Study Desk

^(C1)Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over; Their idols have become loads for the animals and the cattle. The things ^(F1)that you carry are burdensome, A load for the weary animal.

They stooped over, they have bowed down together; They could not rescue the burden, But ^(F1)have themselves ^(C1)gone into captivity.

"^(C1)Listen to Me, house of Jacob, And all ^(C2)the remnant of the house of Israel, You who have been ^(C3)carried by Me from ^(F1)birth And have been carried from the womb;

Even to your old age ^(C1)I ^(F1)will be the same, And even to your ^(F2)(C2)graying years I will ^(F3)carry you! I have ^(F4)done it, and I will bear you; And I will ^(F3)carry you and I will save you.

"^(C1)To whom would you liken Me And make Me equal, and compare Me, That we would be alike?

-"Those who ^(C1)lavish gold from the bag And weigh silver on the scale, Hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; They ^(C2)bow down, indeed they worship it.

-"They ^(C1)lift it on the shoulder, carry it, And set it in its place, and it stands there. ^(C2)It does not move from its place. Though one may shout to it, it ^(C3)cannot answer; It ^(C4)cannot save him from his distress.

"^(C1)Remember this, and be ^(F1)assured; ^(C2)Recall it to ^(F2)mind, you ^(C3)wrongdoers.

-"Remember the ^(C1)former things long past, For I am God, and there is ^(C2)no other; I am God, and there is ^(C3)no one like Me,

Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, '^(C1)My plan will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure';

Calling a ^(C1)bird of prey from the ^(C2)east, The man of ^(F1)My purpose from a distant country. Truly I have ^(C3)spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, I will certainly do it.

"^(C1)Listen to Me, you ^(C2)stubborn-minded, Who are ^(C3)far from righteousness.

-"I ^(C1)bring near My righteousness, it is not far off; And My salvation will not delay. And I will grant ^(C2)salvation in Zion, And My ^(C3)glory for Israel.

"^(C1)Come down and sit in the dust, ^(C2)Virgin ^(C3)daughter of Babylon; Sit on the ground without a throne, Daughter of the Chaldeans! For you will no longer be called ^(C4)tender and delicate.

-"Take the ^(C1)millstones and ^(C2)grind flour. Remove your ^(C3)veil, ^(C4)strip off the skirt, Uncover the leg, cross the rivers.

-"Your ^(C1)nakedness will be uncovered, Your shame will also be exposed; I will ^(C2)take vengeance and will not spare anyone."

Our ^(C1)Redeemer, the LORD of armies is His name, The Holy One of Israel.

"^(C1)Sit silently, and go into ^(C2)darkness, Daughter of the Chaldeans; For you will no longer be called The ^(C3)queen of ^(C4)kingdoms.

-"I was angry with My people, I profaned My heritage And handed them over to you. You did not show mercy to them, On the ^(C1)aged you made your yoke very heavy.

-"Yet you said, 'I will be a ^(C1)queen forever.' These things you did not ^(C2)consider Nor remember the ^(C3)outcome of ^(F1)them.

"Now, then, hear this, you ^(C1)luxuriant one, Who ^(C2)lives securely, Who says in her heart, '^(C3)I am, and there is no one besides me. I will ^(C4)not sit as a widow, Nor know the loss of children.'

-"But these ^(C1)two things will come on you ^(C2)suddenly in one day: Loss of children and widowhood. They will come on you in full measure In spite of your many ^(C3)sorceries, In spite of the great power of your spells.

-"You felt ^(C1)secure in your wickedness and said, '^(C2)No one sees me,' Your ^(C3)wisdom and your knowledge, ^(F1)they have led you astray; For you have said in your heart, '^(C4)I am, and there is no one besides me.'

-"But ^(C1)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 ^(C2)destruction about which you do not know Will come on you ^(C3)suddenly.

"Persist now in your ^(C1)spells And in your many sorceries With which you have labored from your youth; Perhaps you will be able to benefit, Perhaps you may cause trembling.

-"You are ^(C1)wearied with your many counsels; Let now the ^(C2)astrologers, Those who prophesy by the stars, Those who predict by the new moons, Stand up and ^(C3)save you from what will come upon you.

-"Behold, they have become ^(C1)like stubble, ^(C2)Fire burns them; They cannot save themselves from the power of the flame; There will be ^(C3)no coal to warm by Nor a fire to sit before!

-"So have those become to you with whom you have labored, Those who have ^(C1)done business with you from your youth; Each has wandered in his own ^(F1)way; There is ^(C2)no one to save you.

"^(C1)Hear this, house of Jacob, who are named Israel And who came from the ^(C2)waters of Judah, Who ^(C3)swear by the name of the LORD And invoke the God of Israel, But not in truth nor in ^(C4)righteousness.

-"For they name themselves after the ^(C1)holy city, And ^(C2)lean on the God of Israel; The LORD of armies is His name.

-"I ^(C1)declared the former things long ago, And they went out of My mouth, and I proclaimed them. ^(C2)Suddenly I acted, and they ^(C3)came to pass.

-"Because I know that you are ^(F1)(C1)obstinate, And your ^(C2)neck is an iron tendon And your ^(C3)forehead bronze,

Therefore I declared them to you long ago, Before ^(F1)they took place I proclaimed them to you, So that you would not say, 'My ^(C1)idol has done them, And my carved image and my cast metal image have commanded them.'

-"You have heard; look at all this. And you, will you not declare it? I proclaim to you ^(C1)new things from this time, 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 ^(C1)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 ^(F1)(C2)rebel from ^(F2)birth.

-"^(C1)For the sake of My name I ^(C2)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 ^(C1)not as silver; I have tested you in the ^(C2)furnace of affliction.

-"^(C1)For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And I will not give My ^(C2)glory to another.

"Listen to Me, Jacob, Israel ^(F1)whom I called; ^(C1)I am He, ^(C2)I am the first, I am also the last.

-"Assuredly My hand ^(C1)founded the earth, And My right hand spread out the heavens; When I ^(C2)call to them, they stand together.

-"^(C1)Assemble, all of you, and listen! ^(C2)Who among them has declared these things? The LORD loves him; he will ^(C3)carry out His good pleasure against ^(C4)Babylon, And His arm will be against the Chaldeans.

-"I, yes I, have spoken; indeed I have ^(C1)called him, I have brought him, and He will make his ways successful.

-"^(C1)Come near to Me, listen to this: From the beginning I have ^(C2)not spoken in secret, ^(C3)From the time it took place, I was there. And now ^(C4)the Lord ^(F1)GOD has sent Me, and His Spirit."

This is what the LORD says, He who is your ^(C1)Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to benefit, Who ^(C2)leads you in the way you should go.

-"If only you had ^(C1)paid attention to My commandments! Then your ^(F1)(C2)well-being would have been like a river, And your ^(C3)righteousness like the waves of the sea.

-"Your ^(F1)(C1)descendants would have been like the sand, And ^(F2)your offspring like its grains; ^(C2)Their name would never be eliminated or destroyed from My presence."

^(C1)Go out from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! Declare with the sound of ^(C2)joyful shouting, proclaim this, ^(C3)Send it out to the end of the earth; Say, "^(C4)The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob."

They did not ^(C1)thirst when He led them through the deserts. He ^(C2)made the water flow out of the rock for them; He split the rock and ^(C3)the water gushed out.

"^(C1)There is no peace for the wicked," says the LORD.

Listen to Me, you ^(C1)islands, And pay attention, you peoples from afar. ^(C2)The LORD called Me from the womb; From the ^(F1)body of My mother He named Me.

He has made My ^(C1)mouth like a sharp sword, In the ^(C2)shadow of His hand He has concealed Me; And He has also made Me a sharpened ^(C3)arrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver.

He said to Me, "^(C1)You are My Servant, Israel, ^(C2)In whom I will show My glory."

But I said, "I have ^(C1)labored in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and futility; Nevertheless, the justice due to Me is with the LORD, And My ^(C2)reward is with My God."

And now says ^(C1)the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, so that ^(C2)Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am ^(C3)honored in the sight of the LORD, And My God is My ^(C4)strength),

He says, "It is too ^(F1)small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ^(C1)protected ones of Israel; I will also make You a ^(C2)light ^(F2)of the nations So that My salvation may ^(F3)reach to the ^(C3)end of the earth."

This is what the LORD, the ^(C1)Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One, Says to the ^(F1)(C2)despised One, To the One abhorred by the nation, To the Servant of rulers: "^(C3)Kings will see and arise, Princes will also ^(C4)bow down, Because of the LORD who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You."

This is what the LORD says: "At a ^(C1)favorable time I answered You, And on a day of salvation I helped You; And I will ^(C2)watch over You and ^(C3)make You a covenant of the people, To ^(F1)(C4)restore the land, to give as inheritances the deserted hereditary lands;

Saying to those who are ^(C1)bound, '^(F1)Go free,' To those who are in darkness, 'Show yourselves.' They will feed along the roads, And their pasture will be on all ^(C2)bare heights.

-"They will ^(C1)not hunger or thirst, Nor will the scorching ^(C2)heat or sun strike them down; For ^(C3)He who has compassion on them will ^(C4)lead them, And He will guide them to ^(C5)springs of water.

-"I will make all ^(C1)My mountains a road, And My ^(C2)highways will be raised up.

-"Behold, these will come ^(C1)from afar; And behold, these will come from the ^(C2)north and from the west, And these from the land of Aswan."

^(C1)Shout for joy, you heavens! And rejoice, you earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, mountains! For the ^(C2)LORD has comforted His people And will ^(C3)have compassion on His afflicted.

But Zion said, "The LORD has abandoned 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 ^(C1)I will not forget you.

-"Behold, I have ^(C1)inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your ^(C2)walls are continually before Me.

-"Your ^(F1)builders hurry; Your ^(C1)destroyers and devastators Will leave you.

-"^(C1)Raise your eyes and look around; ^(C2)All of them gather together, ^(C3)they come to you. ^(C4)As I live," declares the LORD, "You will certainly ^(C5)put them all on as ^(F1)jewelry and bind them on as a bride.

-"For ^(C1)your ruins and deserted places and your destroyed land— Now you will certainly be ^(C2)too cramped for the inhabitants, And those who ^(C3)swallowed you will be far away.

-"The ^(C1)children ^(F1)you lost 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 ^(C1)say in your heart, 'Who has fathered these for me, Since I have been bereaved of my children And ^(C2)cannot conceive, and I am an ^(C3)exile, and a wanderer? And who has raised these? Behold, I was ^(C4)left alone; ^(F1)(C5)Where are these from?'"

This is what the Lord ^(F1)GOD says: "Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations And set up My ^(C1)flag to the peoples; And they will ^(C2)bring your sons ^(F2)in their arms, And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.

-"^(C1)Kings will be your guardians, And their princesses your nurses. They will ^(C2)bow down to you with their faces to the ground And ^(C3)lick the dust from your feet; And you will ^(C4)know that I am the LORD; Those who hopefully ^(C5)wait for Me will ^(C6)not be put to shame.

"^(C1)Can the prey be taken from a mighty man, Or the captives of ^(F1)a tyrant be rescued?"

Indeed, this is what the LORD says: "Even the ^(C1)captives of the mighty man will be taken away, And the prey of a tyrant will be rescued; For I will contend with the one who contends with you, And I will ^(C2)save your sons.

-"I will feed your ^(C1)oppressors with their ^(C2)own flesh, And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine; And ^(F1)(C3)humanity will know that I, the LORD, am your ^(C4)Savior And your ^(C5)Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."

This is what the LORD says: "Where is the ^(C1)certificate of divorce By which I have ^(C2)sent your mother away? Or to whom of My creditors did I ^(C3)sell you? Behold, you were sold for your ^(C4)wrongdoings, And for your ^(C5)wrongful acts your mother ^(C6)was sent away.

-"Why was there ^(C1)no one when I came? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Is My ^(C2)hand so short that it cannot redeem? Or do I have no power to rescue? Behold, I ^(C3)dry up the sea with My rebuke, I ^(C4)turn rivers into a wilderness; Their fish stink for lack of water, And die of thirst.

-"I ^(C1)clothe the heavens with blackness, And make sackcloth their covering."

The Lord ^(F1)GOD has given Me the tongue of ^(C1)disciples, So that I may know how to ^(C2)sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me ^(C3)morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

The Lord GOD has ^(C1)opened My ear, And I was ^(C2)not disobedient, Nor did I turn back.

I ^(C1)gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pull out My beard; I did not hide My face from insults and spitting.

For the Lord GOD ^(C1)helps Me, Therefore, I am ^(C2)not disgraced; Therefore, I have made My face like ^(C3)flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.

He who ^(C1)vindicates Me is near; Who will contend with Me? Let us ^(C2)stand up to each other. Who has a case against Me? Let him approach Me.

Behold, ^(C1)the Lord GOD helps Me; ^(C2)Who is he who condemns Me? Behold, ^(C3)they will all wear out like a garment; A moth will eat them.

Who is among you who fears the LORD, Who obeys the voice of His ^(C1)servant, Who ^(C2)walks in darkness and has no light? Let him ^(C3)trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.

Behold, all you who ^(C1)kindle a fire, Who encircle yourselves with flaming arrows, Walk in the light of your fire And among the flaming arrows you have set ablaze. This you will have from My hand: You will ^(C2)lie down in torment.