[Footnote: The prophet threatens Judah with invasion by the dreaded Assyrian army.]
| THE DOOM OF THE UNFRUITFUL NATION |
For all this his anger is not turned away, But his hand is stretched forth still. And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from afar, And he will hiss for them from the end of the earth: And, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly; None shall be weary nor stumble among them; None shall slumber nor sleep; Neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, Nor the latchet of their shoes be broken: Whose arrows are sharp, And all their bows bent; Their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, And their wheels like a whirlwind: Their roaring shall be like a lion, They shall roar like young lions: Yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, And carry it away safe, and there shall be none to deliver. And they shall roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea; And if one look unto the land, behold, darkness and distress, And the light is darkened in the clouds thereof. |
| COMFORT YE MY PEOPLE |
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, Saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, And cry unto her, That her warfare is accomplished, That her iniquity is pardoned; That she hath received of the Lord's hand Double for all her sin. Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of the Lord, Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, And every mountain and hill shall be made low: And the crooked shall be made straight, And the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together: For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. The voice of one saying, "Cry." And one said, "What shall I cry?" All flesh is grass, And all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, The flower fadeth, [{285}] Because the breath of the Lord bloweth upon it: Surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, The flower fadeth: But the word of our God shall stand forever. O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, Get thee up into the high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, Lift up thy voice with strength; Lift it up, be not afraid; Say unto the cities of Judah, "Behold your God." Behold, the Lord God will come as a mighty one, And his arm shall rule for him: Behold his reward is with him, And his recompense before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd, He shall gather the lambs in his arms, And carry them in his bosom, And shall gently lead those that give suck. |
| AWAKE, O ZION! |
Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; Put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; For henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust; Arise, sit thee down, O Jerusalem: Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him That bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, That bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; That saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth. The voice of the watchmen! they lift up the voice, Together do they sing, For they shall see, eye to eye, When the Lord returneth to Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, Ye waste places of Jerusalem: For the Lord hath comforted his people, He hath redeemed Jerusalem. [{287}] The Lord hath made bare his holy arm In the eyes of the nations; And all the ends of the earth Shall see the salvation of our God. Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, Touch no unclean thing: Go ye out of the midst of her; Be ye clean ye that bear the vessels of the Lord. For ye shall not go out in haste, Neither shall ye go by flight; For the Lord will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rearguard. |
| THE TRIUMPH OF THE MAN OF SORROWS |
Who hath believed that which we have heard? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him as a tender plant, And as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness, that we should look upon him; Nor beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected of men; A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief: And as one from whom men hide their face he was despised, And we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, And carried our sorrows: Yet we did esteem him stricken, Smitten of God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him, And with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned everyone to his own way; And the Lord hath laid on him The iniquity of us all. [{289}] He was oppressed, Yet he humbled himself, And opened not his mouth; As a lamb is led to the slaughter, And as a sheep before her shearers is dumb; Yea, he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; And his life who shall recount? For he was cut off out of the land of the living; For the transgressions of my people was he stricken. And they made his grave with the wicked, And with the rich in his death; Although he had done no violence, Neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; He hath put him to grief: When his soul shall make an offering for sin, He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand: He shall see, and be satisfied with the travail of his soul. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant make many righteous: And he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide with him a portion of the great, And he shall divide the spoil with the strong: Because he poured out his soul unto death, And was numbered with the transgressors: Yet he bare the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors. |