Study Desk

"^(C1)Comfort, comfort My people," says your God.

"^(C1)Speak ^(F1)kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her ^(F2)(C2)warfare has ended, That her ^(F3)(C3)guilt has been removed, That she has received of the LORD'S hand ^(C4)Double for all her sins."

^(C1)The voice of one calling out, "^(C2)Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make ^(F1)straight in the desert a highway for our God.

-"Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the uneven ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley;

^(F1)Then the ^(C1)glory of the LORD will be revealed, And ^(C2)all flesh will see it together; For the ^(C3)mouth of the LORD has spoken."

A voice says, "Call out." Then ^(F1)he answered, "What shall I call out?" ^(C1)All flesh is grass, and all its ^(F2)loveliness is like the flower of the field.

The ^(C1)grass withers, the flower fades, ^(F1)When the ^(C2)breath of the LORD blows upon it; The people are indeed grass!

The grass withers, the flower fades, But ^(C1)the word of our God stands forever.

Go up on a ^(C1)high mountain, Zion, messenger of ^(C2)good news, Raise your voice forcefully, Jerusalem, messenger of good news; Raise it up, do not fear. Say to the ^(C3)cities of Judah, "^(C4)Here is your God!"

Behold, the Lord ^(F1)GOD will come ^(C1)with might, With His ^(C2)arm ruling for Him. Behold, His ^(C3)compensation is with Him, And His reward before Him.

Like a shepherd He will ^(C1)tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in the fold of His robe; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.

Who has ^(C1)measured the ^(F1)waters in the hollow of His hand, And measured the heavens with a ^(F2)span, And ^(F3)calculated the dust of the earth with a measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales?

^(C1)Who has ^(F1)directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His ^(C2)counselor has informed Him?

^(C1)With whom did He consult and who ^(C2)gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge, And informed Him of the way of understanding?

Behold, the ^(C1)nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are regarded as a speck of ^(C2)dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the ^(F1)islands like fine dust.

Even Lebanon is not enough to ^(F1)burn, Nor its ^(C1)animals enough for a burnt offering.

^(C1)All the nations are as nothing before Him, They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and ^(F1)meaningless.

^(C1)To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him?

As for the ^(F1)(C1)idol, a craftsman casts it, A goldsmith ^(C2)plates it with gold, And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.

He who is too impoverished for such an offering Selects a ^(C1)tree that does not rot; He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman To ^(F1)prepare ^(F2)an idol that ^(C2)will not totter.

^(C1)Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood ^(C2)from the foundations of the earth?

It is He who ^(F1)sits above the ^(F2)(C1)circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like ^(C2)grasshoppers, Who ^(C3)stretches out the heavens like a ^(C4)curtain And spreads them out like a ^(C5)tent to live in.

It is He who reduces ^(C1)rulers to nothing, Who ^(C2)makes the judges of the earth ^(F1)meaningless.

^(F1)Scarcely have they been planted, ^(F1)Scarcely have they been sown, ^(F1)Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, But He merely blows on them, and they wither, And the ^(C1)storm carries them away like stubble.

"^(C1)To whom then will you compare Me That I would be his equal?" says the Holy One.

^(C1)Raise your eyes on high And see ^(C2)who has created these stars, The ^(C3)One who brings out their ^(F1)multitude by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the ^(C4)greatness of His might and the ^(F2)strength of His power, ^(C5)Not one of them is missing.

^(C1)Why do you say, Jacob, and you assert, Israel, "My way is ^(C2)hidden from the LORD, And the ^(C3)justice due me ^(F1)escapes the notice of ^(C4)my God"?

^(C1)Do you not know? Have you not heard? The ^(C2)Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is ^(C3)unsearchable.

He gives strength to the ^(C1)weary, And to the one who lacks might He ^(C2)increases power.

Though ^(C1)youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous ^(C2)young men stumble badly,

Yet those who ^(F1)wait for the LORD Will ^(C1)gain new strength; They will ^(F2)(C2)mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

"^(C1)Listen to Me ^(C2)in silence, you coastlands, And let the peoples ^(C3)gain new strength; ^(C4)Let them come forward, then let them speak; ^(C5)Let's come together for judgment.

-"^(C1)Who has stirred one from the east Whom He ^(C2)calls in righteousness to His ^(F1)feet? He ^(C3)turns nations over to him And subdues kings. He makes them like ^(C4)dust with his sword, Like the wind-driven ^(C5)chaff with his bow.

-"He pursues them, passing on in safety, By a way he had not been ^(F1)traversing with his feet.

-"^(C1)Who has performed and accomplished it, Summoning the generations from the beginning? '^(C2)I, the LORD, am the first, and with the last. ^(C3)I am He.'"

The ^(C1)coastlands have seen and are afraid; The ^(C2)ends of the earth tremble; They have approached and have come.

Each one helps his neighbor And says to his brother, "Be strong!"

So the ^(C1)craftsman encourages the ^(C2)smelter, And he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil, Saying of the soldering, "It is good"; And he fastens it with nails, ^(C3)So that it will not totter.

"But you, Israel, ^(C1)My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, Descendant of ^(C2)Abraham My ^(C3)friend,

You whom I have ^(F1)(C1)taken from the ends of the earth And called from its ^(C2)remotest parts, And said to you, 'You are ^(C3)My servant, I have ^(C4)chosen you and have not rejected you.

-'Do not ^(C1)fear, for I am with you; Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, ^(C2)I will also help you, I will also uphold you with My righteous ^(C3)right hand.'

-"Behold, ^(C1)all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; ^(C2)Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.

-"^(C1)You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them, Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.

-"For I am the LORD your God ^(C1)who takes hold of your right hand, Who says to you, '^(C2)Do not fear, I will help you.'

-"Do not fear, you ^(C1)worm Jacob, you people of Israel; I will help you," declares the LORD, "and ^(C2)your ^(F1)Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

-"Behold, I turned you into a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges; ^(C1)You will thresh the ^(C2)mountains and pulverize them, And make the hills like chaff.

-"You will ^(C1)winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, And the storm will scatter them; But you will ^(C2)rejoice in the LORD, You will boast in the Holy One of Israel.

"The poor and needy are seeking ^(C1)water, but there is none, And their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, ^(C2)will answer them Myself; As the God of Israel I ^(C3)will not abandon them.

-"I will open ^(C1)rivers on the bare heights, And springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make ^(C2)the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land fountains of water.

-"I will put the cedar in the wilderness, The acacia, the ^(C1)myrtle, and the olive tree; I will place the ^(C1)juniper in the desert, Together with the elm tree and the cypress,

So that ^(C1)they may see and recognize, And consider and gain insight as well, That the ^(C2)hand of the LORD has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

"^(F1)Present your case," the LORD says. "Bring forward your evidence," The ^(C1)King of Jacob says.

^(C1)Let them bring them forward and declare to us what is going to take place; As for the ^(C2)former events, declare what they were, So that we may consider them and know their outcome. Or announce to us what is coming;

^(C1)Declare the things that are going to come afterward, So that we may know that you are gods; Indeed, ^(C2)do good or evil, that we may be afraid and fear together.

Behold, ^(C1)you are less than nothing, And ^(C2)your work is less than nothing! He who chooses you is an ^(C3)abomination.

"I have put ^(C1)one from the north into motion, and he has come; From the rising of the sun he will call on My name; And he will come upon rulers as upon ^(F1)(C2)mortar, As the potter treads on clay."

Who has ^(C1)declared this from the beginning, that we might know? Or from former times, that we may say, "He is right!"? There was ^(C2)no one at all who declared, There was no one at all who proclaimed, There was no one at all who heard your words.

"^(C1)Previously I said to Zion, 'Behold, here they are.' And to Jerusalem, 'I will give a ^(C2)messenger of good news.'

-"But ^(C1)when I look, there is no one, And there is no ^(C2)counselor ^(F1)among them Who, if I ask, can ^(C3)give an answer.

-"Behold, all of them are ^(F1)false; Their ^(C1)works are ^(C2)nothing, Their cast metal images are ^(C3)wind and emptiness.

"^(C1)Behold, My ^(C2)Servant, whom I ^(F1)uphold; My ^(C3)chosen one in whom My ^(C4)soul delights. I have put My ^(C5)Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth ^(C6)justice to the ^(F2)nations.

-"He will not cry out nor raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street.

-"A bent reed He will not break off And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth ^(C1)justice.

-"He will not be ^(C1)disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice on the earth; And the ^(C2)coastlands will wait expectantly for His ^(F1)law."

This is what God the LORD says, Who ^(C1)created the heavens and ^(C2)stretched them out, Who spread out the ^(C3)earth and its ^(F1)offspring, Who ^(C4)gives breath to the people on it And spirit to those who walk in it:

"I am the LORD, I have ^(C1)called You in righteousness, I will also ^(C2)hold You by the hand and ^(C3)watch over You, And I will appoint You as a ^(C4)covenant to the people, As a ^(C5)light to the nations,

To ^(C1)open blind eyes, To ^(C2)bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.

-"^(C1)I am the LORD, that is ^(C2)My name; I will not give My ^(C3)glory to another, Nor My praise to idols.

-"Behold, the ^(C1)former things have come to pass, Now I declare ^(C2)new things; Before they sprout I proclaim them to you."

Sing to the LORD a ^(C1)new song, Sing His praise from the ^(C2)end of the earth! ^(C3)You who go down to the sea, and ^(C4)all that is in it; You ^(C5)islands, and those who live on them.

Let the ^(C1)wilderness and its cities raise their voices, The settlements which ^(C2)Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of ^(C3)Sela sing aloud, Let them shout for joy from the tops of the ^(C4)mountains.

Let them ^(C1)give glory to the LORD And declare His praise in the ^(C2)coastlands.

^(C1)The LORD will go out like a warrior, He will stir His ^(C2)zeal like a man of war. He will shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry. He will ^(C3)prevail against His enemies.

"^(C1)I have kept silent for a long time, I have kept still and restrained Myself. Now like a woman in labor I will groan, I will both gasp and pant.

-"I will ^(C1)lay waste the mountains and hills And wither all their vegetation; I will ^(C2)turn the rivers into coastlands And dry up the ponds.

-"I will ^(C1)lead those who are blind by a way they have not known, In paths they have not known I will guide them. I will ^(C2)turn darkness into light before them And ^(C3)uneven land into plains. These are the things I will do, And I will ^(C4)not leave them undone."

They will be turned back and be ^(C1)utterly put to shame, Who trust in ^(F1)idols, Who say to cast metal images, "You are our gods."

^(C1)Hear, you who are deaf! And look, you who are blind, so that you may see.

Who is blind but My ^(C1)servant, Or so deaf as My ^(C2)messenger whom I send? Who is so blind as one who is ^(F1)(C3)at peace with Me, Or so blind as the servant of the LORD?

^(C1)You have seen many things, but you do not retain them; Your ears are open, but no one hears.

The LORD was pleased for His righteousness' sake To make the Law ^(C1)great and glorious.

But this is a people plundered and pillaged; All of them are ^(C1)trapped in ^(F1)caves, Or are ^(C2)hidden away in prisons; They have become plunder, with no one to save them, And spoils with no one to say, "Give them back!"

Who among you will listen to this? Who will pay attention and listen in the time to come?

Who gave Jacob up for spoils, and Israel to plunderers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned, And in whose ways they ^(C1)were not willing to walk, And whose Law they did not ^(C2)obey?

So He poured out on him the heat of His anger And the ^(C1)fierceness of battle; And it set him aflame all around, Yet he did not recognize it; And it burned him, but he ^(F1)(C2)paid no attention.