14. And (yet) Zion said, Jehovah hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me. 15. Will a woman forget her suckling, so as not to have mercy on the son of her womb? Even these will forget, and (yet) I will not forget thee. 16. Behold, on My palms have I graven thee; thy walls (are) before Me continually. 17. Thy sons hasten (to thee); thy destroyers and thy wasters shall go out from thee. 18. Lift up thine eyes round about and see; all of them are gathered together, they are come to thee. (As) I live, saith Jehovah, (I swear) that all of them as an ornament thou shalt put on, and bind them like the bride. 19. For thy ruins, and thy wastes, and thy land of desolation, for now shalt thou be too narrow for the inhabitant, and far off shall be thy devourers. 20. Again shall they say in thine ears, The sons of thy childlessness. (Too) narrow for me is the place; come near for me, that I may dwell. 21. And thou shalt say in thine heart, Who hath produced these for me? and I was bereaved and barren, an exile and a banished one? And these who brought up? Behold, I was left alone; these where were they? 22. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold I will lift up to the nations My hand, and I will set up to the peoples My standard; and they will bring thy sons in the bosom, and thy daughters on the shoulders shall be carried. 23. And kings shall be thy nursing-fathers, and their queens thy nursing-mothers; face to the ground shall they bow to thee, and the dust of thy feet shall they lick; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah, whose waiters shall not be ashamed.
24. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, and shall the captivity of the righteous be delivered? 25. For thus saith Jehovah, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered, and with thy strivers will I strive, and thy sons will I save. 26. And I will make thy oppressors eat their (own) flesh, and as with new wine with their blood shall they be drunken; and all flesh shall know that I am Jehovah thy Saviour, and (that) thy Redeemer is the Mighty One of Jacob.
L.—[This chapter contains no entirely new element, but a fresh view of several which have already been repeatedly exhibited. The first of these is the great truth, that the sufferings of God’s people are the necessary fruit of their own sins, ver. 1. The second is the power of Jehovah to accomplish their deliverance, vers. 2, 3. The third is the Servant of Jehovah, His mission, His qualifications for it, His endurance of reproach, and opposition on account of it, vers. 4–9. The fourth is the way of salvation and the certain doom of those who neglect it, vers. 10, 11.]
1. Thus saith Jehovah, Where is the bill of divorcement of your mother, whom I have sent away? Or which of My creditors (is it) to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities ye have been sold, and for your transgressions has your mother been sent away.
2. Why did I come, and there was no man? (why) did I call, and there was no one answering? Is My hand shortened, shortened, from redemption? and is there with Me no power to deliver? Behold, by My rebuke I will dry up the sea, I will make streams a wilderness; let their fish stink for want of water and die of thirst. 3. I will clothe the heavens in blackness, and sackcloth will I make their covering.
4. The Lord God hath given to Me a ready tongue, that I might know how to help the weary (with) a word. He will waken, every morning He will waken for Me the ear, that I may hear like the disciples. 5. The Lord Jehovah opened for Me the ear, and I resisted not, I did not draw back. 6. My back I gave to those smiting, and My cheeks to those plucking (the hair); My face I did not hide from shame and spitting. 7. And the Lord God will help Me, therefore I am not confounded; therefore I have set My face as a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. 8. Near is My justifier; who will contend with Me? We will stand together. Who is My adversary? Let him draw near to Me. 9. Behold, the Lord Jehovah will help Me; who (is) he (that) will condemn Me? All they like the garment shall grow old; the moth shall devour them.
10. Who among you is a fearer of Jehovah, hearkening to the voice of His servant, who walketh in darkness, and there is no light to him? Let him trust in the name of Jehovah, and lean upon his God. 11. Lo, all of you kindling fire, girding sparks (or, fiery darts), go in the light of your fire, and in the sparks ye have kindled. From My hand is this to you; in pain shall ye lie down.
LI.—[This chapter is a direct continuation of the preceding declarations with respect to the vocation of the Church, and the Divine administration towards her. The possibility of her increase, as previously promised, is evinced by the example of Abraham, from whom all Israel descended, vers. 1–3. In like manner many shall be added from the Gentiles, vers. 4–6. Their enemies shall not only fail to destroy them, but shall be themselves destroyed, vers. 7, 8. This is confirmed by another historical example, that of Egypt, vers. 9, 10. The same assurances are then repeated, with a clearer promise of the new dispensation, vers. 11–16. The chapter closes with a direct address to Zion, who, though helpless in herself and destitute of human aid, is sure of God’s protection and of the destruction of her enemies and His, vers. 17–23.]
1. Hearken unto Me, ye who are following after righteousness, ye who are seeking Jehovah; look unto the rock (from which) ye have been hewn, and the hole of the pit from which ye have been digged. 2. Look unto Abraham your father and unto Sarah (that) bare you: for I have called him one, and I will bless him and increase him (still). 3. For Jehovah hath comforted Zion; He hath comforted all our wastes, and hath made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of melody. 4. Attend unto Me, My people: and My nation, unto Me give ear: that law from Me shall go forth, and My judgment for a light of the nations. 5. Near (is) My righteousness, gone forth is My salvation, and My arm shall judge the nations. For Me shall the islands wait, and in My arm they shall hope. 6. Raise to the heavens your eyes, and look unto the earth beneath; and the earth like the garment (which grows old) shall grow old, and its inhabitants likewise shall die; and My salvation to eternity shall be, and My righteousness shall not be broken.
7. Hearken unto Me, ye that know righteousness, people (with) My law in their heart: hear not the reproach of men, and by their scoffs be not broken (in spirit). 8. For like the (moth-eaten) garment shall the moth devour them, and like the (worm-eaten) wool shall the worm devour them; and My righteousness to eternity shall be, and My salvation to an age of ages.