The Babylonian Envoys

39 At athat time 1Merodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 bAnd Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.

3 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?”

So Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a cfar country, from Babylon.”

4 And he said, “What have they seen in your house?”

So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.”

5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 6 ‘Behold, the days are coming dwhen all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord. 7 ‘And they shall take away some of your esons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ”

8 So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, f“The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “At least there will be peace and truth in my days.”

God’s People are Comforted

40 “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”

Says your God.

2 “Speak 1comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,

That her warfare is ended,

That her iniquity is pardoned;

aFor she has received from the Lord’s hand

Double for all her sins.”

3 bThe voice of one crying in the wilderness:

c“Prepare the way of the Lord;

dMake straight 2in the desert

A highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be exalted

And every mountain and hill brought low;

eThe crooked places shall be made 3straight

And the rough places smooth;

5 The fglory of the Lord shall be revealed,

And all flesh shall see it together;

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

6 The voice said, “Cry out!”

And 4he said, “What shall I cry?”

g“All flesh is grass,

And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.

7 The grass withers, the flower fades,

Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;

Surely the people are grass.

8 The grass withers, the flower fades,

But hthe word of our God stands forever.”

9 O Zion,

You who bring good tidings,

Get up into the high mountain;

O Jerusalem,

You who bring good tidings,

Lift up your voice with strength,

Lift it up, be not afraid;

Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”

10 Behold, the Lord God shall come 5with a strong hand,

And iHis arm shall rule for Him;

Behold, jHis reward is with Him,

And His 6work before Him.

11 He will kfeed His flock like a shepherd;

He will gather the lambs with His arm,

And carry them in His bosom,

And gently lead those who are with young.

12 lWho has measured the 7waters in the hollow of His hand,

Measured heaven with a 8span

And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?

Weighed the mountains in scales

And the hills in a balance?

13 mWho has directed the Spirit of the Lord,

Or as His counselor has taught Him?

14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,

And ntaught Him in the path of justice?

Who taught Him knowledge,

And showed Him the way of understanding?

15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket,

And are counted as the small dust on the scales;

Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.

16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn,

Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.

17 All nations before Him are as onothing,

And pthey are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.

18 To whom then will you qliken God?

Or what likeness will you compare to Him?

19 rThe workman molds an image,

The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,

And the silversmith casts silver chains.

20 Whoever is too impoverished for such 9a contribution

Chooses a tree that will not rot;

He seeks for himself a skillful workman

sTo prepare a carved image that will not totter.

21 tHave you not known?

Have you not heard?

Has it not been told you from the beginning?

Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,

And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,

Who ustretches out the heavens like a curtain,

And spreads them out like a vtent to dwell in.

23 He 1brings the wprinces to nothing;

He makes the judges of the earth useless.

24 Scarcely shall they be planted,

Scarcely shall they be sown,

Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,

When He will also blow on them,

And they will wither,

And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.

25 “To xwhom then will you liken Me,

Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.

26 Lift up your eyes on high,

And see who has created these things,

Who brings out their host by number;

yHe calls them all by name,

By the greatness of His might

And the strength of His power;

Not one is missing.

27 zWhy do you say, O Jacob,

And speak, O Israel:

“My way is hidden from the Lord,

And my just claim is passed over by my God”?

28 Have you not known?

Have you not heard?

The everlasting God, the Lord,

The Creator of the ends of the earth,

Neither faints nor is weary.

aHis understanding is unsearchable.

29 He gives power to the weak,

And to those who have no might He increases strength.

30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,

And the young men shall utterly fall,

31 But those who bwait on the Lord

cShall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.

Israel Assured of God’s Help

41 “Keep asilence before Me, O coastlands,

And let the people renew their strength!

Let them come near, then let them speak;

Let us bcome near together for judgment.

2 “Who raised up one cfrom the east?

Who in righteousness called him to His feet?

Who dgave the nations before him,

And made him rule over kings?

Who gave them as the dust to his sword,

As driven stubble to his bow?

3 Who pursued them, and passed 1safely

By the way that he had not gone with his feet?

4 eWho has performed and done it,

Calling the generations from the beginning?

‘I, the Lord, am fthe first;

And with the last I am gHe.’ ”

5 The coastlands saw it and feared,

The ends of the earth were afraid;

They drew near and came.

6 hEveryone helped his neighbor,

And said to his brother,

2“Be of good courage!”

7 iSo the craftsman encouraged the jgoldsmith; 3

He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil,

Saying, 4“It is ready for the soldering”;

Then he fastened it with pegs,

kThat it might not totter.

8 “But you, Israel, are My servant,

Jacob whom I have lchosen,

The descendants of Abraham My mfriend.

9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,

And called from its farthest regions,

And said to you,

‘You are My servant,

I have chosen you and have not cast you away:

10 nFear not, ofor I am with you;

Be not dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you,

Yes, I will help you,

I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

11 “Behold, all those who were incensed against you

Shall be pashamed and disgraced;

They shall be as nothing,

And those who strive with you shall perish.

12 You shall seek them and not find them—

5Those who contended with you.

Those who war against you

Shall be as nothing,

As a nonexistent thing.

13 For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand,

Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’

14 “Fear not, you qworm Jacob,

You men of Israel!

I will help you,” says the Lord

And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

15 “Behold, rI will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth;

You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small,

And make the hills like chaff.

16 You shall swinnow them, the wind shall carry them away,

And the whirlwind shall scatter them;

You shall rejoice in the Lord,

And tglory in the Holy One of Israel.

17 “The poor and needy seek water, but there is none,

Their tongues fail for thirst.

I, the Lord, will hear them;

I, the God of Israel, will not uforsake them.

18 I will open vrivers in desolate heights,

And fountains in the midst of the valleys;

I will make the wwilderness a pool of water,

And the dry land springs of water.

19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree,

The myrtle and the oil tree;

I will set in the xdesert the cypress tree and the pine

And the box tree together,

20 yThat they may see and know,

And consider and understand together,

That the hand of the Lord has done this,

And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

The Futility of Idols

21 “Present your case,” says the Lord.

“Bring forth your strong reasons,” says the zKing of Jacob.

22 “Let athem bring forth and show us what will happen;

Let them show the bformer things, what they were,

That we may 6consider them,

And know the latter end of them;

Or declare to us things to come.

23 cShow the things that are to come hereafter,

That we may know that you are gods;

Yes, ddo good or do evil,

That we may be dismayed and see it together.

24 Indeed eyou are nothing,

And your work is nothing;

He who chooses you is an abomination.

25 “I have raised up one from the north,

And he shall come;

From the 7rising of the sun fhe shall call on My name;

gAnd he shall come against princes as though mortar,

As the potter treads clay.

26 hWho has declared from the beginning, that we may know?

And former times, that we may say, ‘He is righteous’?

Surely there is no one who shows,

Surely there is no one who declares,

Surely there is no one who hears your words.

27 iThe first time jI said to Zion,

‘Look, there they are!’

And I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings.

28 kFor I looked, and there was no man;

I looked among them, but there was no counselor,

Who, when I asked of them, could answer a word.

29 lIndeed they are all 8worthless;

Their works are nothing;

Their molded images are wind and confusion.

The Servant of the Lord

42 “Behold! aMy Servant whom I uphold,

My 1Elect One in whom My soul bdelights!

cI have put My Spirit upon Him;

He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.

2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,

Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.

3 A bruised reed He will not …