Study Desk

And the voice of the Lord came to my ears, saying, Whom am I to send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I, send me.

For he has said, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my knowledge, for I am wise: and I have taken away the limits of the peoples' lands, and the stores of their wealth have become mine; and I have made towns low in the dust, sending destruction on those living in them;

And in that day you will say I will give praise to you, O Lord; for though you were angry with me, your wrath is turned away, and I am comforted.

See, I am driving the Medes against them, who put no value on silver and have no pleasure in gold.

For this cause the cords of my heart are sounding for Moab, and I am full of sorrow for Kir-heres.

The chiefs of Zoan are completely foolish; the wisest guides of Pharaoh have become like beasts: how do you say to Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the offspring of early kings?

For this cause I am full of bitter grief; pains like the pains of a woman in childbirth have come on me: I am bent down with sorrow at what comes to my ears; I am shocked by what I see.

And the watchman gave a loud cry, O my lord, I am on the watchtower all day, and am placed in my watch every night:

From the farthest part of the earth comes the sound of songs, glory to the upright. But I said, I am wasting away, wasting away, the curse is on me! The false ones go on in their false way, yes, they go on acting falsely.

I, the Lord, am watching it; I will give it water at all times: I will keep it night and day, for fear that any damage comes to it.

For this cause says the Lord God, See, I am placing in Zion as a base, a stone, a tested stone, an angle-stone which is certain and of great value: and he who has faith will not give way.

And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book which is shut, which men give to one who has knowledge of writing, saying, Make clear to us what is in the book: and he says, I am not able to, for the book is shut:

And the men of Zion will not say, I am ill: for its people will have forgiveness for their sin.

I said, In the quiet of my days I am going down into the underworld: the rest of my years are being taken away from me.

My resting-place is pulled up and taken away from me like a herdsman's tent: my life is rolled up like a linen-worker's thread; I am cut off from the cloth on the frame: from day even to night you give me up to pain.

I am crying out with pain till the morning; it is as if a lion was crushing all my bones.

I make cries like a bird; I give out sounds of grief like a dove: my eyes are looking up with desire; O Lord, I am crushed, take up my cause.

What am I to say? seeing that it is he who has done it: all my time of sleeping I am turning from side to side without rest.

O Lord, for this cause I am waiting for you, give rest to my spirit: make me well again, and let me come back to life.

Whose purpose and work was it? His who sent out the generations from the start. I the Lord, the first, and with the last, I am he.