59

1Behold, Yahweh’s hand is not shortened, that it can’t save;

nor his ear dull, that it can’t hear.

2But your iniquities have separated you and your God,

and your sins have hidden his face from you,

so that he will not hear.

3For your hands are defiled with blood,

and your fingers with iniquity.

Your lips have spoken lies.

Your tongue mutters wickedness.

4No one sues in righteousness,

and no one pleads in truth.

They trust in vanity

and speak lies.

They conceive mischief

and give birth to iniquity.

5They hatch adders’ eggs

and weave the spider’s web.

He who eats of their eggs dies;

and that which is crushed breaks out into a viper.

6Their webs won’t become garments.

They won’t cover themselves with their works.

Their works are works of iniquity,

and acts of violence are in their hands.

7Their feet run to evil,

and they hurry to shed innocent blood.

Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity.

Desolation and destruction are in their paths.

8They don’t know the way of peace;

and there is no justice in their ways.

They have made crooked paths for themselves;

whoever goes in them doesn’t know peace.

9Therefore justice is far from us,

and righteousness doesn’t overtake us.

We look for light, but see darkness;

for brightness, but we walk in obscurity.

10We grope for the wall like the blind.

Yes, we grope as those who have no eyes.

We stumble at noon as if it were twilight.

Among those who are strong, we are like dead men.

11We all roar like bears

and moan sadly like doves.

We look for justice, but there is none,

for salvation, but it is far off from us.

12For our transgressions are multiplied before you,

and our sins testify against us;

for our transgressions are with us,

and as for our iniquities, we know them:

13transgressing and denying Yahweh,

and turning away from following our God,

speaking oppression and revolt,

conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.

14Justice is turned away backward,

and righteousness stands far away;

for truth has fallen in the street,

and uprightness can’t enter.

15Yes, truth is lacking;

and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

Yahweh saw it,

and it displeased him that there was no justice.

16He saw that there was no man,

and wondered that there was no intercessor.

Therefore his own arm brought salvation to him;

and his righteousness sustained him.

17He put on righteousness as a breastplate,

and a helmet of salvation on his head.

He put on garments of vengeance for clothing,

and was clad with zeal as a mantle.

18According to their deeds,

he will repay as appropriate:

wrath to his adversaries,

recompense to his enemies.

He will repay the islands their due.

19So they will fear Yahweh’s name from the west,

and his glory from the rising of the sun;

for he will come as a rushing stream,

which Yahweh’s breath drives.

20“A Redeemer will come to Zion,

and to those who turn from disobedience in Jacob,” says Yahweh.

21“As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says Yahweh. “My Spirit who is on you, and my words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart out of your mouth, nor out of the mouth of your offspring, nor out of the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says Yahweh, “from now on and forever.”

60

1“Arise, shine; for your light has come,

and Yahweh’s glory has risen on you!

2For behold, darkness will cover the earth,

and thick darkness the peoples;

but Yahweh will arise on you,

and his glory shall be seen on you.

3Nations will come to your light,

and kings to the brightness of your rising.

4“Lift up your eyes all around, and see:

they all gather themselves together.

They come to you.

Your sons will come from far away,

and your daughters will be carried in arms.

5Then you shall see and be radiant,

and your heart will thrill and be enlarged;

because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you.

The wealth of the nations will come to you.

6A multitude of camels will cover you,

the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah.

All from Sheba will come.

They will bring gold and frankincense,

and will proclaim the praises of Yahweh.

7All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you.

The rams of Nebaioth will serve you.

They will be accepted as offerings on my altar;

and I will beautify my glorious house.

8“Who are these who fly as a cloud,

and as the doves to their windows?

9Surely the islands will wait for me,

and the ships of Tarshish first,

to bring your sons from far away,

their silver and their gold with them,

for the name of Yahweh your God,

and for the Holy One of Israel,

because he has glorified you.

10“Foreigners will build up your walls,

and their kings will serve you;

for in my wrath I struck you,

but in my favor I have had mercy on you.

11Your gates also shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night, that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, and their kings led captive.

12For that nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; yes, those nations shall be utterly wasted.

13“The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the cypress tree, the pine, and the box tree together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.

14The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you;

and all those who despised you will bow themselves down at the soles of your feet.

They will call you Yahweh’s City,

the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

15“Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,

so that no one passed through you,

I will make you an eternal excellency,

a joy of many generations.

16You will also drink the milk of the nations,

and will nurse from royal breasts.

Then you will know that I, Yahweh, am your Savior,

your Redeemer,

the Mighty One of Jacob.

17For bronze I will bring gold;

for iron I will bring silver;

for wood, bronze,

and for stones, iron.

I will also make peace your governor,

and righteousness your ruler.

18Violence shall no more be heard in your land,

nor desolation or destruction within your borders;

but you will call your walls Salvation,

and your gates Praise.

19The sun will be no more your light by day,

nor will the brightness of the moon give light to you,

but Yahweh will be your everlasting light,

and your God will be your glory.

20Your sun will not go down any more,

nor will your moon withdraw itself;

for Yahweh will be your everlasting light,

and the days of your mourning will end.

21Then your people will all be righteous.

They will inherit the land forever,

the branch of my planting,

the work of my hands,

that I may be glorified.

22The little one will become a thousand,

and the small one a strong nation.

I, Yahweh, will do this quickly in its time.”

61

1The Lord Yahweh’s Spirit is on me,

because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble.

He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives

and release to those who are bound,

2to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor

and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

3to provide for those who mourn in Zion,

to give to them a garland for ashes,

the oil of joy for mourning,

the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness,

that they may be called trees of righteousness,

the planting of Yahweh,

that he may be glorified.

4They will rebuild the old ruins.

They will raise up the former devastated places.

They will repair the ruined cities

that have been devastated for many generations.

5Strangers will stand and feed your flocks.

Foreigners will work your fields and your vineyards.

6But you will be called Yahweh’s priests.

Men will call you the servants of our God.

You will eat the wealth of the nations.

You will boast in their glory.

7Instead of your shame you will have double.

Instead of dishonor, they will rejoice in their portion.

Therefore in their land they will possess double.

Everlasting joy will be to them.

8“For I, Yahweh, love justice.

I hate robbery and iniquity.

I will give them their reward in truth

and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

9Their offspring will be known among the nations,

and their offspring among the peoples.

All who see them will acknowledge them,

that they are the offspring which Yahweh has blessed.”

10I will greatly rejoice in Yahweh!

My soul will be joyful in my God,

for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation.

He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,

as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland

and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

11For as the earth produces its bud,

and as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring up,

so the Lord Yahweh will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.

62

1For Zion’s sake I will not hold my peace,

and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,

until her righteousness shines out like the dawn,

and her salvation like a burning lamp.

2The nations will see your righteousness,

and all kings your glory.

You will be called by a new name,

which Yahweh’s mouth will name.

3You will also be a crown of beauty in Yahweh’s hand,

and a royal diadem in your God’s hand.

4You will not be called Forsaken any more,

nor will your land be called Desolate any more;

but you will be called Hephzibah,

and your land Beulah;

for Yahweh delights in you,

and your land will be married.

5For as a young man marries a virgin,

so your sons will marry you.

As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,

so your God will rejoice over you.

6I have set watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem.

They will never be silent day nor night.

You who call on Yahweh, take no rest,

7and give him no rest until he establishes,

and until he makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

8Yahweh has sworn by his right hand,

and by the arm of his strength,

“Surely I will no more give your grain to be food for your enemies,

and foreigners will not drink your new wine, for which you have labored,

9but those who have harvested it will eat it, and praise Yahweh.

Those who have gathered it will drink it in the courts of my sanctuary.”

10Go through, go through the gates!

Prepare the way of the people!

Build up, build up the highway!

Gather out the stones!

Lift up a banner for the peoples.

11Behold, Yahweh has proclaimed to the end of the earth:

“Say to the daughter of Zion,

‘Behold, your salvation comes!

Behold, his reward is with him,

and his recompense before him!’”

12They will call them “The Holy People,

Yahweh’s Redeemed”.

You will be called “Sought Out,

A City Not Forsaken”.