Promise to Zion

14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,

And the Lord has forgotten me.”

15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child

And have no compassion on the son of her womb?

Even these may forget, but aI will not forget you.

16 “Behold, I have ainscribed you on the palms of My hands;

Your bwalls are continually before Me.

17 “Your 1builders hurry;

Your adestroyers and devastators

Will depart from you.

18 “aLift up your eyes and look around;

bAll of them gather together, cthey come to you.

dAs I live,” declares the Lord,

“You will surely eput on all of them as 1jewels and bind them on as a bride.

19 “For ayour waste and desolate places and your destroyed land—

Surely now you will be btoo cramped for the inhabitants,

And those who cswallowed you will be far away.

20 “The achildren of 1whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears,

‘The place is too cramped for me;

Make room for me that I may live here.’

21 “Then you will asay in your heart,

‘Who has begotten these for me,

Since I have been bereaved of my children

And am bbarren, an cexile and a wanderer?

And who has reared these?

Behold, I was dleft alone;

1eFrom where did these come?’ ”

22 Thus says the Lord 1God,

“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations

And set up My astandard to the peoples;

And they will bbring your sons in their bosom,

And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.

23 “aKings will be your guardians,

And their princesses your nurses.

They will bbow down to you with their faces to the earth

And click the dust of your feet;

And you will dknow that I am the Lord;

Those who hopefully ewait for Me will fnot be put to shame.

24 “aCan the prey be taken from the mighty man,

Or the captives of 1a tyrant be rescued?”

25 Surely, thus says the Lord,

“Even the acaptives of the mighty man will be taken away,

And the prey of the tyrant will be rescued;

For I will contend with the one who contends with you,

And I will bsave your sons.

26 “I will feed your aoppressors with their bown flesh,

And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine;

And call flesh will know that I, the Lord, am your dSavior

And your eRedeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Chapter 50

God Helps His Servant

1 Thus says the Lord,

“Where is the acertificate of divorce

By which I have bsent your mother away?

Or to whom of My creditors did I csell you?

Behold, you were sold for your diniquities,

And for your etransgressions your mother fwas sent away.

2 “Why was there ano man when I came?

When I called, why was there none to answer?

Is My bhand so short that it cannot ransom?

Or have I no power to deliver?

Behold, I cdry up the sea with My rebuke,

I dmake the rivers a wilderness;

Their fish stink for lack of water

And die of thirst.

3 “I aclothe the heavens with blackness

And make sackcloth their covering.”

4 The Lord 1God has given Me the tongue of adisciples,

That I may know how to bsustain the weary one with a word.

He awakens Me cmorning by morning,

He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

5 The Lord God has aopened My ear;

And I was bnot disobedient

Nor did I turn back.

6 I agave My back to those who strike Me,

And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;

I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.

7 For the Lord God ahelps Me,

Therefore, I am bnot disgraced;

Therefore, I have set My face like cflint,

And I know that I will not be ashamed.

8 He who avindicates Me is near;

Who will contend with Me?

Let us bstand up to each other;

Who has a case against Me?

Let him draw near to Me.

9 Behold, athe Lord God helps Me;

bWho is he who condemns Me?

Behold, cthey will all wear out like a garment;

The moth will eat them.

10 Who is among you that fears the Lord,

That obeys the voice of His aservant,

That bwalks in darkness and has no light?

Let him ctrust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.

11 Behold, all you who akindle a fire,

Who 1encircle yourselves with firebrands,

Walk in the light of your fire

And among the brands you have set ablaze.

This you will have from My hand:

You will blie down in torment.

Chapter 51

Israel Exhorted

1 “aListen to me, you who bpursue righteousness,

Who seek the Lord:

Look to the crock from which you were hewn

And to the 1quarry from which you were dug.

2 “Look to aAbraham your father

And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain;

When he bwas but one I called him,

Then I blessed him and multiplied him.”

3 Indeed, athe Lord will comfort Zion;

He will comfort all her bwaste places.

And her cwilderness He will make like dEden,

And her desert like the egarden of the Lord;

fJoy and gladness will be found in her,

Thanksgiving and sound of a melody.