I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; Before it came to pass I shewed it thee: Lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, And my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them. Thou hast heard, see all this; And will not ye declare it? I have shewed thee new things from this time, Even hidden things, and thou didst not know them. They are created now, and not from the begin ning; Even before the day when thou heardest them not; And wast called a transgressor from the womb. And for my praise will I refrain for thee, Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: For how should my name be polluted? And I will not give my glory unto another. Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, Which among them hath declared these things? He will do his pleasure on Babylon, And his arm shall be on the Chaldeans. I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: sperous. Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; And now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me. Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, Which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! And thy righteousness as the waves of the sea: And the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; His name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me. Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, Say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob. And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts: He caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: He clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out. There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked. LISTEN, O isles, unto me; And hearken, ye people, from far; The Lord hath called me from the womb; From the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, And made me a polished shaft; In his quiver hath he hid me; And said unto me, Thou art my servant, Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, To bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, Yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, That thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, To him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, Princes also shall worship, Because of the Lord that is faithful, And the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee. Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, And in a day of salvation have I helped thee: And I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, To establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; To them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, And their pastures shall be in all high places. Neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: For he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, Even by the springs of water shall he guide them. And I will make all my mountains a way, And my highways shall be exalted. Behold, these shall come from far: And, lo, these from the north and from the west; And these from the land of Sinim. Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; Can a woman forget her sucking child, That she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? |