Study Desk

Thus says the Lord to ^(a)Cyrus His anointed, Whom I have taken by the right ^(b)hand, To ^(c)subdue nations before him And ^[a]to ^(d)loose the loins of kings; To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:

"I will go before you and ^(e)make the ^[b]rough places smooth; I will ^(f)shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron ^(g)bars.

"I will give you the ^[c](h)treasures of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places, So that you may know that it is I, The Lord , the God of Israel, who ⁽ⁱ⁾calls you by your name.

"For the sake of ^(j)Jacob My servant, And Israel My chosen one, I have also ^(k)called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor Though you have ^(l)not known Me.

"I am the Lord , and ^(m)there is no other; ⁽ⁿ⁾Besides Me there is no God. I will ^[d](o)gird you, though you have not known Me;

That ^[e](p)men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is ^(q)no one besides Me. I am the Lord , and there is no other,

The One ^(r)forming light and ^(s)creating darkness, Causing ^[f]well-being and ^(t)creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these.

"^(u)Drip down, O heavens, from above, And let the clouds pour down righteousness; Let the ^(v)earth open up and salvation bear fruit, ^(w)And righteousness spring up with it. I, the Lord , have created it.

"Woe to the one who ^(x)quarrels with his ^[g]Maker— An earthenware vessel ^[h]among the vessels of earth! Will the ^(y)clay say to the ^[i]potter, ‘What are you doing?' Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands'?

"Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?' Or to a woman, ‘To what are you ^[j]giving birth?'"

Thus says the ^(z) Lord , the Holy One of Israel, and his ^[k](aa)Maker: "^[l](ab)Ask Me about the things to come ^[m]concerning My ^(ac)sons, And you shall commit to Me ^(ad)the work of My hands.

"It is I who ^(ae)made the earth, and created man upon it. I ^(af)stretched out the heavens with My hands And I ^[n]ordained ^(ag)all their host.

"I have aroused him in ^(ah)righteousness And I will ^(ai)make all his ways smooth; He will ^(aj)build My city and will let My exiles go ^(ak)free, Without any payment or reward," says the Lord of hosts.

Thus says the Lord , "The ^[o]products of ^(al)Egypt and the merchandise of ^[p](am)Cush And the Sabeans, men of stature, Will ^(an)come over to you and will be yours; They will walk behind you, they will come over in ^(ao)chains And will ^(ap)bow down to you; They will make supplication to you: ‘^[q]Surely, ^(aq)God is ^[r]with you, and ^(ar)there is none else, No other God.'"

Truly, You are a God who ^(as)hides Himself, O God of Israel, ^(at)Savior!

They will be ^(au)put to shame and even humiliated, all of them; The ^(av)manufacturers of idols will go away together in humiliation.

Israel has been saved by the Lord With an ^(aw)everlasting salvation; You ^(ax)will not be put to shame or humiliated To all eternity.

For thus says the Lord , who ^(ay)created the heavens (He is the God who ^(az)formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it ^[s]a ^(ba)waste place, but formed it to be ^(bb)inhabited), "I am the Lord , and ^(bc)there is none else.

"^(bd)I have not spoken in secret, In ^[t]some dark land; I did not say to the ^[u](be)offspring of Jacob, ‘^(bf)Seek Me in ^[v]a waste place'; I, the Lord , ^(bg)speak righteousness, ^(bh)Declaring things that are upright.

"^(bi)Gather yourselves and come; Draw near together, you fugitives of the nations; ^(bj)They have no knowledge, Who ^(bk)carry about ^[w]their wooden idol And ^(bl)pray to a god who cannot save.

"^(bm)Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together. ^(bn)Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the Lord ? And there is ^(bo)no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a ^(bp)Savior; There is none except Me.

"^(bq)Turn to Me and ^(br)be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other.

"^(bs)I have sworn by Myself, The ^(bt)word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me ^(bu)every knee will bow, every tongue will ^(bv)swear allegiance.

"They will say of Me, ‘Only ^(bw)in the Lord are righteousness and strength.' Men will come to Him, And ^(bx)all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.

"In the Lord all the offspring of Israel Will be ^(by)justified and will ^(bz)glory."

^(a)Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over; Their images are consigned to the beasts and the cattle. The things ^[a]that you carry are burdensome, A load for the weary beast.

They stooped over, they have bowed down together; They could not rescue the burden, But ^[b]have themselves ^(b)gone into captivity.

"^(c)Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all ^(d)the remnant of the house of Israel, You who have been ^(e)borne by Me from ^[c]birth And have been carried from the womb;

Even to your old age ^(f)I ^[d]will be the same, And even to your ^[e](g)graying years I will bear you! I have ^[f]done it, and I will carry you; And I will bear you and I will deliver you.

"^(h)To whom would you liken Me And make Me equal and compare Me, That we would be alike?

"Those who ⁽ⁱ⁾lavish gold from the purse And weigh silver on the scale Hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; They ^(j)bow down, indeed they worship it.

"They ^(k)lift it upon the shoulder and carry it; They set it in its place and it stands there. ^(l)It does not move from its place. Though one may cry to it, it ^(m)cannot answer; It ⁽ⁿ⁾cannot deliver him from his distress.

"^(o)Remember this, and be ^[g]assured; ^(p)Recall it to ^[h]mind, you ^(q)transgressors.

"Remember the ^(r)former things long past, For I am God, and there is ^(s)no other; I am God, and there is ^(t)no one like Me,

Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘^(u)My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure';

Calling a ^(v)bird of prey from the ^(w)east, The man of ^[i]My purpose from a far country. Truly I have ^(x)spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.

"^(y)Listen to Me, you ^(z)stubborn-minded, Who are ^(aa)far from righteousness.

"I ^(ab)bring near My righteousness, it is not far off; And My salvation will not delay. And I will grant ^(ac)salvation in Zion, And My ^(ad)glory for Israel.

"^(a)Come down and sit in the dust, O ^(b)virgin ^(c)daughter of Babylon; Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no longer be called ^(d)tender and delicate.

"Take the ^(e)millstones and ^(f)grind meal. Remove your ^(g)veil, ^(h)strip off the skirt, Uncover the leg, cross the rivers.

"Your ⁽ⁱ⁾nakedness will be uncovered, Your shame also will be exposed; I will ^(j)take vengeance and will not ^[a]spare a man."

Our ^(k)Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name, The Holy One of Israel.

"^(l)Sit silently, and go into ^(m)darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans, For you will no longer be called The ⁽ⁿ⁾queen of ^(o)kingdoms.

"I was angry with My people, I profaned My heritage And gave them into your hand. You did not show mercy to them, On the ^(p)aged you made your yoke very heavy.

"Yet you said, ‘I will be a ^(q)queen forever.' These things you did not ^(r)consider Nor remember the ^(s)outcome of ^[b]them.

"Now, then, hear this, you ^(t)sensual one, Who ^(u)dwells securely, Who says in ^[c]your heart, ‘^(v)I am, and there is no one besides me. I will ^(w)not sit as a widow, Nor know loss of children.'

"But these ^(x)two things will come on you ^(y)suddenly in one day: Loss of children and widowhood. They will come on you in full measure In spite of your many ^(z)sorceries, In spite of the great power of your spells.

"You felt ^(aa)secure in your wickedness and said, ‘^(ab)No one sees me,' Your ^(ac)wisdom and your knowledge, ^[d]they have deluded you; For you have said in your heart, ‘^(ad)I am, and there is no one besides me.'

"But ^(ae)evil will come on you Which you will not know how to charm away; And disaster will fall on you For which you cannot atone; And ^(af)destruction about which you do not know Will come on you ^(ag)suddenly.

"Stand fast now in your ^(ah)spells And in your many sorceries With which you have labored from your youth; Perhaps you will be able to profit, Perhaps you may cause trembling.

"You are ^(ai)wearied with your many counsels; Let now the ^(aj)astrologers, Those who prophesy by the stars, Those who predict by the new moons, Stand up and ^(ak)save you from what will come upon you.

"Behold, they have become ^(al)like stubble, ^(am)Fire burns them; They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame; There will be ^(an)no coal to warm by Nor a fire to sit before!

"So have those become to you with whom you have labored, Who have ^(ao)trafficked with you from your youth; Each has wandered in his own ^[e]way; There is ^(ap)none to save you.

"^(a)Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are named Israel And who came forth from the ^[a](b)loins of Judah, Who ^(c)swear by the name of the Lord And invoke the God of Israel, But not in truth nor in ^(d)righteousness.

"For they call themselves after the ^(e)holy city And ^(f)lean on the God of Israel; The Lord of hosts is His name.

"I ^(g)declared the former things long ago And they went forth from My mouth, and I proclaimed them. ^(h)Suddenly I acted, and they ⁽ⁱ⁾came to pass.

"Because I know that you are ^[b](j)obstinate, And your ^(k)neck is an iron sinew And your ^(l)forehead bronze,

Therefore I declared them to you long ago, Before ^[c]they took place I proclaimed them to you, So that you would not say, ‘My ^(m)idol has done them, And my graven image and my molten image have commanded them.'

"You have heard; look at all this. And you, will you not declare it? I proclaim to you ⁽ⁿ⁾new things from this time, Even hidden things which you have not known.

"They are created now and not long ago; And before today you have not heard them, So that you will not say, ‘Behold, I knew them.'

"You have not ^(o)heard, you have not known. Even from long ago your ear has not been open, Because I knew that you would deal very treacherously; And you have been called a ^[d](p)rebel from ^[e]birth.

"^(q)For the sake of My name I ^(r)delay My wrath, And for My praise I restrain it for you, In order not to cut you off.

"Behold, I have refined you, but ^(s)not as silver; I have tested you in the ^(t)furnace of affliction.

"^(u)For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And My ^(v)glory I will not give to another.

"Listen to Me, O Jacob, even Israel ^[f]whom I called; ^(w)I am He, ^(x)I am the first, I am also the last.

"Surely My hand ^(y)founded the earth, And My right hand spread out the heavens; When I ^(z)call to them, they stand together.

"^(aa)Assemble, all of you, and listen! ^(ab)Who among them has declared these things? The Lord loves him; he will ^(ac)carry out His good pleasure on ^(ad)Babylon, And His arm will be against the Chaldeans.

"I, even I, have spoken; indeed I have ^(ae)called him, I have brought him, and He will make his ways successful.

"^(af)Come near to Me, listen to this: From the first I have ^(ag)not spoken in secret, ^(ah)From the time it took place, I was there. And now ^(ai)the Lord ^[g] God has sent Me, and His Spirit."

Thus says the Lord , your ^(aj)Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, Who ^(ak)leads you in the way you should go.

"If only you had ^(al)paid attention to My commandments! Then your ^[h](am)well-being would have been like a river, And your ^(an)righteousness like the waves of the sea.

"Your ^[i](ao)descendants would have been like the sand, And ^[j]your offspring like its grains; ^(ap)Their name would never be cut off or destroyed from My presence."

^(aq)Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! Declare with the sound of ^(ar)joyful shouting, proclaim this, ^(as)Send it out to the end of the earth; Say, "^(at)The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob."

They did not ^(au)thirst when He led them through the deserts. He ^(av)made the water flow out of the rock for them; He split the rock and ^(aw)the water gushed forth.

"^(ax)There is no peace for the wicked," says the Lord .

Listen to Me, O ^(a)islands, And pay attention, you peoples from afar. ^(b)The Lord called Me from the womb; From the ^[a]body of My mother He named Me.

He has made My ^(c)mouth like a sharp sword, In the ^(d)shadow of His hand He has concealed Me; And He has also made Me a ^[b]select ^(e)arrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver.

He said to Me, "^(f)You are My Servant, Israel, ^(g)In Whom I will ^[c]show My glory."

But I said, "I have ^(h)toiled in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity; Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the Lord , And My ⁽ⁱ⁾reward with My God."

And now says ^(j)the Lord , who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, so that ^(k)Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am ^(l)honored in the sight of the Lord , And My God is My ^(m)strength),

He says, "It is too ^[d]small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ⁽ⁿ⁾preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a ^(o)light ^[e]of the nations So that My salvation may ^[f]reach to the ^(p)end of the earth."

Thus says the Lord , the ^(q)Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One, To the ^(r)despised One, To the One abhorred by the nation, To the Servant of rulers, "^(s)Kings will see and arise, Princes will also ^(t)bow down, Because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You."

Thus says the Lord , "In a ^(u)favorable time I have answered You, And in a day of salvation I have helped You; And I will ^(v)keep You and ^(w)give You for a covenant of the people, To ^[g](x)restore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages;

Saying to those who are ^(y)bound, ‘Go forth,' To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.' Along the roads they will feed, And their pasture will be on all ^(z)bare heights.

"They will ^(aa)not hunger or thirst, Nor will the scorching ^(ab)heat or sun strike them down; For ^(ac)He who has compassion on them will ^(ad)lead them And will guide them to ^(ae)springs of water.

"I will make all ^(af)My mountains a road, And My ^(ag)highways will be raised up.

"Behold, these will come ^(ah)from afar; And lo, these will come from the ^(ai)north and from the west, And these from the land of Sinim."

^(aj)Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains! For the ^(ak) Lord has comforted His people And will ^(al)have compassion on His afflicted.

But Zion said, "The Lord has forsaken me, And the Lord has forgotten me."

"Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but ^(am)I will not forget you.

"Behold, I have ^(an)inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your ^(ao)walls are continually before Me.

"Your ^[h]builders hurry; Your ^(ap)destroyers and devastators Will depart from you.

"^(aq)Lift up your eyes and look around; ^(ar)All of them gather together, ^(as)they come to you. ^(at)As I live," declares the Lord , "You will surely ^(au)put on all of them as ^[i]jewels and bind them on as a bride.

"For ^(av)your waste and desolate places and your destroyed land— Surely now you will be ^(aw)too cramped for the inhabitants, And those who ^(ax)swallowed you will be far away.

"The ^(ay)children of ^[j]whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears, ‘The place is too cramped for me; Make room for me that I may live here.'

"Then you will ^(az)say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me, Since I have been bereaved of my children And am ^(ba)barren, an ^(bb)exile and a wanderer? And who has reared these? Behold, I was ^(bc)left alone; ^[k](bd)From where did these come?'"

Thus says the Lord ^[l] God , "Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations And set up My ^(be)standard to the peoples; And they will ^(bf)bring your sons in their bosom, And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.

"^(bg)Kings will be your guardians, And their princesses your nurses. They will ^(bh)bow down to you with their faces to the earth And ^(bi)lick the dust of your feet; And you will ^(bj)know that I am the Lord ; Those who hopefully ^(bk)wait for Me will ^(bl)not be put to shame.

"^(bm)Can the prey be taken from the mighty man, Or the captives of ^[m]a tyrant be rescued?"

Surely, thus says the Lord , "Even the ^(bn)captives of the mighty man will be taken away, And the prey of the tyrant will be rescued; For I will contend with the one who contends with you, And I will ^(bo)save your sons.

"I will feed your ^(bp)oppressors with their ^(bq)own flesh, And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine; And ^(br)all flesh will know that I, the Lord , am your ^(bs)Savior And your ^(bt)Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."