But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it cannot rest, and its waters cast up mire and dirt.

There is no peace, saith my God concerning the wicked. {P}

Yisheyah - Chapter 58

Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a horn, and declare unto My people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins.

Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways; as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God, they ask of Me righteous ordinances, they delight to draw near unto God.

‘Wherefore have we fasted, and Thou seest not? Wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and Thou takest no knowledge?’ — Behold, in the day of your fast ye pursue your business, and exact all your labours.

Behold, ye fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness; ye fast not this day so as to make your voice to be heard on high.

Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?

Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the fetters of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him, and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee, the glory of the LORD shall be thy rearward.

Then shalt thou call, and the LORD will answer; thou shalt cry, and He will say: ‘Here I am.’ If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedness; And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in darkness, and thy gloom be as the noon-day; And the LORD will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make strong thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places, thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in.

If thou turn away thy foot because of the sabbath, from pursuing thy business on My holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, and the holy of the LORD honourable; and shalt honour it, not doing thy wonted ways, nor pursuing thy business, nor speaking thereof; Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD, and I will make thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. {P}

Yisheyah - Chapter 59

Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear; But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear.

For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue muttereth wickedness.

None sueth in righteousness, and none pleadeth in truth; they trust in vanity, and speak lies, they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

They hatch basilisks’ eggs, and weave the spider’s web; he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.

Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall men cover themselves with their works; their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.

Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity, desolation and destruction are in their paths.

The way of peace they know not, and there is no right in their goings; they have made them crooked paths, whosoever goeth therein doth not know peace.

Therefore is justice far from us, neither doth righteousness overtake us; we look for light, but behold darkness, for brightness, but we walk in gloom.

We grope for the wall like the blind, yea, as they that have no eyes do we grope; we stumble at noonday as in the twilight; we are in dark places like the dead.

We all growl like bears, and mourn sore like doves; we look for right, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us.

For our transgressions are multiplied before Thee, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are present to us, and as for our iniquities, we know them: Transgressing and denying the LORD, and turning away from following our God, speaking oppression and perverseness, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.

And justice is turned away backward, and righteousness standeth afar off; for truth hath stumbled in the broad place, and uprightness cannot enter. {S}

And truth is lacking, and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey. And the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice; And He saw that there was no man, and was astonished that there was no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation unto Him; and His righteousness, it sustained Him; And He put on righteousness as a coat of mail, and a helmet of salvation upon His head, and He put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.

According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, fury to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; to the islands He will repay recompense.

So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; for distress will come in like a flood, which the breath of the LORD driveth.

And a redeemer will come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.

And as for Me, this is My covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and My words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever. {S}

Yisheyah - Chapter 60

Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.

For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples; but upon thee the LORD will arise, and His glory shall be seen upon thee.

And nations shall walk at thy light, and kings at the brightness of thy rising.

Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: they all are gathered together, and come to thee; thy sons come from far, and thy daughters are borne on the side.

Then thou shalt see and be radiant, and thy heart shall throb and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned unto thee, the wealth of the nations shall come unto thee.

The caravan of camels shall cover thee, and of the young camels of Midian and Ephah, all coming from Sheba; they shall bring gold and incense, and shall proclaim the praises of the LORD.

All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee; they shall come up with acceptance on Mine altar, and I will glorify My glorious house.

Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their cotes?

Surely the isles shall wait for Me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, for the name of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because He hath glorified thee.

And aliens shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee; for in My wrath I smote thee, but in My favour have I had compassion on thee.

Thy gates also shall be open continually, day and night, they shall not be shut; that men may bring unto thee the wealth of the nations, and their kings in procession.

For that nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.

The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the cypress, the plane-tree and the larch together; to beautify the place of My sanctuary, and I will make the place of My feet glorious.

And the sons of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee, and all they that despised thee shall bow down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee the city of the LORD, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man passed through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.

Thou shalt also suck the milk of the nations, and shalt suck the breast of kings; and thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour, and I, the Mighty One of Jacob, thy Redeemer.

For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron; I will also make thy officers peace, and righteousness thy magistrates.

Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, desolation nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.

The sun shall be no more thy light by day, neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee; but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.

Thy sun shall no more go down, Neither shall thy moon withdraw itself; for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.

Thy people also shall be all righteous, they shall inherit the land for ever; the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, wherein I glory.

The smallest shall become a thousand, and the least a mighty nation; I the LORD will hasten it in its time. {S}

Yisheyah - Chapter 61

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to bring good tidings unto the humble; He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the eyes to them that are bound; To proclaim the year of the LORD’S good pleasure, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the mantle of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called terebinths of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, wherein He might glory.

And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall renew the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.

And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and aliens shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

But ye shall be named the priests of the LORD, men shall call you the ministers of our God; ye shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their splendour shall ye revel.

For your shame which was double, and for that they rejoiced: ‘Confusion is their portion’; therefore in their land they shall possess double, everlasting joy shall be unto them.

For I the LORD love justice, I hate robbery with iniquity; and I will give them their recompense in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

And their seed shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed. {P}

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of victory, as a bridegroom putteth on a priestly diadem, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

For as the earth bringeth forth her growth, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause victory and glory to spring forth before all the nations.

Yisheyah - Chapter 62

For Zion’s sake will I not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her triumph go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a torch that burneth.

And the nations shall see thy triumph, and all kings thy glory; and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall mark out.

Thou shalt also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the open hand of thy God.

Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken, neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate; but thou shalt be called, My delight is in her, and thy land, Espoused; for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be espoused.

For as a young man espouseth a virgin, so shall thy sons espouse thee; and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.

I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, they shall never hold their peace day nor night: ‘Ye that are the LORD’S remembrancers, take ye no rest.

And give Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.’

The LORD hath sworn by His right hand, and by the arm of His strength: Surely I will no more give thy corn to be food for thine enemies; and strangers shall not drink thy wine, for which thou hast laboured; But they that have garnered it shall eat it, and praise the LORD, and they that have gathered it shall drink it in the courts of My sanctuary. {S}

Go through, go through the gates, clear ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway, gather out the stones; lift up an ensign over the peoples.

Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the earth: say ye to the daughter of Zion: ‘Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.’

And they shall call them the holy people, The redeemed of the LORD; and thou shalt be called Sought out, a city not forsaken. {S}

Yisheyah - Chapter 63

‘Who is this that cometh from Edom, with crimsoned garments from Bozrah? This that is glorious in his apparel, stately in the greatness of his strength?’ — ‘I that speak in victory, mighty to save.’ —

‘Wherefore is Thine apparel red, and Thy garments like his that treadeth in the winevat?’ —

‘I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the peoples there was no man with Me; yea, I trod them in Mine anger, and trampled them in My fury; and their lifeblood is dashed against My garments, and I have stained all My raiment.

For the day of vengeance that was in My heart, and My year of redemption are come.

And I looked, and there was none to help, and I beheld in astonishment, and there was none to uphold; therefore Mine own arm brought salvation unto Me, and My fury, it upheld Me.

And I trod down the peoples in Mine anger, and made them drunk with My fury, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.’ {S}

I will make mention of the mercies of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us; and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which He hath bestowed on them according to His compassions, and according to the multitude of His mercies.

For He said: ‘Surely, they are My people, children that will not deal falsely’; so He was their Saviour.

In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bore them, and carried them all the days of old.

But they rebelled, and grieved His holy spirit; therefore He was turned to be their enemy, Himself fought against them.

Then His people remembered the days of old, the days of Moses: ‘Where is He that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock? Where is He that put His holy spirit in the midst of them?

That caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses? That divided the water before them, to make Himself an everlasting name?

That led them through the deep, as a horse in the wilderness, without stumbling?

As the cattle that go down into the valley, the spirit of the LORD caused them to rest; so didst Thou lead Thy people, to make Thyself a glorious name.’

Look down from heaven, and see, even from Thy holy and glorious habitation; Where is Thy zeal and Thy mighty acts, the yearning of Thy heart and Thy compassions, now restrained toward me?

For Thou art our Father; for Abraham knoweth us not, and Israel doth not acknowledge us; Thou, O LORD, art our Father, our Redeemer from everlasting is Thy name.

O LORD, why dost Thou make us to err from Thy ways, and hardenest our heart from Thy fear? Return for Thy servants’ sake, the tribes of Thine inheritance.

Thy holy people they have well nigh driven out, our adversaries have trodden down Thy sanctuary.

We are become as they over whom Thou never borest rule, as they that were not called by Thy name. Oh, that Thou wouldest rend the heavens, that Thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might quake at Thy presence.

Yisheyah - Chapter 64

As when fire kindleth the brush-wood, and the fire causeth the waters to boil; to make Thy name known to Thine adversaries, that the nations might tremble at Thy presence, When Thou didst tremendous things which we looked not for — Oh that Thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might quake at Thy presence! — {S}

And whereof from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen a God beside Thee, who worketh for him that waiteth for Him.

Thou didst take away him that joyfully worked righteousness, those that remembered Thee in Thy ways — behold, Thou wast wroth, and we sinned — upon them have we stayed of old, that we might be saved.

And we are all become as one that is unclean, and all our righteousnesses are as a polluted garment; and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

And there is none that calleth upon Thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of Thee; for Thou hast hid Thy face from us, and hast consumed us by means of our iniquities.

But now, O LORD, Thou art our Father; we are the clay, and Thou our potter, and we all are the work of Thy hand.

Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever; behold, look, we beseech Thee, we are all Thy people.

Thy holy cities are become a wilderness, Zion is become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.

Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised Thee, is burned with fire; and all our pleasant things are laid waste.

Wilt Thou refrain Thyself for these things, O LORD? Wilt Thou hold Thy peace, and afflict us very sore? {P}

Yisheyah - Chapter 65

I gave access to them that asked not for Me, I was at hand to them that sought Me not; I said: ‘Behold Me, behold Me’, unto a nation that was not called by My name.

I have spread out My hands all the day unto a rebellious people, that walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts; A people that provoke Me to My face continually, that sacrifice in gardens, and burn incense upon bricks; That sit among the graves, and lodge in the vaults; that eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; That say: ‘Stand by thyself, come not near to me, for I am holier than thou’; these are a smoke in My nose, a fire that burneth all the day.

Behold, it is written before Me; I will not keep silence, except I have requited, yea, I will requite into their bosom, Your own iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the LORD, that have offered upon the mountains, and blasphemed Me upon the hills; therefore will I first measure their wage into their bosom. {S}