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Thou heardst before; behold, now it is done,
Will ye not openly confess the deed?

I from this time will secret things foretell,

Events which had not been to thee revealed,

Lest thou shouldst say, "Lo, this I knew full well:"
But from the first to these thine ears were sealed.

Knowing that thou wouldst act a traitor's part,
And from thy birth Apostate was thy name,

For

my own sake will I restrain my heart, So that I may not utterly disclaim.

I tried thee, not as silver in the fire,
But in the furnace of affliction's gloom;
And on my foes' account I this require,
None other shall my glorious name assume.

Jacob and Israel, hearken unto me:

I am the first, and to the last am he.

My hand foundations to the earth hath given,
And my right hand expanded the clear heaven:
I summon them, now let them present be.

Gather together, all of you, and hear;

Say who among you could these things declare.
He whom Jehovah loves will raise his hand
On Babylon, and o'er Chaldea's land.
Lo, I have spoken; I his power will raise;
I bring him; I will form his prosperous ways.
Draw near and listen, let my speech be heard,
Nor from of old in secret was the word:

Lo, I decreed it from its earliest birth,

Now by the power of God and by his Spirit I go forth.

Lo, thus saith Israel's redeeming Lord,

I am thy God, that teacheth thee the right, And who would lead in safety by my word.

O hadst thou kept my law within thy sight, Like an abundant stream had been thy peace, Thy blessings as the depth's immensity, And as the sand had been thy seed's increase, Thy issue as the issue of the sea;

Thou in my sight hadst ever held thy place;

I would not have removed thee from before my face.

Now lead ye on

From Babylon;

Go out from the Chaldean land:

Let a glad song
Inspire each tongue,

Let it resound through all your band.

Proclaim it forth

To distant earth;

"God hath redeemed his servant Jacob," say.
They sank not in the waste

Through which their way he traced:

Rocks at his word refreshing streams display;
Yea, at his touch they cheer the thirsty way.

Jehovah saith, that man can never rest

Who harbours wickedness within his breast.

CHAPTER XLIX.

YE distant nations, to my words give ear;
Attend to me, ye peoples from afar:

Jehovah from the breast hath called me forth;
My name he mentioned from my very birth:
He as a sharpened sword my mouth hath made,
And his concealing hand lent me its shade;
Yea, even as a polished shaft he bore,

And in his quiver laid me up in store.

"Thou art my servant," hath he said to me;
Israel my glory shall behold in thee.”

Then said I, "Lo, for vanity I wrought,
And I have surely spent my strength for nought:
Nevertheless, my cause is with the Lord,
And in Jehovah's hands is my reward."

Now thus saith God, who formed me to fulfil
His word, and call Jacob and Israel,

(So am I glorious in Jehovah's eyes;
And in the Mighty One my greatness lies,)
"It is but a small work that thou restore
Jacob's and Israel's branches, as of yore.

D

I give thee as a light to every nation,
That all the earth may share in my

salvation."

Thus saith Jehovah, Israel's Holy One,
Unto the man whose presence is neglected,
Whom nations with abhorrence look upon,
Who hath to this world's rulers been subjected:
Lo, kings shall see him, and resign their seat,
Princes, and they shall fall before his feet:
Thy God for his name's sake makes this decree:
Yea, Israel's Holy One hath chosen thee.

Lo, thus the great Jehovah's self doth say—
I heard thee in an acceptable time;.
And I have helped thee in salvation's day;
I will preserve thee, and to every clime
I give thee, as my covenant of grace;
Each wasted heritage shalt thou replace:

That thou may'st to the prisoners cry, "Go forth;"
Proclaim" Appear," to those who are in gloom:
Their food shall be the good things of the earth;
Hunger or thirst shall never be their doom:
They shall not faint beneath the burning heat,
For he that pities them shall guide their feet.

And he shall lead where springing waters flow,
The mountains shall become an even way;

And the uplifted causeways I will show;

They from afar shall come, and not delay: These from the north, and from the west appear; These from the distant land of Sinim are.

Cry out aloud, ye heavens; rejoice, O earth;

And all

ye mountains into. song burst forth;

The great Jehovah hath consoled his sons,
And pity hath for his afflicted ones.

But Sion saith, Jehovah hath forsaken,

And I am from my Lord's remembrance taken.

Say, shall the nursing one

Forget her infant son,

That she from him her tenderness should sever?

These may forget-I will forsake thee never.

Lo, on my palms I have engraven thee,5

Thy walls are ever present unto me:

By thy destroyers shalt thou be replaced,

Those shall be called thy sons who laid thee waste.

Behold, lift up on every side thine eyes—

All these are gathered! lo, to thee they rise:
And, as I live, Jehovah's self hath said,
As thy apparel shall they be displayed;
This splendid dress thy person shall adorn,
E'en as the jewels by a bride are worn;
And for thy ruined land, and wasted ground,
Thy numerous progeny shall stand around.
Thy spoilers are removed far away:

The sons of whom thou wast bereaved shall
"This place for me is as a narrow cell;
Bestow upon me room wherein to dwell.”

say,

And thou shalt cry, "From whom have I this host? For I was desolate, my sons were lost,

Exiled and lone,-where were these nourished, say? Abandoned and forlorn, where then were they?"

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