Study Desk

Look to Abraham your fatherAnd to Sarah who brought you forth through labor pains;When he was but one I called him,Then I blessed him and multiplied him."

Lift up your eyes to the sky,Then look to the earth beneath;For the sky will vanish like smoke,And the earth will wear out like a garment,And its inhabitants will die in like manner;But My salvation will be forever,And My righteousness will not be dismayed.

That you have forgotten Yahweh your Maker,Who stretched out the heavensAnd laid the foundations of the earth,That you tremble in dread continually all day long because of the wrath of the one who brings distress,As he makes ready to bring ruin?But where is the wrath of the one who brings distress?

Therefore, now, listen to this, you afflicted,Who are drunk, but not with wine:

But you will not go out in haste,Nor will you go as those who flee;For Yahweh will go before you,And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

But He was pierced through for our transgressions,He was crushed for our iniquities;The chastening for our peace fell upon Him,And by His wounds we are healed.

All of us like sheep have gone astray,Each of us has turned to his own way;But Yahweh has caused the iniquity of us allTo fall on Him.

But Yahweh was pleasedTo crush Him, putting Him to grief;If You would place His soul as a guilt offering,He will see His seed,He will prolong His days,And the good pleasure of Yahweh will succeed in His hand.

"Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame;And do not feel dishonored, for you will not be humiliated;But you will forget the shame of your virginity,And the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.

"For a brief moment I forsook you,But with great compassion I will gather you.

In a flood of furyI hid My face from you for a moment,But with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you,"Says Yahweh your Redeemer.

For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,"Says Yahweh who has compassion on you.

"But draw near, you sons of a soothsayer,Seed of an adulterer and a prostitute.

I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,But they will not profit you.

I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;I will lead him and pay him and his mourners in full with comfort,

But the wicked are like the tossing sea,For it cannot be quiet,And its waters toss up refuse and mud.

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

Therefore justice is far from us,And righteousness does not overtake us;We hope for light, but behold, darkness,For brightness, but we walk in thick darkness.

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

For behold, darkness will cover the earthAnd dense gloom the peoples;But Yahweh will rise upon you,And His glory will appear upon you.