Study Desk

Lord, I will live for you, for you alone; Heal me and let me live.

Then King Hezekiah asked, "What is the sign to prove that I will be able to go to the Temple?" Isaiah replied, "The Lord will give you a sign to prove that he will keep his promise. On the stairway built by King Ahaz, the Lord will make the shadow go back ten steps." And the shadow moved back ten steps. After Hezekiah recovered from his illness, he wrote this song of praise: I thought that in the prime of life I was going to the world of the dead, Never to live out my life. I thought that in this world of the living I would never again see the Lord Or any living person. My life was cut off and ended, Like a tent that is taken down, Like cloth that is cut from a loom. I thought that God was ending my life. All night I cried out with pain, As if a lion were breaking my bones. I thought that God was ending my life. My voice was thin and weak, And I moaned like a dove. My eyes grew tired from looking to heaven. Lord , rescue me from all this trouble. What can I say? The Lord has done this. My heart is bitter, and I cannot sleep. Lord, I will live for you, for you alone; Heal me and let me live. My bitterness will turn into peace. You save my life from all danger; You forgive all my sins. No one in the world of the dead can praise you; The dead cannot trust in your faithfulness. It is the living who praise you, As I praise you now. Parents tell their children how faithful you are. Lord , you have healed me. We will play harps and sing your praise, Sing praise in your Temple as long as we live.

Encourage the people of Jerusalem. Tell them they have suffered long enough and their sins are now forgiven. I have punished them in full for all their sins."

A voice cries out, "Prepare in the wilderness a road for the Lord ! Clear the way in the desert for our God!

All the animals in the forests of Lebanon are not enough for a sacrifice to our God, and its trees are too few to kindle the fire.

But those who trust in the Lord for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak.

"When my people in their need look for water, when their throats are dry with thirst, then I, the Lord , will answer their prayer; I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them.

He will not lose hope or courage; he will establish justice on the earth. Distant lands eagerly wait for his teaching."

Let the desert and its towns praise God; let the people of Kedar praise him! Let those who live in the city of Sela shout for joy from the tops of the mountains!

The Lord goes out to fight like a warrior; he is ready and eager for battle. He gives a war cry, a battle shout; he shows his power against his enemies.

God says, "For a long time I kept silent; I did not answer my people. But now the time to act has come; I cry out like a woman in labor.

For I am the Lord your God, the holy God of Israel, who saves you. I will give up Egypt to set you free; I will give up Ethiopia and Seba.

Watch for the new thing I am going to do. It is happening already—you can see it now! I will make a road through the wilderness and give you streams of water there.

They are the people I made for myself, and they will sing my praises!"

You did not bring me your burnt offerings of sheep; you did not honor me with your sacrifices. I did not burden you by demanding offerings or wear you out by asking for incense.

You didn't buy incense for me or satisfy me with the fat of your animals. Instead you burdened me with your sins; you wore me out with the wrongs you have committed.

He might cut down cedars to use, or choose oak or cypress wood from the forest. Or he might plant a laurel tree and wait for the rain to make it grow.

A person uses part of a tree for fuel and part of it for making an idol. With one part he builds a fire to warm himself and bake bread; with the other part he makes a god and worships it.

Shout for joy, you heavens! Shout, deep places of the earth! Shout for joy, mountains, and every tree of the forest! The Lord has shown his greatness by saving his people Israel.

I say to Cyrus, ‘You are the one who will rule for me; you will do what I want you to do: you will order that Jerusalem be rebuilt and that the foundations of the Temple be laid.'"