thee to hear new things from now, and (things) kept (in reserve), which thou hast not known. 7. Now they are created, and not of old; before this day thou hast never heard them, lest thou shouldst say, Behold, I knew them. 8. Nay, thou didst not hear; nay, thou didst not know; likewise of old thine ear was not opened; I knew thou wouldst act very treacherously, and Apostate from the womb wast thou called.

9. For My name's sake I will defer My anger, and (for) My praise I will restrain (it) towards thee, so as not to cut thee off. 10. Behold, I have melted thee, and not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. 11. For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do (it)--for how is it profaned!--and My honour to another will I not give.

12. Hearken unto Me, O Jacob, and Israel My called; I am He, I am the First, also I the Last. 13. Also My hand founded the earth, and My right hand spread the heavens; I call to them, and they will stand up together. 14. Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear! Who among them hath predicted these things? Jehovah loves him; He will do His pleasure in Babylon, and His arm (shall be upon) the Chaldees. 15. I, I have spoken; I have also called him; I have brought him (forth), and he prospers in his way. 16. Draw near unto me! Hear this; not from the beginning in secret have I spoken; from the time of its being, I was there; and now the Lord Jehovah hath sent me, and His Spirit.

17. Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am Jehovah thy God, teaching thee to profit, making thee to tread in the way thou shalt go. 18. Oh that thou hadst hearkened to My commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea; 19. then should have been like the sand thy seed, and the offspring of thy bowels like (the offspring of) its bowels; his name should not be cut off from before Me.

20. Go forth from Babel! Flee ye from the Chaldeans! With the voice of joy tell this, cause it to be heard, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, Jehovah hath redeemed His servant Jacob. 21. And they thirsted not in the desert (through which) He made them go; water from a rock He made to flow for them; and He clave the rock, and waters gushed out. 22. There is no peace, saith Jehovah, to the wicked.

XLIX.--[This chapter, like the whole division which it introduces, has for its great theme the relation of the Church to the world, and of Israel to the Gentiles. It opens with an exhibition of the Messiah and His people, under one ideal person, as the great appointed Teacher, Apostle, and Restorer of the apostate nations, vers. 1-9. This is followed by a promise of Divine protection and of glorious enlargement, attended by a joyous revelation in the state of the whole world, vers. 10-16. The doubts and apprehensions of the Church herself are twice recited under different forms, vers. 14, 24, and as often met and silenced, first by repeated and still stronger promises of God's unchanging love to His people and of their glorious enlargement and success, vers. 15-23; then by an awful threatening of destruction to their enemies and His, vers 25, 26.]

1. Hearken, ye Islands, unto Me, and attend, ye nations from afar. Jehovah from the womb hath called Me, from the bowels of My mother He hath mentioned My name. 2. And He hath rendered My mouth like a sharp sword, and He rendered Me as a polished arrow, in His quiver He has hid Me. 3. And He said to Me, Thou art My servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified. 4. And I said, In vain have I toiled, for emptiness and vanity My strength have I consumed; but My right is with Jehovah and My work with My God. 5. And now, saith Jehovah, who formed Me from the womb for a servant to Himself, to restore Jacob to Him, and (yet) Israel will not be gathered--and yet I shall be honoured in the eyes of Jehovah, and My God has (already) been My strength. 6. And He said, It is a light thing that Thou shouldst be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and the preserved of Israel to restore; and I have given Thee for a light to the Gentiles, to be My salvation even to the end of the earth. 7. Thus saith Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, His Holy One, to the heartily despised, to the nation exciting abhorrence, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see it, and rise up, princes (shall see) and bow themselves, for the sake of Jehovah who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen Thee. 8. Thus saith Jehovah, In a time of favour I have heard Thee, and to a day of salvation have I helped Thee; and I will keep Thee, and I will give Thee for a covenant to the people, to raise up the earth, and to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; 9. to say to those bound, Come forth, and to (those) who are in darkness, Show yourselves.

On the ways they shall feed, and in all bare hills shall be their pasture. 10. They shall not hunger and they shall not thirst, and there shall not smite them mirage and sun; for He that hath mercy on them shall guide them, and by springs of water shall He lead them. 11. And I will place all mountains for the way, and My roads shall be high. 12. Behold, these from afar shall come, and behold these from the north and from the sea, and these from the land of Sinim. 13. Shout, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth, let the mountains burst forth into a shout; because Jehovah has comforted His people, and on His sufferers He will have mercy.

14. And (yet) Zion said, Jehovah hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me. 15. Will a woman forget her suckling, so as not to have mercy on the son of her womb? Even these will forget, and (yet) I will not forget thee. 16. Behold, on My palms have I graven thee; thy walls (are) before Me continually. 17. Thy sons hasten (to thee); thy destroyers and thy wasters shall go out from thee. 18. Lift up thine eyes round about and see; all of them are gathered together, they are come to thee. (As) I live, saith Jehovah, (I swear) that all of them as an ornament thou shalt put on, and bind them like the bride. 19. For thy ruins, and thy wastes, and thy land of desolation, for now shalt thou be too narrow for the inhabitant, and far off shall be thy devourers. 20. Again shall they say in thine ears, The sons of thy childlessness. (Too) narrow for me is the place; come near for me, that I may dwell. 21. And thou shalt say in thine heart, Who hath produced these for me? and I was bereaved and barren, an exile and a banished one? And these who brought up? Behold, I was left alone; these where were they? 22. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold I will lift up to the nations My hand, and I will set up to the peoples My standard; and they will bring thy sons in the bosom, and thy daughters on the shoulders shall be carried. 23. And kings shall be thy nursing-fathers, and their queens thy nursing-mothers; face to the ground shall they bow to thee, and the dust of thy feet shall they lick; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah, whose waiters shall not be ashamed.

24. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, and shall the captivity of the righteous be delivered? 25. For thus saith Jehovah, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered, and with thy strivers will I strive, and thy sons will I save. 26. And I will make thy oppressors eat their (own) flesh, and as with new wine with their blood shall they be drunken; and all flesh shall know that I am Jehovah thy Saviour, and (that) thy Redeemer is the Mighty One of Jacob.

L.--[This chapter contains no entirely new element, but a fresh view of several which have already been repeatedly exhibited. The first of these is the great truth, that the sufferings of God's people are the necessary fruit of their own sins, ver. 1. The second is the power of Jehovah to accomplish their deliverance, vers. 2, 3. The third is the Servant of Jehovah, His mission, His qualifications for it, His endurance of reproach, and opposition on account of it, vers. 4-9. The fourth is the way of salvation and the certain doom of those who neglect it, vers. 10, 11.]

1. Thus saith Jehovah, Where is the bill of divorcement of your mother, whom I have sent away? Or which of My creditors (is it) to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities ye have been sold, and for your transgressions has your mother been sent away.

2. Why did I come, and there was no man? (why) did I call, and there was no one answering? Is My hand shortened, shortened, from redemption? and is there with Me no power to deliver? Behold, by My rebuke I will dry up the sea, I will make streams a wilderness; let their fish stink for want of water and die of thirst. 3. I will clothe the heavens in blackness, and sackcloth will I make their covering.

4. The Lord God hath given to Me a ready tongue, that I might know how to help the weary (with) a word. He will waken, every morning He will waken for Me the ear, that I may hear like the disciples. 5. The Lord Jehovah opened for Me the ear, and I resisted not, I did not draw back. 6. My back I gave to those smiting, and My cheeks to those plucking (the hair); My face I did not hide from shame and spitting. 7. And the Lord God will help Me, therefore I am not confounded; therefore I have set My face as a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. 8. Near is My justifier; who will contend with Me? We will stand together. Who is My adversary? Let him draw near to Me. 9. Behold, the Lord Jehovah will help Me; who (is) he (that) will condemn Me? All they like the garment shall grow old; the moth shall devour them.

10. Who among you is a fearer of Jehovah, hearkening to the voice of His servant, who walketh in darkness, and there is no light to him? Let him trust in the name of Jehovah, and lean upon his God. 11. Lo, all of you kindling fire, girding sparks (or, fiery darts), go in the light of your fire, and in the sparks ye have kindled. From My hand is this to you; in pain shall ye lie down.

LI.--[This chapter is a direct continuation of the preceding declarations with respect to the vocation of the Church, and the Divine administration towards her. The possibility of her increase, as previously promised, is evinced by the example of Abraham, from whom all Israel descended, vers. 1-3. In like manner many shall be added from the Gentiles, vers. 4-6. Their enemies shall not only fail to destroy them, but shall be themselves destroyed, vers. 7, 8. This is confirmed by another historical example, that of Egypt, vers. 9, 10. The same assurances are then repeated, with a clearer promise of the new dispensation, vers. 11-16. The chapter closes with a direct address to Zion, who, though helpless in herself and destitute of human aid, is sure of God's protection and of the destruction of her enemies and His, vers. 17-23.]

1. Hearken unto Me, ye who are following after righteousness, ye who are seeking Jehovah; look unto the rock (from which) ye have been hewn, and the hole of the pit from which ye have been digged. 2. Look unto Abraham your father and unto Sarah (that) bare you: for I have called him one, and I will bless him and increase him (still). 3. For Jehovah hath comforted Zion; He hath comforted all our wastes, and hath made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of melody. 4. Attend unto Me, My people: and My nation, unto Me give ear: that law from Me shall go forth, and My judgment for a light of the nations. 5. Near (is) My righteousness, gone forth is My salvation, and My arm shall judge the nations. For Me shall the islands wait, and in My arm they shall hope. 6. Raise to the heavens your eyes, and look unto the earth beneath; and the earth like the garment (which grows old) shall grow old, and its inhabitants likewise shall die; and My salvation to eternity shall be, and My righteousness shall not be broken.

7. Hearken unto Me, ye that know righteousness, people (with) My law in their heart: hear not the reproach of men, and by their scoffs be not broken (in spirit). 8. For like the (moth-eaten) garment shall the moth devour them, and like the (worm-eaten) wool shall the worm devour them; and My righteousness to eternity shall be, and My salvation to an age of ages.

9. Awake, awake, put on strength, arm of Jehovah; awake, as (in the) days of old, the ages of eternities; art Thou not the same that hewed Rahab in pieces, that wounded the dragon? 10. Art not Thou the same that dried the sea, the waters of the great deep, that placed the depths of the sea (as) a way for the passage of redeemed ones?

11. And the ransomed of Jehovah shall return and come to Zion with shouting, and everlasting joy upon their head; gladness and joy shall overtake (them), sorrow and sighing have fled away. 12. I, I am He that comforteth you; who art thou that thou shouldst be afraid of man (who) is to die, and of the son of man who (as) grass is to be given? 13. And hast forgotten Jehovah thy Maker, spreading the heavens and founding the earth, and hast trembled continually all the day, from before the wrath of the oppressor as he made ready to destroy? And where is (now) the wrath of the oppressor? 14. He hastens bowing to be loosed, and he shall not die in the pit, and his bread shall not fail. 15. And I am Jehovah thy God, rousing the sea, and then its waves roar; Jehovah of hosts (is) His name. 16. And I have put My words in thy mouth, and in the shadow of My hand I have the earth, and to say to Zion, Thou art My people. 17. Rouse thyself! rouse thyself! Arise, Jerusalem! (thou) who hast drunk at the hand of Jehovah the cup of His wrath; the bowl of the cup of reeling thou hast drunk, thou hast wrung out.

18. There is no guide to hear of all the sons she has brought forth, and no one grasping her hand of all the sons she has brought up.

19. Both these things are befalling thee: who will mourn for thee? Wasting and ruin, famine and sword: who (but) I will comfort thee? 20. Thy sons were faint; they lie at the head of all the streets like a wild bull in a net, filled with the wrath of Jehovah, the rebuke of thy God. 21. Therefore pray hear this, thou suffering one, and drunken, but not with wine; 22. thus saith thy Lord, Jehovah, and thy God--He will defend His people--Behold, I have taken from thy hand the cup of reeling, the bowl of the cup of My fury; thou shalt not continue to drink it any more. 23. And I put it into the hand of those that afflicted thee, that said to thy soul, Bow down and we will pass over; and thou didst lay thy back as the ground, and as the street for the passengers.

LII.--[However low the natural Israel may sink, the true Church shall become more glorious than ever, being freed from the impurities connected with her former state, ver. 1. This is described as a captivity from which she is exhorted to escape, ver. 2. Her emancipation is the fruit of God's gratuitous compassion, ver. 3. As a nation she has suffered long enough, vers. 4, 5. The day is coming when the Israel of God shall know in whom they have believed, ver. 6. The herald of the new dispensation is described as already visible upon the mountains, ver. 7. The very ruins of Jerusalem are summoned to rejoice, ver. 9. The glorious change is witnessed by the whole world. 10. The true church or Israel of God is exhorted to come out of Jewry, ver. 11. This exodus is likened to the one from Egypt, but described as even more auspicious, ver. 12. Its great leader, the Messiah, as the Servant of Jehovah, must be and is to be exalted, ver. 13. And this exaltation shall bear due proportion to the humiliation which preceded it, vers. 14, 15.]

1. Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion! Put on thy garments of beauty, O Jerusalem, the Holy City! For no more shall there continue to come into thee an uncircumcised and unclean (person). 2. Shake thyself from the dust, arise, sit, O Jerusalem! loose the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion!

3. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Ye were sold for nought, and not for money shall ye be redeemed. 4. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Into Egypt went down My people at the first to sojourn there, and Assyria oppressed them for nothing. 5. And now what have I here, saith Jehovah, that My people is taken away for nothing, its rulers howl, saith Jehovah, and continually, all the day, My name is blasphemed? 6. Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore in that day (shall they know) that I am He that said, Behold Me!

7. How timely on the mountains are the feet of one bringing glad tidings, publishing peace, bringing tidings of good, publishing salvation, saying to Zion, Thy God reigneth! 8. The voice of thy watchmen! They raise the voice, together will they shout; for eye to eye will they see in Jehovah's returning to Zion. 9. Burst forth, shout together, ruins of Jerusalem! For Jehovah hath comforted His people, hath redeemed Jerusalem. 10. Jehovah hath bared His holy arm to the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

11. Away! away! go out from thence! the unclean touch not! come out from the midst of her! Be clean, ye armour-bearers of Jehovah. 12. For not in haste shall ye go out, and in flight ye shall not depart; for going before you (is) Jehovah, and bringing up your rear the God of Israel.

LII. 13.--[The great leader of this exodus, the Messiah, as the Servant of Jehovah, must be and is to be exalted, ver. 13. And this exaltation shall bear due proportion to the humiliation which preceded it, vers. 14, 15.

LIII.--Notwithstanding these and other prophecies of the Messiah, He is not recognised when He appears, ver. 1. He is not the object of desire and trust, for whom the great mass of the people have been waiting, ver. 2. Nay, His low condition, and especially His sufferings are vicarious, not accidental or incurred by His own fault, vers. 4-6. Hence, though personally innocent, He is perfectly unresisting, ver. 7. Even they for whom He suffers may mistake His person and His office, ver. 8. His case presents the two extremes of righteous punishment and perfect innocence, ver. 9. But the glorious fruit of these very sufferings will correct all errors, ver. 10. He becomes a Saviour only by becoming a substitute, ver. 11. Even after the work of expiation is completed, and His glorious reward secured, the work of intercession will be still continued, ver. 12.]

13. Behold, my Servant shall do wisely, shall rise and be exalted and high exceedingly. 14. As many were shocked at Thee--so marred from man His look, and His form from the sons of men--15. so shall He sprinkle many nations; concerning Him shall kings stop their mouth, because what was not recounted to them they have seen, and what they had not heard they have perceived.

LIII.--1. Who hath believed our report? and the arm of Jehovah, to whom (or, upon whom) has it been revealed?

2. And He came up like the tender plant before Him, and like a root from a dry ground; He had no form nor comeliness, and we shall see Him, and no sight that we should desire it. 3. Despised and forsaken of men (or ceasing from among men), a man of sorrows and acquainted with sickness, and like one hiding the face from Him (or, us), despised, and we esteemed Him not.

4. Surely our sicknesses He bore, and our griefs He carried; and we thought Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. 5. And He was pierced (or, wounded) for our transgression, bruised (or, crushed) for our iniquities; the chastisement (or, punishment) for our peace (was) upon Him, and by His stripes we were healed. 6. And we like sheep had gone astray, each to his own way we had turned, and Jehovah laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

7. He was oppressed and He humbled Himself, and He will not open His mouth--as a lamb to the slaughter is brought, and as a sheep before its shearers is dumb--and He will not open His mouth. 8. From distress and from judgment He was taken; and in His generation who will think, that He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people (as) a curse for them? 9. And He gave with wicked (men) His grave, and with a rich (man) in His death; because (or, although) He had done no violence, and no deceit (was) in His mouth.

10. And Jehovah was pleased to crush (or, bruise Him), He put Him to grief (or, made Him sick); if (or, when) His soul shall make an offering for sin, He shall see (His) seed, He shall prolong (His) days, and the pleasure of Jehovah in His hand shall prosper. 11. From the labour of His soul (or, life) He shall see, He shall be satisfied; by His knowledge shall my servant (as) a righteous one, give righteousness to many, and their iniquities He will bear. 12. Therefore will I divide to Him among the many, and with the strong shall He divide the spoil, in lieu of this that He bared unto death His soul, and with the transgressors was numbered, and He (Himself) bare the sin of many, and for the transgressors He shall make intercession.

LIV.--[Instead of suffering from the loss of her national prerogatives, the Church shall be more glorious and productive than before, ver. 1. Instead of being limited to a single nation, she shall be so extended as to take in all the nations of the earth, vers. 2, 3. What seemed at first to be her forlorn and desolate condition shall be followed by a glorious change, ver. 4. He who seemed to be the God of the Jews only shall now be seen to be the God of the Gentiles also, ver. 5. The abrogation of the old economy was like the repudiation of a wife, but its effects will show it to be rather a renewal of the conjugal relation, ver. 6. The momentary rejection shall be followed by an everlasting reconciliation, vers. 7, 8. The old economy, like Noah's flood, can never be repeated, ver. 9. That was a temporary institution; this shall outlast the earth itself, ver. 10. The old Jerusalem shall be forgotten in the splendour of the new, vers. 11, 12. But this shall be a spiritual splendour, springing from a constant Divine influence, ver. 13. Hence it shall be also a holy and a safe state, ver. 14. All the enemies of the Church shall either be destroyed or received into her bosom, ver. 15. The warrior and his weapons are alike God's creatures and at His disposal, ver. 16. In every conflict, both of hand and tongue, the Church shall be triumphant, not in her own right or her own strength, but in that of Him who justifies, pardons, and saves her, ver. 17.]

1. Shout, O barren, that didst not bear; break forth into a shout and cry aloud, thou that didst not writhe (in childbirth): for more (are) the children of the desolate than the children of the married (woman), saith Jehovah. 2. Widen the place of thy tent, and the curtains of thy dwelling let them stretch out; spare not (or, hinder it not); lengthen thy cords and strengthen (or, make fast) thy stakes. 3. For right and left shalt thou break forth (or, spread), and thy seed shall possess (or, dispossess or inherit) nations, and repeople ruined (or, forsaken) cities.