Study Desk

Therefore [continues Isaiah] my loins are filled with anguish; Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in childbirth; I am so bent and bewildered that I cannot hear, I am so terrified that I cannot see.

And the lookout called like a lion, "O Lord, I stand continually on the watchtower by day, And I am stationed every night at my guard post.

"I, the LORD, am its Keeper; I water it every moment. So that no one will harm it, I guard it night and day.

Therefore the Lord GOD says this, "Listen carefully, I am laying in Zion a Stone, a tested Stone, A precious Cornerstone for the [secure] foundation, firmly placed. He who believes [who trusts in, relies on, and adheres to that Stone] will not be disturbed or give way [in sudden panic].

Rise up, you women who are carefree, And hear my voice, You confident and unsuspecting daughters! Listen to what I am saying.

And no inhabitant [of Zion] will say, "I am sick"; The people who dwell there will be forgiven their wickedness [their sin, their injustice, their wrongdoing].

I said, "In mid-life I am to go through the gates of Sheol (the place of the dead), I am to be summoned, deprived of the remainder of my years."

"Like a swallow, like a crane, so I chirp; I coo like a dove. My eyes look wistfully upward; O Lord, I am oppressed, take my side and be my security.

"Who has performed and done this, Calling forth [and guiding the destinies of] the generations [of the nations] from the beginning? 'I, the LORD—the first, and with the last [existing before history began, the ever-present, unchanging God]—I am He.'"

'Do not fear [anything], for I am with you; Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, be assured I will help you; I will certainly take hold of you with My righteous right hand [a hand of justice, of power, of victory, of salvation].'

"For I the LORD your God keep hold of your right hand; [I am the Lord], Who says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you.'

"I am the LORD, I have called You (the Messiah) in righteousness [for a righteous purpose], I will also take You by the hand and keep watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people [Israel], As a light to the nations (Gentiles),

"I am the LORD, that is My Name; My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved idols.

"For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt [to the Babylonians] as your ransom, Cush (ancient Ethiopia) and Seba [its province] in exchange for you.

"Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east [where they are scattered], And gather you from the west.

"You are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me.

"I, [only] I, am the LORD, And there is no Savior besides Me.

"I have declared [the future] and saved [the nation] and proclaimed [that I am God], And there was no strange (alien) god among you; Therefore you are My witnesses [among the pagans]," declares the LORD, "That I am God.

"Even from eternity I am He, And there is no one who can rescue from My hand; I act, and who can revoke or reverse it?"

"I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King."