23:044:018 They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut theireyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannotunderstand.
23:044:019 And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?
23:044:020 He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside,that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a liein my right hand?
23:044:021 Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: Ihave formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shaltnot be forgotten of me.
23:044:022 I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and,as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemedthee.
23:044:023 Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lowerparts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, Oforest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemedJacob, and glorified himself in Israel.
23:044:024 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed theefrom the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; thatstretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad theearth by myself;
23:044:025 That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;
23:044:026 That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof:
23:044:027 That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers:
23:044:028 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
23:045:001 Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
23:045:002 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: Iwill break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder thebars of iron:
23:045:003 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hiddenriches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, theLORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
23:045:004 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I haveeven called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, thoughthou hast not known me.
23:045:005 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
23:045:006 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
23:045:007 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
23:045:008 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour downrighteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forthsalvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I theLORD have created it.
23:045:009 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherdstrive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say tohim that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hathno hands?
23:045:010 Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?
23:045:011 Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker,Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerningthe work of my hands command ye me.
23:045:012 I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even myhands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host haveI commanded.
23:045:013 I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct allhis ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go mycaptives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts.
23:045:014 Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God.
23:045:015 Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel,the Saviour.
23:045:016 They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: theyshall go to confusion together that are makers of idols.
23:045:017 But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.
23:045:018 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.
23:045:019 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
23:045:020 Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.
23:045:021 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
23:045:022 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
23:045:023 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth inrighteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every kneeshall bow, every tongue shall swear.
23:045:024 Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness andstrength: even to him shall men come; and all that areincensed against him shall be ashamed.
23:045:025 In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.
23:046:001 Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast.
23:046:002 They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.
23:046:003 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of thehouse of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, whichare carried from the womb:
23:046:004 And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs willI carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry,and will deliver you.
23:046:005 To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?
23:046:006 They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship.
23:046:007 They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.
23:046:008 Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again tomind, O ye transgressors.
23:046:009 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there isnone else; I am God, and there is none like me,
23:046:010 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient timesthe things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shallstand, and I will do all my pleasure:
23:046:011 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executethmy counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I willalso bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
23:046:012 Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness:
23:046:013 I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.
23:047:001 Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.
23:047:002 Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.
23:047:003 Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.
23:047:004 As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.
23:047:005 Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of theChaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady ofkingdoms.
23:047:006 I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance,and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy;upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.
23:047:007 And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thoudidst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didstremember the latter end of it.
23:047:008 Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures,that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am,and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neithershall I know the loss of children:
23:047:009 But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in oneday, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come uponthee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries,and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.
23:047:010 For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, Noneseeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath pervertedthee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none elsebeside me.
23:047:011 Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know fromwhence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thoushalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall comeupon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.
23:047:012 Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude ofthy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; ifso be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayestprevail.
23:047:013 Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now theastrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators,stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come uponthee.
23:047:014 Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them;they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame:there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit beforeit.
23:047:015 Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee.
23:048:001 Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the LORD, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness.
23:048:002 For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts is his name.
23:048:003 I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.
23:048:004 Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;
23:048:005 I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.
23:048:006 Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? Ihave shewed thee new things from this time, even hiddenthings, and thou didst not know them.
23:048:007 They are created now, and not from the beginning; even beforethe day when thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say,Behold, I knew them.
23:048:008 Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb.
23:048:009 For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praisewill I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.
23:048:010 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I havechosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
23:048:011 For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.
23:048:012 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.
23:048:013 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and myright hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them,they stand up together.
23:048:014 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hathdeclared these things? The LORD hath loved him: he will do hispleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.
23:048:015 I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.
23:048:016 Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken insecret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there amI: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.
23:048:017 Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; Iam the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, whichleadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.
23:048:018 O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thypeace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves ofthe sea:
23:048:019 Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thybowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have beencut off nor destroyed from before me.
23:048:020 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.
23:048:021 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.
23:048:022 There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.
23:049:001 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far;The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of mymother hath he made mention of my name.
23:049:002 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow ofhis hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in hisquiver hath he hid me;
23:049:003 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
23:049:004 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.
23:049:005 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.
23:049:006 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be myservant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore thepreserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to theGentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of theearth.
23:049:007 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, princesalso shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, andthe Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.
23:049:008 Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee,and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I willpreserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, toestablish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolateheritages;
23:049:009 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them thatare in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways,and their pastures shall be in all high places.
23:049:010 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat norsun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall leadthem, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.
23:049:011 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shallbe exalted.
23:049:012 Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from thenorth and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.
23:049:013 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.
23:049:014 But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
23:049:015 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.
23:049:016 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thywalls are continually before me.
23:049:017 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they thatmade thee waste shall go forth of thee.
23:049:018 Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gatherthemselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith theLORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with anornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.
23:049:019 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thydestruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of theinhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be faraway.
23:049:020 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.
23:049:021 Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten methese, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, acaptive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought upthese? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?
23:049:022 Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand tothe Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and theyshall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall becarried upon their shoulders.
23:049:023 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.
23:049:024 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?
23:049:025 But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shallbe taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall bedelivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth withthee, and I will save thy children.
23:049:026 And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh;and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweetwine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviourand thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
23:050:001 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.
23:050:002 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.
23:050:003 I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering.
23:050:004 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.
23:050:005 The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.
23:050:006 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them thatplucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame andspitting.
23:050:007 For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not beconfounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and Iknow that I shall not be ashamed.
23:050:008 He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? letus stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near tome.
23:050:009 Behold, the Lord GOD will help me; who is he that shallcondemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the mothshall eat them up.
23:050:010 Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voiceof his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light?let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.
23:050:011 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.
23:051:001 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.
23:051:002 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.
23:051:003 For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
23:051:004 Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation:for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgmentto rest for a light of the people.
23:051:005 My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and minearms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, andon mine arm shall they trust.
23:051:006 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.
23:051:007 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people inwhose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men,neither be ye afraid of their revilings.
23:051:008 For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the wormshall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be forever, and my salvation from generation to generation.
23:051:009 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as inthe ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not itthat hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?
23:051:010 Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of thegreat deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for theransomed to pass over?
23:051:011 Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
23:051:012 I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;
23:051:013 And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?
23:051:014 The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that heshould not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail.
23:051:015 But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose wavesroared: The LORD of hosts is his name.
23:051:016 And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.
23:051:017 Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at thehand of the LORD the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken thedregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.
23:051:018 There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hathbrought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by thehand of all the sons that she hath brought up.
23:051:019 These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry forthee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and thesword: by whom shall I comfort thee?
23:051:020 Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all thestreets, as a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury ofthe LORD, the rebuke of thy God.
23:051:021 Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine:
23:051:022 Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth thecause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine handthe cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury;thou shalt no more drink it again:
23:051:023 But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee;which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over:and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street,to them that went over.
23:052:001 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thybeautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforththere shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and theunclean.
23:052:002 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
23:052:003 For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.
23:052:004 For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.
23:052:005 Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.
23:052:006 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.
23:052:007 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
23:052:008 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice togethershall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORDshall bring again Zion.
23:052:009 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places ofJerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hathredeemed Jerusalem.
23:052:010 The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all thenations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvationof our God.
23:052:011 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no uncleanthing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bearthe vessels of the LORD.
23:052:012 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for theLORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be yourrereward.
23:052:013 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exaltedand extolled, and be very high.
23:052:014 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred morethan any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
23:052:015 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
23:053:001 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
23:053:002 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
23:053:003 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
23:053:004 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
23:053:005 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised forour iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him;and with his stripes we are healed.
23:053:006 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every oneto his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity ofus all.
23:053:007 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not hismouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as asheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not hismouth.
23:053:008 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shalldeclare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land ofthe living: for the transgression of my people was hestricken.
23:053:009 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
23:053:010 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
23:053:011 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
23:053:012 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
23:054:001 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.
23:054:002 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth thecurtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords,and strengthen thy stakes;
23:054:003 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left;and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolatecities to be inhabited.
23:054:004 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.
23:054:005 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name;and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the wholeearth shall he be called.
23:054:006 For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grievedin spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saiththy God.
23:054:007 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
23:054:008 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.
23:054:009 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have swornthat the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; sohave I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebukethee.
23:054:010 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; butmy kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall thecovenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hathmercy on thee.
23:054:011 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.
23:054:012 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates ofcarbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.
23:054:013 And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and greatshall be the peace of thy children.
23:054:014 In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be farfrom oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; forit shall not come near thee.
23:054:015 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me:whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall forthy sake.
23:054:016 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in thefire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; andI have created the waster to destroy.
23:054:017 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
23:055:001 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
23:055:002 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
23:055:003 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
23:055:004 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
23:055:005 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.
23:055:006 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
23:055:007 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
23:055:008 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your waysmy ways, saith the LORD.
23:055:009 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my wayshigher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
23:055:010 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
23:055:011 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
23:055:012 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: themountains and the hills shall break forth before you intosinging, and all the trees of the field shall clap theirhands.
23:055:013 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and insteadof the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be tothe LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not becut off.
23:056:001 Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for mysalvation is near to come, and my righteousness to berevealed.
23:056:002 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man thatlayeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it,and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
23:056:003 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.
23:056:004 For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep mysabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take holdof my covenant;
23:056:005 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls aplace and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I willgive them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.
23:056:006 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to theLORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to behis servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath frompolluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;
23:056:007 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make themjoyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and theirsacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine houseshall be called an house of prayer for all people.
23:056:008 The Lord GOD, which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.
23:056:009 All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest.
23:056:010 His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are alldumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving toslumber.
23:056:011 Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, andthey are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look totheir own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.
23:056:012 Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fillourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as thisday, and much more abundant.
23:057:001 The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: andmerciful men are taken away, none considering that therighteous is taken away from the evil to come.
23:057:002 He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, eachone walking in his uprightness.
23:057:003 But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed ofthe adulterer and the whore.
23:057:004 Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye awide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children oftransgression, a seed of falsehood.
23:057:005 Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree,slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of therocks?
23:057:006 Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion; they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou hast offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these?
23:057:007 Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.
23:057:008 Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them; thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it.
23:057:009 And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increasethy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didstdebase thyself even unto hell.
23:057:010 Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thounot, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand;therefore thou wast not grieved.
23:057:011 And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hastlied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart?have not I held my peace even of old, and thou fearest me not?
23:057:012 I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee.
23:057:013 When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity shall take them: but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain;
23:057:014 And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people.
23:057:015 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
23:057:016 For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be alwayswroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the soulswhich I have made.
23:057:017 For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smotehim: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in theway of his heart.
23:057:018 I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.
23:057:019 I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him.
23:057:020 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
23:057:021 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
23:058:001 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
23:058:002 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as anation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinanceof their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; theytake delight in approaching to God.
23:058:003 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not?wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest noknowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure,and exact all your labours.
23:058:004 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
23:058:005 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
23:058:006 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
23:058:007 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bringthe poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest thenaked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyselffrom thine own flesh?
23:058:008 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thinehealth shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousnessshall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thyrereward.
23:058:009 Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shaltcry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from themidst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, andspeaking vanity;
23:058:010 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day:
23:058:011 And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thysoul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt belike a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whosewaters fail not.
23:058:012 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old wasteplaces: thou shalt raise up the foundations of manygenerations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of thebreach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
23:058:013 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
23:058:014 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
23:059:001 Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
23:059:002 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God,and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will nothear.
23:059:003 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers withiniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hathmuttered perverseness.
23:059:004 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: theytrust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, andbring forth iniquity.
23:059:005 They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: hethat eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushedbreaketh out into a viper.
23:059:006 Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they coverthemselves with their works: their works are works ofiniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.
23:059:007 Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocentblood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting anddestruction are in their paths.
23:059:008 The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment intheir goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoevergoeth therein shall not know peace.
23:059:009 Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justiceovertake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; forbrightness, but we walk in darkness.
23:059:010 We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if wehad no eyes: we stumble at noon day as in the night; we are indesolate places as dead men.
23:059:011 We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look forjudgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far offfrom us.
23:059:012 For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and oursins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us;and as for our iniquities, we know them;
23:059:013 In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departingaway from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceivingand uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
23:059:014 And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standethafar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannotenter.
23:059:015 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil makethhimself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased himthat there was no judgment.
23:059:016 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there wasno intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him;and his righteousness, it sustained him.
23:059:017 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet ofsalvation upon his head; and he put on the garments ofvengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.
23:059:018 According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury tohis adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands hewill repay recompence.
23:059:019 So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.
23:059:020 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.
23:059:021 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.
23:060:001 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
23:060:002 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
23:060:003 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
23:060:004 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.
23:060:005 Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shallfear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shallbe converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall comeunto thee.
23:060:006 The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries ofMidian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shallbring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praisesof the LORD.
23:060:007 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee,the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall comeup with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the houseof my glory.