3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? Wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? And exact all your labours. 4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, And to smite with the fist of wickedness: 5 Ye shall not fast as ye do this day, To make your voice to be heard on high. 5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? 4A 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, 6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? 7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, 8 And that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him ; And that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, And thine health shall spring forth speedily: And thy righteousness shall go before thee; 9 Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; Thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, Then shall thy light rise in obscurity, 11 And the LORD shall guide thee continually, And make fat thy bones: And thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, 12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: 13 Thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; And thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. 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: 14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; And I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, For the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. 59 BEHOLD, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; Neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, 1 Or, things wherewith ye 4 Or, To afflict his soul for a day. 2 Heb. griefs. 5 Heb. the bundles of the yoke. 6 Heb. broken. 8 Or, Ye fast not as this day. 7 Or, afflicted. 8 Heb. shall gather thee up. 9 Heb. droughts. 10 Heb. lie, or, deceive. 3 For your hands are defiled with blood, 4 And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. They trust in vanity, and speak lies; They conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. 5 They hatch cockatrice' eggs, And weave the spider's web: He that eateth of their eggs dieth, And 2 that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. 6 Their webs shall not become garments, Neither shall they cover themselves with their works: And the act of violence is in their hands. 7 Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood: 9 And there is no 4 judgment in their goings: We wait for light, but behold obscurity; And mourn sore like doves: We look for judgment, but there is none; For salvation, but it is far off from us. 12 For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, And our sins testify against us: For our transgressions are with us; And as for our iniquities, we know them; 13 In transgressing and lying against the LORD, And departing away from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. 14 And judgment is turned away backward, And justice standeth afar off: For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter. 15 Yea, truth faileth; And he that departeth from evil 5 maketh himself a prey. And the LORD saw it, And it displeased him that there was no judgment. 16 And he saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor : Therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; 17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, And he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, 18 According to their 7 deeds, accordingly he will repay, 1 Or, adders'. 2 Or, that which is sprinkled is as if there brake out a viper. 3 Heb. breaking. 4 Or, right. 5 Or, is accounted mad. 6 Heb. it was evil in his eyes. 7 Heb. recompences. Fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; To the islands he will repay recompence. 19 So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, And his glory from the rising of the sun. 20 When the enemy shall come in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. And unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD. 21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; 60 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, ARISE! shine! for thy light is come, And the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. 2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And gross darkness the people: But the LORD shall arise upon thee, 3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, 4 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. 5 Then thou shalt see, and flow together, And thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; Because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, The forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. 6 The multitude of camels shall cover thee, The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; All they from Sheba shall come : They shall bring gold and incense; And they shall show forth the praises of the LORD. 7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, The rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: 8 They shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, And I will glorify the house of my glory. Who are these that fly as a cloud, And as the doves to their windows? 9 Surely the isles shall wait for me, And the ships of Tarshish first, To bring thy sons from far, Their silver and their gold with them, Unto the name of the LORD thy God, And to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. 10 And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, And their kings shall minister unto thee: For in my wrath I smote thee, But in my favour have I had mercy on thee. 11 Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; They shall not be shut day nor night; That men may bring unto thee the 5 forces of the Gentiles, 12 For the nation and kingdom That will not serve thee shall perish; Yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. 1 Or, put him to flight. 2.Or, be enlightened; for thy light cometh. 3 Or, noise of the sea shall 4. Or, wealth. 5 Or, wealth. be turned toward thee. 13 14 The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, And I will make the place of my feet glorious. The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; And all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; And they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 15 Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, 16 So that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, A joy of many generations. Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, And shalt suck the breast of kings: And thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour 17 For brass I will bring gold, And for iron I will bring silver, And for wood brass, And for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, 18 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, 19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; Neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: And thy God thy glory. 20 Thy sun shall no more go down; Neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: For the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, And the days of thy mourning shall be ended. 21 Thy people also shall be all righteous: They shall inherit the land for ever, The branch of my planting, The work of my hands, that I may be glorified. 22 A little one shall become a thousand, 61 And a small one a strong nation : I the LORD will hasten it in his time. THE Spirit of the Lord GoD is upon me; To preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all that mourn; 3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, 4 To give unto them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they might be called, Trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the waste cities, The desolations of many generations. 5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, B.C. cir. 698. And the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. 6 But ye shall be named, The priests of the LORD: Men shall call you, The Ministers of our God: Ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, And in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. 7 For your shame ye shall have double; And for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: 8 For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; And I will make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, And their offspring among the people: 10 All that see them shall acknowledge them, That they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom 'decketh himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, And as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; To spring forth before all the nations. 62 FOR Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, And for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, Until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, And the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. 2 And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, And all kings thy glory: And thou shalt be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the LORD shall name. 3 Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, And a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. 4 Thou shalt no more be termed, Forsaken; 5 6 Neither shall thy land any more be termed, Desolate : But thou shalt be called, 2 Hephzi-bah, And thy land, 9 Beulah: For the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. For as a young man marrieth a virgin, So shall thy sons marry thee: 4 And as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, So shall thy God rejoice over thee. I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, Which shall never hold their peace day nor night: 5 Ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, 7 And give him no 6 rest, Till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. 8 The LORD hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, 7 Surely I will no more give thy corn To be meat for thine enemies; And the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, For the which thou hast laboured: 1 Heb. decketh as a priest. 2 That is, My delight is in her. 3 That is, Married. 4 Heb. with the joy of the bridegroom. 5 Or, Ye that are the LORD'S remem- 6 Heb. silence. 7 Hab. If I give, &c. |