Behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. Nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering. And they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. Have ye not known? have ye not heard? Have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: And he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, To whom then will ye liken me, Or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, That bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names, By the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, And my judgment is passed over from my God? That the everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? He giveth power to the faint; And to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings as eagles; They shall run, and not be weary; AWAKE, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; For henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem : Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there: Now therefore, what have I here, saith the Lord, They that rule over them make them to howl, saith the Lord: Therefore they shall know in that day That I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, That bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; The watchmen shall lift up the voice; For they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion. Touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord. For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: For the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your reward. Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, Ye shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonished at thee; His visage was so marred more than any man, So shall he sprinkle many nations; The kings shall shut their mouths at him: For that which had not been told them shall they see; And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, And as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; He was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: Yet we did esteein him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: And with his stripes we are healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray; We have turned every one to his own way; He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth : And as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, He was taken from prison and from judgment For he was cut off out of the land of the living: For the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, And he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, A leader and commander to the people. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, And nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, And for the Holy one of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, Call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: And let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; And to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth,. So are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, But watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: It shall not return unto me void, but shall accomplish that which I please, For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle-tree, For an everlasting sign, that shall not be cut off. JEREMIAH. How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! How is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, And princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary! She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: Among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: All her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her ene mies. Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great ser vitude: She dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: All her persecutors overtook her between the straits. The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: All her gates are desolate : Her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness. Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; For the Lord hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow. How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger, And cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, And remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger! What thing shall I take to witness for thee? What shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? For thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal thee? All that pass by clap their hands at thee; They hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compas sions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him. He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope. He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproach. For the Lord will not cast off for ever: But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth, To turn aside the right of a man before the face of the Most High, To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not. Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the Most High proceedeth not evil and good? Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens. We have transgressed and have rebelled: thou hast not pardoned. hast not pitied. Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through. Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people. All our enemies have opened their mouths against us. Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction. Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people. |