Study Desk

"^(C1)Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their ^(C2)wrongdoing, And to the house of Jacob their sins.

-"Yet they ^(C1)seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done ^(C2)righteousness And ^(C3)has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight ^(C4)in the nearness of God.

'Why have we ^(C1)fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not ^(F1)notice?' Behold, on the ^(C2)day of your fast you find your desire, And oppress all your workers.

-"Behold, you fast for contention and ^(C1)strife, and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you have done today to ^(C2)make your voice heard on high!

-"Is it a fast like this that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it for bowing ^(F1)one's head like a reed And for spreading out ^(C1)sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an ^(C2)acceptable day to the LORD?

-"Is this not the fast that I choose: To ^(C1)release the bonds of wickedness, To undo the ropes of the yoke, And to ^(C2)let the oppressed go free, And ^(C3)break every yoke?

-"Is it not to ^(C1)break your bread ^(F1)with the hungry And ^(C2)bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the ^(C3)naked, to cover him; And not to ^(C4)hide yourself from your own flesh?

-"Then your ^(C1)light will break out like the dawn, And your ^(C2)recovery will spring up quickly; And your ^(C3)righteousness will go before you; The glory of the ^(C4)LORD will be your rear guard.

-"Then you will ^(C1)call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry for help, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you ^(C2)remove the yoke from your midst, The ^(F1)(C3)pointing of the finger and ^(C4)speaking wickedness,

And if you ^(C1)offer yourself to the hungry And satisfy the ^(F1)need of the afflicted, Then your ^(C2)light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday.

-"And the ^(C1)LORD will continually guide you, And ^(C2)satisfy your ^(F1)desire in scorched places, And ^(C3)give strength to your bones; And you will be like a ^(C4)watered garden, And like a ^(C5)spring of water whose waters do not ^(F2)fail.

-"Those from among you will ^(C1)rebuild the ancient ruins; You will ^(C2)raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the ^(C3)breach, The restorer of the ^(F1)streets in which to dwell.

"If, because of the Sabbath, you ^(C1)restrain your foot From doing as you wish on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a ^(C2)pleasure, and the holy day of the LORD honorable, And honor it, desisting from your ^(C3)own ways, From seeking your own pleasure And ^(C4)speaking your own word,

Then you will take ^(C1)delight in the LORD, And I will make you ride ^(C2)on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the ^(C3)mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Behold, ^(C1)the LORD'S hand is not so short That it cannot save; ^(C2)Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear.

But your ^(C1)wrongdoings have caused a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His ^(F1)face from you so that He does ^(C2)not hear.

For your ^(C1)hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with wrongdoing; Your lips have spoken ^(C2)deceit, Your tongue mutters wickedness.

^(C1)No one sues righteously and ^(C2)no one pleads ^(F1)honestly. They ^(C3)trust in confusion and speak lies; They ^(C4)conceive trouble and give birth to disaster.

They hatch vipers' eggs and ^(C1)weave the spider's web; The one who eats of their eggs dies, And from what is crushed, a snake breaks out.

Their webs will not become clothing, Nor will they ^(C1)cover themselves with their works; Their ^(C2)works are works of wrongdoing, And an ^(C3)act of violence is in their ^(F1)hands.

^(C1)Their feet run to evil, And they hurry to shed innocent blood; ^(C2)Their thoughts are thoughts of wrongdoing, Devastation and destruction are in their paths.

They do not know the ^(C1)way of peace, And there is ^(C2)no justice in their tracks; They have made their paths crooked, ^(C3)Whoever walks on ^(F1)them does not know peace.

Therefore ^(C1)justice is far from us, And righteousness does not reach us; We ^(C2)hope for light, but there is darkness, For brightness, but we walk in gloom.

We ^(C1)grope for the wall like people who are blind, We grope like those who have no eyes. We ^(C2)stumble at midday as in the twilight; Among those who are healthy we are ^(C3)like the dead.

All of us growl like bears, And ^(C1)moan sadly like doves; We hope for ^(C2)justice, but there is none; For salvation, but it is far from us.

For our ^(C1)wrongful acts have multiplied before You, And our ^(C2)sins have testified against us; For our wrongful acts are with us, And ^(F1)we know our wrongdoings:

^(F1)Offending and ^(C1)denying the LORD, And turning away from our God, Speaking ^(C2)oppression and revolt, Conceiving and ^(C3)uttering lying words from the heart.

^(C1)Justice is turned back, And ^(C2)righteousness stands far away; For truth has stumbled in the street, And uprightness cannot enter.

Truth is lacking, And one who turns aside from evil ^(C1)makes himself a prey. Now the LORD saw, And it was ^(F1)displeasing in His sight ^(C2)that there was no justice.

And He saw that there was ^(C1)no one, And was amazed that there was not one to intercede; Then His ^(C2)own arm brought salvation to Him, And His righteousness upheld Him.

He put on ^(C1)righteousness like a breastplate, And a ^(C2)helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on ^(C3)garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with ^(C4)zeal as a cloak.

^(C1)According to their deeds, ^(F1)so will He repay: Wrath to His adversaries, ^(F2)retribution to His enemies; To the coastlands He will ^(F3)deal ^(F2)retribution.

So they will fear the name of the LORD from the ^(C1)west And His glory from the ^(C2)rising of the sun, For He will ^(C3)come like a ^(F1)rushing stream Which the wind of the LORD drives.

"A ^(C1)Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those in Jacob who ^(C2)turn from wrongdoing," declares the LORD.

"As for Me, this is My ^(C1)covenant with them," says the LORD: "My ^(C2)Spirit who is upon you, and My ^(C3)words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your ^(F1)offspring, nor from the mouth of your ^(F1)offspring's offspring," says the LORD, "from now and forever."

"^(C1)Arise, shine; for your ^(C2)light has come, And the ^(C3)glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

-"For behold, ^(C1)darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you And His ^(C2)glory will appear upon you.

-"^(C1)Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.

"^(C1)Raise your eyes all around and see; They all gather together, they ^(C2)come to you. Your sons will come from afar, And your ^(C3)daughters will be ^(F1)carried on the hip.

-"Then you will see and be ^(C1)radiant, And your heart will ^(F1)thrill and rejoice; Because the ^(F2)(C2)abundance of the sea will be turned to you, The ^(C3)wealth of the nations will come to you.

-"A multitude of camels will cover you, The young camels of Midian and ^(C1)Ephah; All those from ^(C2)Sheba will come; They will bring ^(C3)gold and frankincense, And ^(C4)proclaim good news of the praises of the LORD.

-"All the flocks of ^(C1)Kedar will be gathered to you, The rams of Nebaioth will serve you; They will go up on My ^(C2)altar with acceptance, And I will ^(C3)glorify My glorious house.

-"^(C1)Who are these who fly like a cloud And like the doves to their windows?

-"Certainly the ^(C1)coastlands will wait for Me; And the ^(C2)ships of Tarshish will come first, To ^(C3)bring your sons from afar, Their silver and their gold with them, For the name of the LORD your God, And for the Holy One of Israel because He has ^(C4)glorified you.

"^(C1)Foreigners will build up your walls, And their ^(C2)kings will serve you; For in My ^(C3)wrath I struck you, And in My favor I have had compassion on you.

-"Your ^(C1)gates will be open continually; They will not be closed day or night, So that people may ^(C2)bring you the wealth of the nations, With ^(C3)their kings led in procession.

-"For the ^(C1)nation and the kingdom which will not serve you will perish, And the nations will be utterly ruined.

-"The ^(C1)glory of Lebanon will come to you, The ^(C2)juniper, the elm tree and the ^(F1)cedar together, To beautify the place of My sanctuary; And I will make the ^(C3)place of My feet glorious.

-"The ^(C1)sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you, And all those who despised you will bow down at the soles of your feet; And they will call you the ^(C2)city of the LORD, The ^(C3)Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

"Whereas you have been ^(C1)forsaken and ^(C2)hated With no one passing through, I will make you an ^(C3)object of pride forever, A joy from generation to generation.

-"You will also ^(C1)suck the milk of nations, And suck the breast of kings; Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your ^(C2)Savior And your ^(C3)Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

-"Instead of bronze I will bring gold, And instead of iron I will bring silver, And instead of wood, bronze, And instead of stones, iron. And I will make peace your administrators, And righteousness your overseers.

-"^(C1)Violence will not be heard again in your land, Nor ^(C2)devastation or destruction within your borders; But you will call your ^(C3)walls salvation, and your ^(C4)gates praise.

-"No longer will you have the ^(C1)sun for light by day, Nor will the moon give you light for brightness; But you will have the ^(C2)LORD as an everlasting light, And your ^(C3)God as your ^(F1)glory.

-"Your ^(C1)sun will no longer set, Nor will your moon wane; For you will have the LORD as an everlasting light, And the days of your ^(C2)mourning will be over.

-"Then all your ^(C1)people will be righteous; They will ^(C2)possess the land forever, The branch of ^(F1)My planting, The ^(C3)work of My hands, That I may be ^(C4)glorified.

-"The ^(C1)smallest one will become a thousand, And the least one a mighty nation. I, the LORD, will bring it about quickly in its time."