Israel Freed

12 “Listen(A) to me, Jacob,
    Israel, whom I have called:(B)
I am he;(C)
    I am the first and I am the last.(D)
13 My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,(E)
    and my right hand spread out the heavens;(F)
when I summon them,
    they all stand up together.(G)

14 “Come together,(H) all of you, and listen:
    Which of the idols has foretold(I) these things?
The Lord’s chosen ally(J)
    will carry out his purpose(K) against Babylon;(L)
    his arm will be against the Babylonians.[a]
15 I, even I, have spoken;
    yes, I have called(M) him.
I will bring him,
    and he will succeed(N) in his mission.

16 “Come near(O) me and listen(P) to this:

“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;(Q)
    at the time it happens, I am there.”

And now the Sovereign Lord(R) has sent(S) me,
    endowed with his Spirit.(T)

17 This is what the Lord says—
    your Redeemer,(U) the Holy One(V) of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
    who teaches(W) you what is best for you,
    who directs(X) you in the way(Y) you should go.
18 If only you had paid attention(Z) to my commands,
    your peace(AA) would have been like a river,(AB)
    your well-being(AC) like the waves of the sea.
19 Your descendants(AD) would have been like the sand,(AE)
    your children like its numberless grains;(AF)
their name would never be blotted out(AG)
    nor destroyed from before me.”

20 Leave Babylon,
    flee(AH) from the Babylonians!
Announce this with shouts of joy(AI)
    and proclaim it.
Send it out to the ends of the earth;(AJ)
    say, “The Lord has redeemed(AK) his servant Jacob.”
21 They did not thirst(AL) when he led them through the deserts;
    he made water flow(AM) for them from the rock;
he split the rock
    and water gushed out.(AN)

22 “There is no peace,”(AO) says the Lord, “for the wicked.”(AP)

The Servant of the Lord

49 Listen(AQ) to me, you islands;(AR)
    hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born(AS) the Lord called(AT) me;
    from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.(AU)
He made my mouth(AV) like a sharpened sword,(AW)
    in the shadow of his hand(AX) he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow(AY)
    and concealed me in his quiver.
He said to me, “You are my servant,(AZ)
    Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.(BA)
But I said, “I have labored in vain;(BB)
    I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,(BC)
    and my reward(BD) is with my God.”(BE)

And now the Lord says—
    he who formed me in the womb(BF) to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
    and gather Israel(BG) to himself,
for I am[b] honored(BH) in the eyes of the Lord
    and my God has been my strength(BI)
he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant(BJ)
    to restore the tribes of Jacob
    and bring back those of Israel I have kept.(BK)
I will also make you a light(BL) for the Gentiles,(BM)
    that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”(BN)

This is what the Lord says—
    the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel(BO)
to him who was despised(BP) and abhorred by the nation,
    to the servant of rulers:
“Kings(BQ) will see you and stand up,
    princes will see and bow down,(BR)
because of the Lord, who is faithful,(BS)
    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen(BT) you.”

Restoration of Israel

This is what the Lord says:

“In the time of my favor(BU) I will answer you,
    and in the day of salvation I will help you;(BV)
I will keep(BW) you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people,(BX)
to restore the land(BY)
    and to reassign its desolate inheritances,(BZ)
to say to the captives,(CA) ‘Come out,’
    and to those in darkness,(CB) ‘Be free!’

“They will feed beside the roads
    and find pasture on every barren hill.(CC)
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,(CD)
    nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.(CE)
He who has compassion(CF) on them will guide(CG) them
    and lead them beside springs(CH) of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads,
    and my highways(CI) will be raised up.(CJ)
12 See, they will come from afar(CK)
    some from the north, some from the west,(CL)
    some from the region of Aswan.[c]

13 Shout for joy,(CM) you heavens;
    rejoice, you earth;(CN)
    burst into song, you mountains!(CO)
For the Lord comforts(CP) his people
    and will have compassion(CQ) on his afflicted ones.(CR)

14 But Zion(CS) said, “The Lord has forsaken(CT) me,
    the Lord has forgotten me.”

15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child(CU) she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!(CV)
16 See, I have engraved(CW) you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls(CX) are ever before me.
17 Your children hasten back,
    and those who laid you waste(CY) depart from you.
18 Lift up your eyes and look around;
    all your children gather(CZ) and come to you.
As surely as I live,(DA)” declares the Lord,
    “you will wear(DB) them all as ornaments;
    you will put them on, like a bride.

19 “Though you were ruined and made desolate(DC)
    and your land laid waste,(DD)
now you will be too small for your people,(DE)
    and those who devoured(DF) you will be far away.
20 The children born during your bereavement
    will yet say in your hearing,
‘This place is too small for us;
    give us more space to live in.’(DG)
21 Then you will say in your heart,
    ‘Who bore me these?(DH)
I was bereaved(DI) and barren;
    I was exiled and rejected.(DJ)
    Who brought these(DK) up?
I was left(DL) all alone,(DM)
    but these—where have they come from?’”

22 This is what the Sovereign Lord(DN) says:

“See, I will beckon to the nations,
    I will lift up my banner(DO) to the peoples;
they will bring(DP) your sons in their arms
    and carry your daughters on their hips.(DQ)
23 Kings(DR) will be your foster fathers,
    and their queens your nursing mothers.(DS)
They will bow down(DT) before you with their faces to the ground;
    they will lick the dust(DU) at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;(DV)
    those who hope(DW) in me will not be disappointed.(DX)

24 Can plunder be taken from warriors,(DY)
    or captives be rescued from the fierce[d]?

25 But this is what the Lord says:

“Yes, captives(DZ) will be taken from warriors,(EA)
    and plunder retrieved from the fierce;(EB)
I will contend with those who contend with you,(EC)
    and your children I will save.(ED)
26 I will make your oppressors(EE) eat(EF) their own flesh;
    they will be drunk on their own blood,(EG) as with wine.
Then all mankind will know(EH)
    that I, the Lord, am your Savior,(EI)
    your Redeemer,(EJ) the Mighty One of Jacob.(EK)

Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience

50 This is what the Lord says:

“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce(EL)
    with which I sent her away?
Or to which of my creditors
    did I sell(EM) you?
Because of your sins(EN) you were sold;(EO)
    because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.
When I came, why was there no one?
    When I called, why was there no one to answer?(EP)
Was my arm too short(EQ) to deliver you?
    Do I lack the strength(ER) to rescue you?
By a mere rebuke(ES) I dry up the sea,(ET)
    I turn rivers into a desert;(EU)
their fish rot for lack of water
    and die of thirst.
I clothe the heavens with darkness(EV)
    and make sackcloth(EW) its covering.”

The Sovereign Lord(EX) has given me a well-instructed tongue,(EY)
    to know the word that sustains the weary.(EZ)
He wakens me morning by morning,(FA)
    wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.(FB)
The Sovereign Lord(FC) has opened my ears;(FD)
    I have not been rebellious,(FE)
    I have not turned away.
I offered my back to those who beat(FF) me,
    my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;(FG)
I did not hide my face
    from mocking and spitting.(FH)
Because the Sovereign Lord(FI) helps(FJ) me,
    I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,(FK)
    and I know I will not be put to shame.(FL)
He who vindicates(FM) me is near.(FN)
    Who then will bring charges against me?(FO)
    Let us face each other!(FP)
Who is my accuser?
    Let him confront me!
It is the Sovereign Lord(FQ) who helps(FR) me.
    Who will condemn(FS) me?
They will all wear out like a garment;
    the moths(FT) will eat them up.

10 Who among you fears(FU) the Lord
    and obeys(FV) the word of his servant?(FW)
Let the one who walks in the dark,
    who has no light,(FX)
trust(FY) in the name of the Lord
    and rely on their God.
11 But now, all you who light fires
    and provide yourselves with flaming torches,(FZ)
go, walk in the light of your fires(GA)
    and of the torches you have set ablaze.
This is what you shall receive from my hand:(GB)
    You will lie down in torment.(GC)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 48:14 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 20
  2. Isaiah 49:5 Or him, / but Israel would not be gathered; / yet I will be
  3. Isaiah 49:12 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text Sinim
  4. Isaiah 49:24 Dead Sea Scrolls, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint and verse 25); Masoretic Text righteous

12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.

13 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.

14 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The Lord hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.

15 I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.

16 Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me.

17 Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.

18 O 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 Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.

20 Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob.

21 And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out.

22 There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.

49 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.

And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;

And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.

Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God.

And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength.

And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.

Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;

That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.

10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.

11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.

12 Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.

13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.

14 But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.

15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

17 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.

18 Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.

19 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.

20 The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell.

21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?

22 Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.

24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?

25 But thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.

26 And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.

50 Thus saith the Lord, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.

Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.

I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering.

The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.

The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.

I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me.

Behold, the Lord God will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.

10 Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.

11 Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.

Instructions for Christian Living

17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer(A) live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.(B) 18 They are darkened in their understanding(C) and separated from the life of God(D) because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.(E) 19 Having lost all sensitivity,(F) they have given themselves over(G) to sensuality(H) so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off(I) your old self,(J) which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;(K) 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds;(L) 24 and to put on(M) the new self,(N) created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.(O)

25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully(P) to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.(Q) 26 “In your anger do not sin”[a]:(R) Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.(S) 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work,(T) doing something useful with their own hands,(U) that they may have something to share with those in need.(V)

29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,(W) but only what is helpful for building others up(X) according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,(Y) with whom you were sealed(Z) for the day of redemption.(AA) 31 Get rid of(AB) all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.(AC) 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another,(AD) forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.(AE)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 4:26 Psalm 4:4 (see Septuagint)

17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

20 But ye have not so learned Christ;

21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

27 Neither give place to the devil.

28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Read full chapter

Psalm 69[a]

For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David.

Save me, O God,
    for the waters(A) have come up to my neck.(B)
I sink in the miry depths,(C)
    where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
    the floods engulf me.
I am worn out calling for help;(D)
    my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,(E)
    looking for my God.
Those who hate me(F) without reason(G)
    outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,(H)
    those who seek to destroy me.(I)
I am forced to restore
    what I did not steal.

You, God, know my folly;(J)
    my guilt is not hidden from you.(K)

Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    may those who hope in you
    not be disgraced because of me;
God of Israel,
    may those who seek you
    not be put to shame because of me.
For I endure scorn(L) for your sake,(M)
    and shame covers my face.(N)
I am a foreigner to my own family,
    a stranger to my own mother’s children;(O)
for zeal for your house consumes me,(P)
    and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.(Q)
10 When I weep and fast,(R)
    I must endure scorn;
11 when I put on sackcloth,(S)
    people make sport of me.
12 Those who sit at the gate(T) mock me,
    and I am the song of the drunkards.(U)

13 But I pray to you, Lord,
    in the time of your favor;(V)
in your great love,(W) O God,
    answer me with your sure salvation.
14 Rescue me from the mire,
    do not let me sink;
deliver me from those who hate me,
    from the deep waters.(X)
15 Do not let the floodwaters(Y) engulf me
    or the depths swallow me up(Z)
    or the pit close its mouth over me.(AA)

16 Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love;(AB)
    in your great mercy turn to me.
17 Do not hide your face(AC) from your servant;
    answer me quickly,(AD) for I am in trouble.(AE)
18 Come near and rescue me;
    deliver(AF) me because of my foes.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 69:1 In Hebrew texts 69:1-36 is numbered 69:2-37.

69 Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul.

I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.

I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.

They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.

O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.

Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.

Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face.

I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children.

For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.

10 When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.

11 I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them.

12 They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards.

13 But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation.

14 Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.

15 Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.

16 Hear me, O Lord; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.

17 And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily.

18 Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies.

Read full chapter

Saying 22

The wise prevail through great power,
    and those who have knowledge muster their strength.
Surely you need guidance to wage war,
    and victory is won through many advisers.(A)

Read full chapter

A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.

Read full chapter