Fall of Babylon and servant songs#
Pre-reading#
Idea/question/discussion point spreadsheet.
Read Isaiah, chapters 44-50
¹ Hear then, Jacob, my servant,
Israel, whom I have chosen.
² Thus says the Lord who made you,
your help, who formed you from the womb:
Do not fear, Jacob, my servant,
Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
³ I will pour out water upon the thirsty ground,
streams upon the dry land;
I will pour out my spirit upon your offspring,
my blessing upon your descendants.
⁴ They shall spring forth amid grass
like poplars beside flowing waters.
⁵ One shall say, “I am the Lord’s,”
another shall be named after Jacob,
And this one shall write on his hand, “The Lord’s,”
and receive the name Israel.
⁶ Thus says the Lord, Israel’s king,
its redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
I am the first, I am the last;
there is no God but me.
⁷ Who is like me? Let him stand up and declare,
make it evident, and confront me with it.
Who of old announced future events?
Let them foretell to us the things to come.
⁸ Do not fear or be troubled.
Did I not announce it to you long ago?
I declared it, and you are my witnesses.
Is there any God but me?
There is no other Rock, I know of none!
⁹ Those who fashion idols are all nothing;
their precious works are of no avail.
They are their witnesses:
they see nothing, know nothing,
and so they are put to shame.
¹⁰ Who would fashion a god or cast an idol,
that is of no use?
¹¹ Look, all its company will be shamed;
they are artisans, mere human beings!
They all assemble and stand there,
only to cower in shame.
¹² The ironsmith fashions a likeness,
he works it over the coals,
Shaping it with hammers,
working it with his strong arm.
With hunger his strength wanes,
without water, he grows faint.
¹³ The woodworker stretches a line,
and marks out a shape with a stylus.
He shapes it with scraping tools,
with a compass measures it off,
Making it the copy of a man,
human display, enthroned in a shrine.
¹⁴ He goes out to cut down cedars,
takes a holm tree or an oak.
He picks out for himself trees of the forest,
plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow.
¹⁵ It is used for fuel:
with some of the wood he warms himself,
makes a fire and bakes bread.
Yet he makes a god and worships it,
turns it into an idol and adores it!
¹⁶ Half of it he burns in the fire,
on its embers he roasts meat;
he eats the roast and is full.
He warms himself and says, “Ah!
I am warm! I see the flames!”
¹⁷ The rest of it he makes into a god,
an image to worship and adore.
He prays to it and says,
“Help me! You are my god!”
¹⁸ They do not know, do not understand;
their eyes are too clouded to see,
their minds, to perceive.
¹⁹ He does not think clearly;
he lacks the wit and knowledge to say,
“Half the wood I burned in the fire,
on its embers I baked bread,
I roasted meat and ate.
Shall I turn the rest into an abomination?
Shall I worship a block of wood?”
²⁰ He is chasing ashes!
A deluded mind has led him astray;
He cannot save himself,
does not say, “This thing in my right hand—is it not a fraud?”
²¹ Remember these things, Jacob,
Israel, for you are my servant!
I formed you, a servant to me;
Israel, you shall never be forgotten by me:
²² I have brushed away your offenses like a cloud,
your sins like a mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.
²³ Raise a glad cry, you heavens—the Lord has acted!
Shout, you depths of the earth.
Break forth, mountains, into song,
forest, with all your trees.
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
shows his glory through Israel.
²⁴ Thus says the Lord, your redeemer,
who formed you from the womb:
I am the Lord, who made all things,
who alone stretched out the heavens,
I spread out the earth by myself.
²⁵ I bring to nought the omens of babblers,
make fools of diviners,
Turn back the wise
and make their knowledge foolish.
²⁶ I confirm the words of my servant,
carry out the plan my messengers announce.
I say to Jerusalem, Be inhabited!
To the cities of Judah, Be rebuilt!
I will raise up their ruins.
²⁷ I say to the deep, Be dry!
I will dry up your rivers.
²⁸ I say of Cyrus, My shepherd!
He carries out my every wish,
Saying of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,”
and of the temple, “Lay its foundations.”
¹ Thus says the Lord to his anointed, Cyrus,
whose right hand I grasp,
Subduing nations before him,
stripping kings of their strength,
Opening doors before him,
leaving the gates unbarred:
² I will go before you
and level the mountains;
Bronze doors I will shatter,
iron bars I will snap.
³ I will give you treasures of darkness,
riches hidden away,
That you may know I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who calls you by name.
⁴ For the sake of Jacob, my servant,
of Israel my chosen one,
I have called you by name,
giving you a title, though you do not know me.
⁵ I am the Lord, there is no other,
there is no God besides me.
It is I who arm you, though you do not know me,
⁶ so that all may know, from the rising of the sun
to its setting, that there is none besides me.
I am the Lord, there is no other.
⁷ I form the light, and create the darkness,
I make weal and create woe;
I, the Lord, do all these things.
⁸ Let justice descend, you heavens, like dew from above,
like gentle rain let the clouds drop it down.
Let the earth open and salvation bud forth;
let righteousness spring up with them!
I, the Lord, have created this.
⁹ Woe to anyone who contends with their Maker;
a potsherd among potsherds of the earth!
Shall the clay say to the potter, “What are you doing?”
or, “What you are making has no handles”?
¹⁰ Woe to anyone who asks a father, “What are you begetting?”
or a woman, “What are you giving birth to?”
¹¹ Thus says the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, his maker:
Do you question me about my children,
tell me how to treat the work of my hands?
¹² It was I who made the earth
and created the people upon it;
It was my hands that stretched out the heavens;
I gave the order to all their host.
¹³ It was I who stirred him up for justice;
all his ways I make level.
He shall rebuild my city
and let my exiles go free
Without price or payment,
says the Lord of hosts.
¹⁴ Thus says the Lord:
The earnings of Egypt, the gain of Ethiopia,
and the Sabeans, tall of stature,
Shall come over to you and belong to you;
they shall follow you, coming in chains.
Before you they shall bow down,
saying in prayer:
“With you alone is God; and there is none other,
no other god!
¹⁵ Truly with you God is hidden,
the God of Israel, the savior!
¹⁶ They are put to shame and disgrace, all of them;
they go in disgrace who carve images.
¹⁷ Israel has been saved by the Lord,
saved forever!
You shall never be put to shame or disgrace
in any future age.”
¹⁸ For thus says the Lord,
The creator of the heavens,
who is God,
The designer and maker of the earth
who established it,
Not as an empty waste did he create it,
but designing it to be lived in:
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
¹⁹ I have not spoken in secret
from some place in the land of darkness,
I have not said to the descendants of Jacob,
“Look for me in an empty waste.”
I, the Lord, promise justice,
I declare what is right.
²⁰ Come and assemble, gather together,
you fugitives from among the nations!
They are without knowledge who bear wooden idols
and pray to gods that cannot save.
²¹ Come close and declare;
let them take counsel together:
Who announced this from the beginning,
declared it from of old?
Was it not I, the Lord,
besides whom there is no other God?
There is no just and saving God but me.
²² Turn to me and be safe,
all you ends of the earth,
for I am God; there is no other!
²³ By myself I swear,
uttering my just decree,
a word that will not return:
To me every knee shall bend;
by me every tongue shall swear,
²⁴ Saying, “Only in the Lord
are just deeds and power.
Before him in shame shall come
all who vent their anger against him.
²⁵ In the Lord all the descendants of Israel
shall have vindication and glory.”
¹ Bel bows down, Nebo stoops,
their idols set upon beasts and cattle;
They must be borne upon shoulders,
a load for weary animals.
² They stoop and bow down together;
unable to deliver those who bear them,
they too go into captivity.
³ Hear me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
My burden from the womb,
whom I have carried since birth.
⁴ Even to your old age I am he,
even when your hair is gray I will carry you;
I have done this, and I will lift you up,
I will carry you to safety.
⁵ To whom would you liken me as an equal,
compare me, as though we were alike?
⁶ There are those who pour out gold from a purse
and weigh out silver on the scales;
They hire a goldsmith to make it into a god
before which they bow down in worship.
⁷ They lift it to their shoulders to carry;
when they set it down, it stays,
and does not move from the place.
They cry out to it, but it cannot answer;
it delivers no one from distress.
⁸ Remember this and be firm,
take it to heart, you rebels;
⁹ remember the former things, those long ago:
I am God, there is no other;
I am God, there is none like me.
¹⁰ At the beginning I declare the outcome;
from of old, things not yet done.
I say that my plan shall stand,
I accomplish my every desire.
¹¹ I summon from the east a bird of prey,
from a distant land, one to carry out my plan.
Yes, I have spoken, I will accomplish it;
I have planned it, and I will do it.
¹² Listen to me, you fainthearted,
far from the victory of justice:
¹³ I am bringing on that victory, it is not far off,
my salvation shall not tarry;
I will put salvation within Zion,
give to Israel my glory.
¹ Come down, sit in the dust,
virgin daughter Babylon;
Sit on the ground, dethroned,
daughter of the Chaldeans.
No longer shall you be called
dainty and delicate.
² Take the millstone and grind flour,
remove your veil;
Strip off your skirt, bare your legs,
cross through the streams.
³ Your nakedness shall be uncovered,
and your shame be seen;
I will take vengeance,
I will yield to no entreaty,
⁴ our redeemer,
Whose name is the Lord of hosts,
the Holy One of Israel.
⁵ Go into darkness and sit in silence,
daughter of the Chaldeans,
No longer shall you be called
sovereign mistress of kingdoms.
⁶ Angry at my people,
I profaned my heritage
And gave them into your power;
but you showed them no mercy;
Upon the aged
you laid a very heavy yoke.
⁷ You said, “I shall remain always,
a sovereign mistress forever!”
You did not take these things to heart,
but disregarded their outcome.
⁸ Now hear this, voluptuous one,
enthroned securely,
Saying in your heart,
“I, and no one else!
I shall never be a widow,
bereft of my children”—
⁹ Both these things shall come to you
suddenly, in a single day:
Complete bereavement and widowhood
shall come upon you
Despite your many sorceries
and the full power of your spells;
¹⁰ Secure in your wickedness,
you said, “No one sees me.”
Your wisdom and your knowledge
led you astray,
And you said in your heart,
“I, and no one else!”
¹¹ But upon you shall come an evil
you will not be able to charm away;
Upon you shall fall a disaster
you cannot ward off.
Upon you shall suddenly come
a ruin you cannot imagine.
¹² Keep on with your spells
and your many sorceries,
at which you toiled from your youth.
Perhaps you can prevail,
perhaps you can strike terror!
¹³ You wore yourself out with so many consultations!
Let the astrologers stand forth to save you,
The stargazers who forecast at each new moon
what would happen to you.
¹⁴ See, they are like stubble,
fire consumes them;
They cannot deliver themselves
from the spreading flames.
This is no warming ember,
no fire to sit before!
¹⁵ Thus do your wizards serve you
with whom you have toiled from your youth;
They wander their separate ways,
with none to save you.
¹ Hear this, house of Jacob
called by the name Israel,
sprung from the stock of Judah,
You who swear by the name of the Lord
and invoke the God of Israel
without sincerity, without justice,
² Though you are named after the holy city
and rely on the God of Israel,
whose name is the Lord of hosts.
³ Things of the past I declared long ago,
they went forth from my mouth, I announced them;
then suddenly I took action and they came to be.
⁴ Because I know that you are stubborn
and that your neck is an iron sinew
and your forehead bronze,
⁵ I declared them to you of old;
before they took place I informed you,
That you might not say, “My idol did them,
my statue, my molten image commanded them.”
⁶ Now that you have heard, look at all this;
must you not admit it?
From now on I announce new things to you,
hidden events you never knew.
⁷ Now, not from of old, they are created,
before today you did not hear of them,
so that you cannot claim, “I have known them.”
⁸ You never heard, you never knew,
they never reached your ears beforehand.
Yes, I know you are utterly treacherous,
a rebel you were named from the womb.
⁹ For the sake of my name I restrain my anger,
for the sake of my renown I hold it back from you,
lest I destroy you.
¹⁰ See, I refined you, but not like silver;
I tested you in the furnace of affliction.
¹¹ For my sake, for my own sake, I do this;
why should my name be profaned?
My glory I will not give to another.
¹² Listen to me, Jacob,
Israel, whom I called!
I, it is I who am the first,
and am I the last.
¹³ Yes, my hand laid the foundations of the earth;
my right hand spread out the heavens.
When I summon them,
they stand forth at once.
¹⁴ All of you assemble and listen:
Who among you declared these things?
The one the Lord loves shall do his will
against Babylon and the offspring of Chaldea.
¹⁵ I myself have spoken, I have summoned him,
I have brought him, and his way succeeds!
¹⁶ Come near to me and hear this!
From the beginning I did not speak in secret;
At the time it happens, I am there:
“Now the Lord God has sent me, and his spirit.”
¹⁷ Thus says the Lord, your redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel:
I am the Lord, your God,
teaching you how to prevail,
leading you on the way you should go.
¹⁸ If only you would attend to my commandments,
your peace would be like a river,
your vindication like the waves of the sea,
¹⁹ Your descendants like the sand,
the offspring of your loins like its grains,
Their name never cut off
or blotted out from my presence.
²⁰ Go forth from Babylon, flee from Chaldea!
With shouts of joy declare this, announce it;
Make it known to the ends of the earth,
Say: “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.
²¹ They did not thirst
when he led them through dry lands;
Water from the rock he set flowing for them;
he cleft the rock, and waters welled forth.”
²² There is no peace for the wicked,
says the Lord.
¹ Hear me, coastlands,
listen, distant peoples.
Before birth the Lord called me,
from my mother’s womb he gave me my name.
² He made my mouth like a sharp-edged sword,
concealed me, shielded by his hand.
He made me a sharpened arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
³ He said to me, You are my servant,
in you, Israel, I show my glory.
⁴ Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
for nothing and for naught spent my strength,
Yet my right is with the Lord,
my recompense is with my God.
⁵ For now the Lord has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
That Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
and my God is now my strength!
⁶ It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
⁷ Thus says the Lord,
the redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
To the one despised, abhorred by the nations,
the slave of rulers:
When kings see you, they shall stand up,
and princes shall bow down
Because of the Lord who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.
⁸ Thus says the Lord:
In a time of favor I answer you,
on the day of salvation I help you;
I form you and set you
as a covenant for the people,
To restore the land
and allot the devastated heritages,
⁹ To say to the prisoners: Come out!
To those in darkness: Show yourselves!
Along the roadways they shall find pasture,
on every barren height shall their pastures be.
¹⁰ They shall not hunger or thirst;
nor shall scorching wind or sun strike them;
For he who pities them leads them
and guides them beside springs of water.
¹¹ I will turn all my mountains into roadway,
and make my highways level.
¹² See, these shall come from afar:
some from the north and the west,
others from the land of Syene.
¹³ Sing out, heavens, and rejoice, earth,
break forth into song, you mountains,
For the Lord comforts his people
and shows mercy to his afflicted.
¹⁴ But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”
¹⁵ Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you.
¹⁶ See, upon the palms of my hands I have engraved you;
your walls are ever before me.
¹⁷ Your children hasten—
your levelers, your destroyers
go forth from you;
¹⁸ Look about and see,
they are all gathering and coming to you.
As I live—oracle of the Lord—
you shall don them as jewels,
bedeck yourself like a bride.
¹⁹ Though you were waste and desolate,
a land of ruins,
Now you shall be too narrow for your inhabitants,
while those who swallowed you up will be far away.
²⁰ The children of whom you were bereft
shall yet say in your hearing,
“This place is too narrow for me,
make room for me to live in.”
²¹ You shall ask yourself:
“Who has borne me these,
when I was bereft and barren?
Exiled and repudiated,
who has reared them?
I was left all alone;
where then do these come from?”
²² Thus says the Lord God:
See, I will lift up my hand to the nations,
and to the peoples raise my signal;
They shall bring your sons in their arms,
your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
²³ Kings shall be your guardians,
their princesses your nursemaids;
Face to the ground, they shall bow down before you
and lick the dust at your feet.
Then you shall know that I am the Lord,
none who hope in me shall be ashamed.
²⁴ Can plunder be taken from a warrior,
or captives rescued from a tyrant?
²⁵ Thus says the Lord:
Yes, captives can be taken from a warrior,
and plunder rescued from a tyrant;
Those who oppose you I will oppose,
and your sons I will save.
²⁶ I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,
and they shall be drunk with their own blood
as though with new wine.
All flesh shall know
that I, the Lord, am your savior,
your redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
¹ Thus says the Lord:
Where is the bill of divorce
with which I dismissed your mother?
Or to which of my creditors
have I sold you?
It was for your sins you were sold,
for your rebellions your mother was dismissed.
² Why was no one there when I came?
Why did no one answer when I called?
Is my hand too short to ransom?
Have I not the strength to deliver?
See, with my rebuke I dry up the sea,
I turn rivers into wilderness;
Their fish rot for lack of water,
and die of thirst.
³ I clothe the heavens in black,
and make sackcloth their covering.
⁴ The Lord God has given me
a well-trained tongue,
That I might know how to answer the weary
a word that will waken them.
Morning after morning
he wakens my ear to hear as disciples do;
⁵ The Lord God opened my ear;
I did not refuse,
did not turn away.
⁶ I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who tore out my beard;
My face I did not hide
from insults and spitting.
⁷ The Lord God is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
Therefore I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
⁸ He who declares my innocence is near.
Who will oppose me?
Let us appear together.
Who will dispute my right?
Let them confront me.
⁹ See, the Lord God is my help;
who will declare me guilty?
See, they will all wear out like a garment,
consumed by moths.
¹⁰ Who among you fears the Lord,
heeds his servant’s voice?
Whoever walk in darkness,
without any light,
Yet trust in the name of the Lord
and rely upon their God!
¹¹ All you who kindle flames
and set flares alight,
Walk by the light of your own fire
and by the flares you have burnt!
This is your fate from my hand:
you shall lie down in a place of torment.
¹ “But now hear, O Jacob my servant,
Israel whom I have chosen!
² Thus says the Lord who made you,
who formed you from the womb and will help you:
Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
Jesh′urun whom I have chosen.
³ For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit upon your descendants,
and my blessing on your offspring.
⁴ They shall spring up like grass amid waters,
like willows by flowing streams.
⁵ This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s,’
another will call himself by the name of Jacob,
and another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
and surname himself by the name of Israel.”
⁶ Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel
and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
“I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
⁷ Who is like me? Let him proclaim it,
let him declare and set it forth before me.
Who has announced from of old the things to come?
Let them tell us what is yet to be.
⁸ Fear not, nor be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
And you are my witnesses!
Is there a God besides me?
There is no Rock; I know not any.”
⁹ All who make idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit; their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. ¹⁰ Who fashions a god or casts an image, that is profitable for nothing? ¹¹ Behold, all his fellows shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are but men; let them all assemble, let them stand forth, they shall be terrified, they shall be put to shame together.
¹² The ironsmith fashions it and works it over the coals; he shapes it with hammers, and forges it with his strong arm; he becomes hungry and his strength fails, he drinks no water and is faint. ¹³ The carpenter stretches a line, he marks it out with a pencil; he fashions it with planes, and marks it with a compass; he shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. ¹⁴ He cuts down cedars; or he chooses a holm tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest; he plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. ¹⁵ Then it becomes fuel for a man; he takes a part of it and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread; also he makes a god and worships it, he makes it a graven image and falls down before it. ¹⁶ Half of it he burns in the fire; over the half he eats flesh, he roasts meat and is satisfied; also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” ¹⁷ And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol; and falls down to it and worships it; he prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for thou art my god!”
¹⁸ They know not, nor do they discern; for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their minds, so that they cannot understand. ¹⁹ No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire, I also baked bread on its coals, I roasted flesh and have eaten; and shall I make the residue of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” ²⁰ He feeds on ashes; a deluded mind has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
²¹ Remember these things, O Jacob,
and Israel, for you are my servant;
I formed you, you are my servant;
O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
²² I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud,
and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.
²³ Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it;
shout, O depths of the earth;
break forth into singing, O mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
and will be glorified in Israel.
²⁴ Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,
who formed you from the womb:
“I am the Lord, who made all things,
who stretched out the heavens alone,
who spread out the earth—Who was with me?—
²⁵ who frustrates the omens of liars,
and makes fools of diviners;
who turns wise men back,
and makes their knowledge foolish;
²⁶ who confirms the word of his servant,
and performs the counsel of his messengers;
who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’
and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built,
and I will raise up their ruins’;
²⁷ who says to the deep, ‘Be dry,
I will dry up your rivers’;
²⁸ who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,
and he shall fulfil all my purpose’;
saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’
and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”
¹ Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and ungird the loins of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:
² “I will go before you
and level the mountains,
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut asunder the bars of iron,
³ I will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
⁴ For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
I surname you, though you do not know me.
⁵ I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I gird you, though you do not know me,
⁶ that men may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
⁷ I form light and create darkness,
I make weal and create woe,
I am the Lord, who do all these things.
⁸ “Shower, O heavens, from above,
and let the skies rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation may sprout forth,
and let it cause righteousness to spring up also;
I the Lord have created it.
⁹ “Woe to him who strives with his Maker,
an earthen vessel with the potter!
Does the clay say to him who fashions it, ‘What are you making?’
or ‘Your work has no handles’?
¹⁰ Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
or to a woman, ‘With what are you in travail?’”
¹¹ Thus says the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:
“Will you question me about my children,
or command me concerning the work of my hands?
¹² I made the earth,
and created man upon it;
it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,
and I commanded all their host.
¹³ I have aroused him in righteousness,
and I will make straight all his ways;
he shall build my city
and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,”
says the Lord of hosts.
¹⁴ Thus says the Lord:
“The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Ethiopia,
and the Sabe′ans, men of stature,
shall come over to you and be yours,
they shall follow you;
they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you, saying:
‘God is with you only, and there is no other,
no god besides him.’”
¹⁵ Truly, thou art a God who hidest thyself,
O God of Israel, the Savior.
¹⁶ All of them are put to shame and confounded,
the makers of idols go in confusion together.
¹⁷ But Israel is saved by the Lord
with everlasting salvation;
you shall not be put to shame or confounded
to all eternity.
¹⁸ For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he did not create it a chaos,
he formed it to be inhabited!):
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
¹⁹ I did not speak in secret,
in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
‘Seek me in chaos.’
I the Lord speak the truth,
I declare what is right.
²⁰ “Assemble yourselves and come,
draw near together,
you survivors of the nations!
They have no knowledge
who carry about their wooden idols,
and keep on praying to a god
that cannot save.
²¹ Declare and present your case;
let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none besides me.
²² “Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
²³ By myself I have sworn,
from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness
a word that shall not return:
‘To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear.’
²⁴ “Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
are righteousness and strength;
to him shall come and be ashamed,
all who were incensed against him.
²⁵ In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
shall triumph and glory.”
¹ Bel bows down, Nebo stoops,
their idols are on beasts and cattle;
these things you carry are loaded
as burdens on weary beasts.
² They stoop, they bow down together,
they cannot save the burden,
but themselves go into captivity.
³ “Hearken to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from your birth,
carried from the womb;
⁴ even to your old age I am He,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.
⁵ “To whom will you liken me and make me equal,
and compare me, that we may be alike?
⁶ Those who lavish gold from the purse,
and weigh out silver in the scales,
hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
then they fall down and worship!
⁷ They lift it upon their shoulders, they carry it,
they set it in its place, and its stands there;
it cannot move from its place.
If one cries to it, it does not answer
or save him from his trouble.
⁸ “Remember this and consider,
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
⁹ remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
¹⁰ declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
¹¹ calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it.
¹² “Hearken to me, you stubborn of heart,
you who are far from deliverance:
¹³ I bring near my deliverance, it is not far off,
and my salvation will not tarry;
I will put salvation in Zion,
for Israel my glory.”
¹ Come down and sit in the dust,
O virgin daughter of Babylon;
sit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of the Chalde′ans!
For you shall no more be called
tender and delicate.
² Take the millstones and grind meal,
put off your veil,
strip off your robe, uncover your legs,
pass through the rivers.
³ Your nakedness shall be uncovered,
and your shame shall be seen.
I will take vengeance,
and I will spare no man.
⁴ Our Redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name—
is the Holy One of Israel.
⁵ Sit in silence, and go into darkness,
O daughter of the Chalde′ans;
for you shall no more be called
the mistress of kingdoms.
⁶ I was angry with my people,
I profaned my heritage;
I gave them into your hand,
you showed them no mercy;
on the aged you made your yoke
exceedingly heavy.
⁷ You said, “I shall be mistress for ever,”
so that you did not lay these things to heart
or remember their end.
⁸ Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures,
who sit securely,
who say in your heart,
“I am, and there is no one besides me;
I shall not sit as a widow
or know the loss of children”:
⁹ These two things shall come to you
in a moment, in one day;
the loss of children and widowhood
shall come upon you in full measure,
in spite of your many sorceries
and the great power of your enchantments.
¹⁰ You felt secure in your wickedness,
you said, “No one sees me”;
your wisdom and your knowledge
led you astray,
and you said in your heart,
“I am, and there is no one besides me.”
¹¹ But evil shall come upon you,
for which you cannot atone;
disaster shall fall upon you,
which you will not be able to expiate;
and ruin shall come on you suddenly,
of which you know nothing.
¹² Stand fast in your enchantments
and your many sorceries,
with which you have labored from your youth;
perhaps you may be able to succeed,
perhaps you may inspire terror.
¹³ You are wearied with your many counsels;
let them stand forth and save you,
those who divide the heavens,
who gaze at the stars,
who at the new moons predict
what shall befall you.
¹⁴ Behold, they are like stubble,
the fire consumes them;
they cannot deliver themselves
from the power of the flame.
No coal for warming oneself is this,
no fire to sit before!
¹⁵ Such to you are those with whom you have labored,
who have trafficked with you from your youth;
they wander about each in his own direction;
there is no one to save you.
¹ Hear this, O house of Jacob,
who are called by the name of Israel,
and who came forth from the loins of Judah;
who swear by the name of the Lord,
and confess the God of Israel,
but not in truth or right.
² For they call themselves after the holy city,
and stay themselves on the God of Israel;
the Lord of hosts is his name.
³ “The former things I declared of old,
they went forth from my mouth and I made them known;
then suddenly I did them and they came to pass.
⁴ Because I know that you are obstinate,
and your neck is an iron sinew
and your forehead brass,
⁵ I declared them to you from of old,
before they came to pass I announced them to you,
lest you should say, ‘My idol did them,
my graven image and my molten image commanded them.’
⁶ “You have heard; now see all this;
and will you not declare it?
From this time forth I make you hear new things,
hidden things which you have not known.
⁷ They are created now, not long ago;
before today you have never heard of them,
lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’
⁸ You have never heard, you have never known,
from of old your ear has not been opened.
For I knew that you would deal very treacherously,
and that from birth you were called a rebel.
⁹ “For my name’s sake I defer my anger,
for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,
that I may not cut you off.
¹⁰ Behold, I have refined you, but not like silver;
I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.
¹¹ For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
for how should my name be profaned?
My glory I will not give to another.
¹² “Hearken to me, O Jacob,
and Israel, whom I called!
I am He, I am the first,
and I am the last.
¹³ My hand laid the foundation of the earth,
and my right hand spread out the heavens;
when I call to them,
they stand forth together.
¹⁴ “Assemble, all of you, and hear!
who among them has declared these things?
The Lord loves him;
he shall perform his purpose on Babylon,
and his arm shall be against the Chalde′ans.
¹⁵ I, even I, have spoken and called him,
I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.
¹⁶ Draw near to me, hear this:
from the beginning I have not spoken in secret,
from the time it came to be I have been there.”
And now the Lord God has sent me and his Spirit.
¹⁷ Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you to profit,
who leads you in the way you should go.
¹⁸ O that you had hearkened to my commandments!
Then your peace would have been like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;
¹⁹ your offspring would have been like the sand,
and your descendants like its grains;
their name would never be cut off
or destroyed from before me.”
²⁰ Go forth from Babylon, flee from Chalde′a,
declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it,
send it forth to the end of the earth;
say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
²¹ They thirsted not when he led them through the deserts;
he made water flow for them from the rock;
he cleft the rock and the water gushed out.
²² “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
¹ Listen to me, O coastlands,
and hearken, you peoples from afar.
The Lord called me from the womb,
from the body of my mother he named my name.
² He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me away.
³ And he said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
⁴ But I said, “I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my right is with the Lord,
and my recompense with my God.”
⁵ And now the Lord says,
who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
and that Israel might be gathered to him,
for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord,
and my God has become my strength—
⁶ he says:
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the preserved of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
⁷ Thus says the Lord,
the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations,
the servant of rulers:
“Kings shall see and arise;
princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
⁸ Thus says the Lord:
“In a time of favor I have answered you,
in a day of salvation I have helped you;
I have kept you and given you
as a covenant to the people,
to establish the land,
to apportion the desolate heritages;
⁹ saying to the prisoners, ‘Come forth,’
to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’
They shall feed along the ways,
on all bare heights shall be their pasture;
¹⁰ they shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall smite them,
for he who has pity on them will lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
¹¹ And I will make all my mountains a way,
and my highways shall be raised up.
¹² Lo, these shall come from afar,
and lo, these from the north and from the west,
and these from the land of Syenne.”
¹³ Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord has comforted his people,
and will have compassion on his afflicted.
¹⁴ But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,
my Lord has forgotten me.”
¹⁵ “Can a woman forget her sucking child,
that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.
¹⁶ Behold, I have graven you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.
¹⁷ Your builders outstrip your destroyers,
and those who laid you waste go forth from you.
¹⁸ Lift up your eyes round about and see;
they all gather, they come to you.
As I live, says the Lord,
you shall put them all on as an ornament,
you shall bind them on as a bride does.
¹⁹ “Surely your waste and your desolate places
and your devastated land—
surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
²⁰ The children born in the time of your bereavement
will yet say in your ears:
‘The place is too narrow for me;
make room for me to dwell in.’
²¹ Then you will say in your heart:
‘Who has borne me these?
I was bereaved and barren,
exiled and put away,
but who has brought up these?
Behold, I was left alone;
whence then have these come?’”
²² Thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,
and raise my signal to the peoples;
and they shall bring your sons in their bosom,
and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
²³ Kings shall be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.
With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,
and lick the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.”
²⁴ Can the prey be taken from the mighty,
or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?
²⁵ Surely, thus says the Lord:
“Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken,
and the prey of the tyrant be rescued,
for I will contend with those who contend with you,
and I will save your children.
²⁶ I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,
and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine.
Then all flesh shall know
that I am the Lord your Savior,
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
¹ Thus says the Lord:
“Where is your mother’s bill of divorce,
with which I put her away?
Or which of my creditors is it
to whom I have sold you?
Behold, for your iniquities you were sold,
and for your transgressions your mother was put away.
² Why, when I came, was there no man?
When I called, was there no one to answer?
Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?
Or have I no power to deliver?
Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea,
I make the rivers a desert;
their fish stink for lack of water,
and die of thirst.
³ I clothe the heavens with blackness,
and make sackcloth their covering.”
⁴ The Lord God has given me
the tongue of those who are taught,
that I may know how to sustain with a word
him that is weary.
Morning by morning he wakens,
he wakens my ear
to hear as those who are taught.
⁵ The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious,
I turned not backward.
⁶ I gave my back to the smiters,
and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I hid not my face
from shame and spitting.
⁷ For the Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been confounded;
therefore I have set my face like a flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
⁸ he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who is my adversary?
Let him come near to me.
⁹ Behold, the Lord God helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up.
¹⁰ Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys the voice of his servant,
who walks in darkness
and has no light,
yet trusts in the name of the Lord
and relies upon his God?
¹¹ Behold, all you who kindle a fire,
who set brands alight!
Walk by the light of your fire,
and by the brands which you have kindled!
This shall you have from my hand:
you shall lie down in torment.
Discussion points#
Coming of Cyrus#
²¹ Remember these things, Jacob,
Israel, for you are my servant!
I formed you, a servant to me;
Israel, you shall never be forgotten by me:
²² I have brushed away your offenses like a cloud,
your sins like a mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.
²³ Raise a glad cry, you heavens—the Lord has acted!
Shout, you depths of the earth.
Break forth, mountains, into song,
forest, with all your trees.
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
shows his glory through Israel.
²⁴ Thus says the Lord, your redeemer,
who formed you from the womb:
I am the Lord, who made all things,
who alone stretched out the heavens,
I spread out the earth by myself.
²⁵ I bring to nought the omens of babblers,
make fools of diviners,
Turn back the wise
and make their knowledge foolish.
²⁶ I confirm the words of my servant,
carry out the plan my messengers announce.
I say to Jerusalem, Be inhabited!
To the cities of Judah, Be rebuilt!
I will raise up their ruins.
²⁷ I say to the deep, Be dry!
I will dry up your rivers.
²⁸ I say of Cyrus, My shepherd!
He carries out my every wish,
Saying of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,”
and of the temple, “Lay its foundations.”
¹ Thus says the Lord to his anointed, Cyrus,
whose right hand I grasp,
Subduing nations before him,
stripping kings of their strength,
Opening doors before him,
leaving the gates unbarred:
² I will go before you
and level the mountains;
Bronze doors I will shatter,
iron bars I will snap.
³ I will give you treasures of darkness,
riches hidden away,
That you may know I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who calls you by name.
²¹ Remember these things, O Jacob,
and Israel, for you are my servant;
I formed you, you are my servant;
O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
²² I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud,
and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.
²³ Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it;
shout, O depths of the earth;
break forth into singing, O mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
and will be glorified in Israel.
²⁴ Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,
who formed you from the womb:
“I am the Lord, who made all things,
who stretched out the heavens alone,
who spread out the earth—Who was with me?—
²⁵ who frustrates the omens of liars,
and makes fools of diviners;
who turns wise men back,
and makes their knowledge foolish;
²⁶ who confirms the word of his servant,
and performs the counsel of his messengers;
who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’
and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built,
and I will raise up their ruins’;
²⁷ who says to the deep, ‘Be dry,
I will dry up your rivers’;
²⁸ who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,
and he shall fulfil all my purpose’;
saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’
and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”
¹ Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and ungird the loins of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:
² “I will go before you
and level the mountains,
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut asunder the bars of iron,
³ I will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
In verse 45:1, the word “anointed” māšîaḥ (מָשִׁיחַ) used elsewhere in the OT, for kings and high priests of Israel. As an example:
¹ These are the last words of David:
The oracle of David, son of Jesse;
the oracle of the man God raised up,
Anointed of the God of Jacob,
favorite of the Mighty One of Israel.
² The spirit of the Lord spoke through me;
his word was on my tongue.
³ The God of Israel spoke;
of me the Rock of Israel said,
“One who rules over humankind with justice,
who rules in the fear of God,
⁴ Is like the light at sunrise
on a cloudless morning,
making the land’s vegetation glisten after rain.”
⁵ Is not my house firm before God?
He has made an eternal covenant with me,
set forth in detail and secured.
Will he not bring to fruition
all my salvation and my every desire?
⁶ But the wicked are all like thorns to be cast away;
they cannot be taken up by hand.
⁷ One wishing to touch them
must be armed with iron or the shaft of a spear.
They must be utterly consumed by fire.
¹ Now these are the last words of David:
The oracle of David, the son of Jesse,
the oracle of the man who was raised on high,
the anointed of the God of Jacob,
the sweet psalmist of Israel:
² “The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me,
his word is upon my tongue.
³ The God of Israel has spoken,
the Rock of Israel has said to me:
When one rules justly over men,
ruling in the fear of God,
⁴ he dawns on them like the morning light,
like the sun shining forth upon a cloudless morning,
like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.
⁵ Yea, does not my house stand so with God?
For he has made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things and secure.
For will he not cause to prosper
all my help and my desire?
⁶ But godless men are all like thorns that are thrown away;
for they cannot be taken with the hand;
⁷ but the man who touches them
arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear,
and they are utterly consumed with fire.”
This multiple fulfillment also appears in Daniel:
²¹ I was still praying, when the man, Gabriel, whom I had seen in vision before, came to me in flight at the time of the evening offering. ²² He instructed me in these words: “Daniel, I have now come to give you understanding. ²³ When you began your petition, an answer was given which I have come to announce, because you are beloved. Therefore, mark the answer and understand the vision.
²⁴ “Seventy weeks are decreed
for your people and for your holy city:
Then transgression will stop and sin will end,
guilt will be expiated,
Everlasting justice will be introduced,
vision and prophecy ratified,
and a holy of holies will be anointed.
²⁵ Know and understand:
From the utterance of the word
that Jerusalem was to be rebuilt
Until there is an anointed ruler,
there shall be seven weeks.
In the course of sixty-two weeks
it shall be rebuilt,
With squares and trenches,
in time of affliction.
²⁶ After the sixty-two weeks
an anointed one shall be cut down
with no one to help him.
And the people of a leader who will come
shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
His end shall come in a flood;
until the end of the war, which is decreed,
there will be desolation.
²¹ while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. ²² He came and he said to me, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you wisdom and understanding. ²³ At the beginning of your supplications a word went forth, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the word and understand the vision.
²⁴ “Seventy weeks of years are decreed concerning your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. ²⁵ Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. ²⁶ And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off, and shall have nothing; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war; desolations are decreed.
Cyrus though, is a Gentile, but Isaiah’s prophecy addresses this:
⁹ Woe to anyone who contends with their Maker;
a potsherd among potsherds of the earth!
Shall the clay say to the potter, “What are you doing?”
or, “What you are making has no handles”?
¹⁰ Woe to anyone who asks a father, “What are you begetting?”
or a woman, “What are you giving birth to?”
¹¹ Thus says the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, his maker:
Do you question me about my children,
tell me how to treat the work of my hands?
¹² It was I who made the earth
and created the people upon it;
It was my hands that stretched out the heavens;
I gave the order to all their host.
¹³ It was I who stirred him up for justice;
all his ways I make level.
He shall rebuild my city
and let my exiles go free
Without price or payment,
says the Lord of hosts.
⁹ “Woe to him who strives with his Maker,
an earthen vessel with the potter!
Does the clay say to him who fashions it, ‘What are you making?’
or ‘Your work has no handles’?
¹⁰ Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
or to a woman, ‘With what are you in travail?’”
¹¹ Thus says the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:
“Will you question me about my children,
or command me concerning the work of my hands?
¹² I made the earth,
and created man upon it;
it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,
and I commanded all their host.
¹³ I have aroused him in righteousness,
and I will make straight all his ways;
he shall build my city
and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,”
says the Lord of hosts.
God’s methods are unexpected: how else have the Jews been surprised by the prophecies given through Isaiah?
Son of man#
These references to the anointed one are sometimes explicitly messianic. Verse 8 reads in our modern translations:
⁸ Let justice descend, you heavens, like dew from above,
like gentle rain let the clouds drop it down.
Let the earth open and salvation bud forth;
let righteousness spring up with them!
I, the Lord, have created this.
⁸ “Shower, O heavens, from above,
and let the skies rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation may sprout forth,
and let it cause righteousness to spring up also;
I the Lord have created it.
but the Vulgate derived bibles translate:
“Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just: let the earth be opened, and bud forth a saviour: and let justice spring up toegether: I the Lord have created him” (Douay-Rheims)
which we reference during Advent.
In fact, some translations translate Daniel 9:25 messanically:
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. (KJV)
Know thou therefore, and take notice: that from the going forth of the word, to build up Jerusalem again, unto Christ the prince, there shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks: and the street shall be built again, and the walls in straitness of times. (Douay-Rheims)
Cross-referenced to this passage in Daniel is an explicit reference to a vision of a certain son of man:
¹ In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, as Daniel lay in bed he had a dream, visions in his head. Then he wrote down the dream; the account began:
¹³ As the visions during the night continued, I saw coming with the clouds of heaven
One like a son of man.
When he reached the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him,
¹⁴ He received dominion, splendor, and kingship;
all nations, peoples and tongues will serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not pass away,
his kingship, one that shall not be destroyed.
¹⁵ Because of this, my spirit was anguished and I, Daniel, was terrified by my visions. ¹⁶ I approached one of those present and asked him the truth of all this; in answer, he made known to me its meaning: ¹⁷ “These four great beasts stand for four kings which shall arise on the earth. ¹⁸ But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingship, to possess it forever and ever.”
¹ In the first year of Belshaz′zar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, and told the sum of the matter.
¹³ I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
¹⁴ And to him was given dominion
and glory and kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.
¹⁵ “As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious and the visions of my head alarmed me. ¹⁶ I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me, and made known to me the interpretation of the things. ¹⁷ ‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. ¹⁸ But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, for ever and ever.’
In contrast to the previous “son of man” that we have seen applied to the prophets themselves to highlight their humanity, Daniel’s vision does make a pretty strong messianic connection to the title.
Moving to the end of Chapter 45, we have a section oft-quoted in the NT:
²² Turn to me and be safe,
all you ends of the earth,
for I am God; there is no other!
²³ By myself I swear,
uttering my just decree,
a word that will not return:
To me every knee shall bend;
by me every tongue shall swear,
²⁴ Saying, “Only in the Lord
are just deeds and power.
Before him in shame shall come
all who vent their anger against him.
²⁵ In the Lord all the descendants of Israel
shall have vindication and glory.”
⁴ Who are you to pass judgment on someone else’s servant? Before his own master he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. ⁵ [For] one person considers one day more important than another, while another person considers all days alike. Let everyone be fully persuaded in his own mind. ⁶ Whoever observes the day, observes it for the Lord. Also whoever eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while whoever abstains, abstains for the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷ None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. ⁸ For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹ For this is why Christ died and came to life, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. ¹⁰ Why then do you judge your brother? Or you, why do you look down on your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; ¹¹ for it is written:
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me,
and every tongue shall give praise to God.”
¹² So [then] each of us shall give an account of himself [to God].
¹ If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, ² complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. ³ Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, ⁴ each looking out not for his own interests, but [also] everyone for those of others.
⁵ Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,
⁶ Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
⁷ Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
⁸ he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
⁹ Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
²² Turn to me and be safe,
all you ends of the earth,
for I am God; there is no other!
²³ By myself I swear,
uttering my just decree,
a word that will not return:
To me every knee shall bend;
by me every tongue shall swear,
²⁴ Saying, “Only in the Lord
are just deeds and power.
Before him in shame shall come
all who vent their anger against him.
²⁵ In the Lord all the descendants of Israel
shall have vindication and glory.”
⁴ Who are you to pass judgment on someone else’s servant? Before his own master he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. ⁵ [For] one person considers one day more important than another, while another person considers all days alike. Let everyone be fully persuaded in his own mind. ⁶ Whoever observes the day, observes it for the Lord. Also whoever eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while whoever abstains, abstains for the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷ None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. ⁸ For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹ For this is why Christ died and came to life, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. ¹⁰ Why then do you judge your brother? Or you, why do you look down on your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; ¹¹ for it is written:
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me,
and every tongue shall give praise to God.”
¹² So [then] each of us shall give an account of himself [to God].
¹ If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, ² complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. ³ Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, ⁴ each looking out not for his own interests, but [also] everyone for those of others.
⁵ Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,
⁶ Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
⁷ Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
⁸ he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
⁹ Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Destruction of Babylon#
Earlier in this section is a warning against idolatry, segueing into a comparison between dead idols and our living God:
⁶ Thus says the Lord, Israel’s king,
its redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
I am the first, I am the last;
there is no God but me.
⁷ Who is like me? Let him stand up and declare,
make it evident, and confront me with it.
Who of old announced future events?
Let them foretell to us the things to come.
⁸ Do not fear or be troubled.
Did I not announce it to you long ago?
I declared it, and you are my witnesses.
Is there any God but me?
There is no other Rock, I know of none!
⁹ Those who fashion idols are all nothing;
their precious works are of no avail.
They are their witnesses:
they see nothing, know nothing,
and so they are put to shame.
¹ Bel bows down, Nebo stoops,
their idols set upon beasts and cattle;
They must be borne upon shoulders,
a load for weary animals.
² They stoop and bow down together;
unable to deliver those who bear them,
they too go into captivity.
³ Hear me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
My burden from the womb,
whom I have carried since birth.
⁴ Even to your old age I am he,
even when your hair is gray I will carry you;
I have done this, and I will lift you up,
I will carry you to safety.
⁵ To whom would you liken me as an equal,
compare me, as though we were alike?
⁶ There are those who pour out gold from a purse
and weigh out silver on the scales;
They hire a goldsmith to make it into a god
before which they bow down in worship.
⁷ They lift it to their shoulders to carry;
when they set it down, it stays,
and does not move from the place.
They cry out to it, but it cannot answer;
it delivers no one from distress.
⁶ Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel
and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
“I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
⁷ Who is like me? Let him proclaim it,
let him declare and set it forth before me.
Who has announced from of old the things to come?
Let them tell us what is yet to be.
⁸ Fear not, nor be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
And you are my witnesses!
Is there a God besides me?
There is no Rock; I know not any.”
⁹ All who make idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit; their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame.
¹ Bel bows down, Nebo stoops,
their idols are on beasts and cattle;
these things you carry are loaded
as burdens on weary beasts.
² They stoop, they bow down together,
they cannot save the burden,
but themselves go into captivity.
³ “Hearken to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from your birth,
carried from the womb;
⁴ even to your old age I am He,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.
⁵ “To whom will you liken me and make me equal,
and compare me, that we may be alike?
⁶ Those who lavish gold from the purse,
and weigh out silver in the scales,
hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
then they fall down and worship!
⁷ They lift it upon their shoulders, they carry it,
they set it in its place, and its stands there;
it cannot move from its place.
If one cries to it, it does not answer
or save him from his trouble.
After this reminder of the useless idols of Babylon, God predicts the destruction of Babylon
¹ Come down, sit in the dust,
virgin daughter Babylon;
Sit on the ground, dethroned,
daughter of the Chaldeans.
No longer shall you be called
dainty and delicate.
² Take the millstone and grind flour,
remove your veil;
Strip off your skirt, bare your legs,
cross through the streams.
³ Your nakedness shall be uncovered,
and your shame be seen;
I will take vengeance,
I will yield to no entreaty,
⁴ our redeemer,
Whose name is the Lord of hosts,
the Holy One of Israel.
¹² Keep on with your spells
and your many sorceries,
at which you toiled from your youth.
Perhaps you can prevail,
perhaps you can strike terror!
¹³ You wore yourself out with so many consultations!
Let the astrologers stand forth to save you,
The stargazers who forecast at each new moon
what would happen to you.
¹⁴ See, they are like stubble,
fire consumes them;
They cannot deliver themselves
from the spreading flames.
This is no warming ember,
no fire to sit before!
¹⁵ Thus do your wizards serve you
with whom you have toiled from your youth;
They wander their separate ways,
with none to save you.
¹⁴ All of you assemble and listen:
Who among you declared these things?
The one the Lord loves shall do his will
against Babylon and the offspring of Chaldea.
¹⁵ I myself have spoken, I have summoned him,
I have brought him, and his way succeeds!
¹⁶ Come near to me and hear this!
From the beginning I did not speak in secret;
At the time it happens, I am there:
“Now the Lord God has sent me, and his spirit.”
¹⁷ Thus says the Lord, your redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel:
I am the Lord, your God,
teaching you how to prevail,
leading you on the way you should go.
¹⁸ If only you would attend to my commandments,
your peace would be like a river,
your vindication like the waves of the sea,
¹⁹ Your descendants like the sand,
the offspring of your loins like its grains,
Their name never cut off
or blotted out from my presence.
²⁰ Go forth from Babylon, flee from Chaldea!
With shouts of joy declare this, announce it;
Make it known to the ends of the earth,
Say: “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.
²¹ They did not thirst
when he led them through dry lands;
Water from the rock he set flowing for them;
he cleft the rock, and waters welled forth.”
²² There is no peace for the wicked,
says the Lord.
¹ Come down and sit in the dust,
O virgin daughter of Babylon;
sit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of the Chalde′ans!
For you shall no more be called
tender and delicate.
² Take the millstones and grind meal,
put off your veil,
strip off your robe, uncover your legs,
pass through the rivers.
³ Your nakedness shall be uncovered,
and your shame shall be seen.
I will take vengeance,
and I will spare no man.
⁴ Our Redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name—
is the Holy One of Israel.
¹² Stand fast in your enchantments
and your many sorceries,
with which you have labored from your youth;
perhaps you may be able to succeed,
perhaps you may inspire terror.
¹³ You are wearied with your many counsels;
let them stand forth and save you,
those who divide the heavens,
who gaze at the stars,
who at the new moons predict
what shall befall you.
¹⁴ Behold, they are like stubble,
the fire consumes them;
they cannot deliver themselves
from the power of the flame.
No coal for warming oneself is this,
no fire to sit before!
¹⁵ Such to you are those with whom you have labored,
who have trafficked with you from your youth;
they wander about each in his own direction;
there is no one to save you.
¹⁴ “Assemble, all of you, and hear!
who among them has declared these things?
The Lord loves him;
he shall perform his purpose on Babylon,
and his arm shall be against the Chalde′ans.
¹⁵ I, even I, have spoken and called him,
I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.
¹⁶ Draw near to me, hear this:
from the beginning I have not spoken in secret,
from the time it came to be I have been there.”
And now the Lord God has sent me and his Spirit.
¹⁷ Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you to profit,
who leads you in the way you should go.
¹⁸ O that you had hearkened to my commandments!
Then your peace would have been like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;
¹⁹ your offspring would have been like the sand,
and your descendants like its grains;
their name would never be cut off
or destroyed from before me.”
²⁰ Go forth from Babylon, flee from Chalde′a,
declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it,
send it forth to the end of the earth;
say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
²¹ They thirsted not when he led them through the deserts;
he made water flow for them from the rock;
he cleft the rock and the water gushed out.
²² “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
Second Servant Song#
The second servant song opens with the very intimate call before birth, which is referenced elsewhere in the OT:
¹ Come down, sit in the dust,
virgin daughter Babylon;
Sit on the ground, dethroned,
daughter of the Chaldeans.
No longer shall you be called
dainty and delicate.
² Take the millstone and grind flour,
remove your veil;
Strip off your skirt, bare your legs,
cross through the streams.
³ Your nakedness shall be uncovered,
and your shame be seen;
I will take vengeance,
I will yield to no entreaty,
⁴ our redeemer,
Whose name is the Lord of hosts,
the Holy One of Israel.
⁴ The word of the Lord came to me:
⁵ Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I dedicated you,
a prophet to the nations I appointed you.
⁶ “Ah, Lord God!” I said,
“I do not know how to speak. I am too young!”
⁷ But the Lord answered me,
Do not say, “I am too young.”
To whomever I send you, you shall go;
whatever I command you, you shall speak.
⁸ Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you—oracle of the Lord.
⁹ Then the Lord extended his hand and touched my mouth, saying to me,
See, I place my words in your mouth!
¹⁰ Today I appoint you
over nations and over kingdoms,
To uproot and to tear down,
to destroy and to demolish,
to build and to plant.
¹³ You formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you, because I am wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works!
My very self you know.
¹⁵ My bones are not hidden from you,
When I was being made in secret,
fashioned in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw me unformed;
in your book all are written down;
my days were shaped, before one came to be.
¹ Come down and sit in the dust,
O virgin daughter of Babylon;
sit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of the Chalde′ans!
For you shall no more be called
tender and delicate.
² Take the millstones and grind meal,
put off your veil,
strip off your robe, uncover your legs,
pass through the rivers.
³ Your nakedness shall be uncovered,
and your shame shall be seen.
I will take vengeance,
and I will spare no man.
⁴ Our Redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name—
is the Holy One of Israel.
⁴ Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,
⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
⁶ Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” ⁷ But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you you shall go,
and whatever I command you you shall speak.
⁸ Be not afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
says the Lord.”
⁹ Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me,
“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
¹⁰ See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”
¹³ For thou didst form my inward parts,
thou didst knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful.
Wonderful are thy works!
Thou knowest me right well;
¹⁵ my frame was not hidden from thee,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance;
in thy book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
John the Baptist and Saint Paul are similarly called this way:
¹⁰ Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering, ¹¹ the angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense. ¹² Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of [the] Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, ¹⁶ and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.”
¹¹ Now I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin. ¹² For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
¹³ For you heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it, ¹⁴ and progressed in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my race, since I was even more a zealot for my ancestral traditions. ¹⁵ But when [God], who from my mother’s womb had set me apart and called me through his grace, was pleased ¹⁶ to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult flesh and blood, ¹⁷ nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; rather, I went into Arabia and then returned to Damascus.
¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹ And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² And Zechari′ah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechari′ah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness,
and many will rejoice at his birth;
¹⁵ for he will be great before the Lord,
and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink,
and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit,
even from his mother’s womb.
¹⁶ And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God,
¹⁷ and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Eli′jah,
to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,
and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
¹¹ For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not man’s gospel. ¹² For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹³ For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it; ¹⁴ and I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. ¹⁵ But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, ¹⁶ was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with flesh and blood, ¹⁷ nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned to Damascus.
For those Israelites (and us) who worry that they are toiling in vain, we have the response of our Lord:
¹⁴ But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”
¹⁵ Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you.
¹⁶ See, upon the palms of my hands I have engraved you;
your walls are ever before me.
¹⁹ Though you were waste and desolate,
a land of ruins,
Now you shall be too narrow for your inhabitants,
while those who swallowed you up will be far away.
²⁰ The children of whom you were bereft
shall yet say in your hearing,
“This place is too narrow for me,
make room for me to live in.”
²¹ You shall ask yourself:
“Who has borne me these,
when I was bereft and barren?
Exiled and repudiated,
who has reared them?
I was left all alone;
where then do these come from?”
²² Thus says the Lord God:
See, I will lift up my hand to the nations,
and to the peoples raise my signal;
They shall bring your sons in their arms,
your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
²³ Kings shall be your guardians,
their princesses your nursemaids;
Face to the ground, they shall bow down before you
and lick the dust at your feet.
Then you shall know that I am the Lord,
none who hope in me shall be ashamed.
¹⁴ But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,
my Lord has forgotten me.”
¹⁵ “Can a woman forget her sucking child,
that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.
¹⁶ Behold, I have graven you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.
¹⁹ “Surely your waste and your desolate places
and your devastated land—
surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
²⁰ The children born in the time of your bereavement
will yet say in your ears:
‘The place is too narrow for me;
make room for me to dwell in.’
²¹ Then you will say in your heart:
‘Who has borne me these?
I was bereaved and barren,
exiled and put away,
but who has brought up these?
Behold, I was left alone;
whence then have these come?’”
²² Thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,
and raise my signal to the peoples;
and they shall bring your sons in their bosom,
and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
²³ Kings shall be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.
With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,
and lick the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.”
The mentions of “engraved” (ḥāqaq, חָקַק) is sometimes translated as decree/note or note, and has occurred through Isaiah so far:
¹ Ah! Those who enact unjust statutes,
who write oppressive decrees,
¹⁶ “What have you here? Whom have you here,
that you have hewn for yourself a tomb here,
Hewing a tomb on high,
carving a resting place in the rock?”
⁸ Now come, write it on a tablet they can keep,
inscribe it on a scroll;
That in time to come it may be
an eternal witness.
⁹ For this is a rebellious people,
deceitful children,
Children who refuse
to listen to the instruction of the Lord;
¹ Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees,
and the writers who keep writing oppression,
¹⁶ What have you to do here and whom have you here, that you have hewn here a tomb for yourself, you who hew a tomb on the height, and carve a habitation for yourself in the rock?
⁸ And now, go, write it before them on a tablet,
and inscribe it in a book,
that it may be for the time to come
as a witness for ever.
⁹ For they are a rebellious people,
lying sons,
sons who will not hear
the instruction of the Lord;
How is God’s engraving different than the work of humans referenced elsewhere?
Third Servant Song#
In the third servant’s song, we open with a reminder of God’s presence, even despite unbelief of Israel:
¹ Thus says the Lord:
Where is the bill of divorce
with which I dismissed your mother?
Or to which of my creditors
have I sold you?
It was for your sins you were sold,
for your rebellions your mother was dismissed.
² Why was no one there when I came?
Why did no one answer when I called?
Is my hand too short to ransom?
Have I not the strength to deliver?
See, with my rebuke I dry up the sea,
I turn rivers into wilderness;
Their fish rot for lack of water,
and die of thirst.
³ I clothe the heavens in black,
and make sackcloth their covering.
¹ Thus says the Lord:
“Where is your mother’s bill of divorce,
with which I put her away?
Or which of my creditors is it
to whom I have sold you?
Behold, for your iniquities you were sold,
and for your transgressions your mother was put away.
² Why, when I came, was there no man?
When I called, was there no one to answer?
Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?
Or have I no power to deliver?
Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea,
I make the rivers a desert;
their fish stink for lack of water,
and die of thirst.
³ I clothe the heavens with blackness,
and make sackcloth their covering.”
How does the missing bill of divorce reframe the selling of Israel?
⁴ The Lord God has given me
a well-trained tongue,
That I might know how to answer the weary
a word that will waken them.
Morning after morning
he wakens my ear to hear as disciples do;
⁵ The Lord God opened my ear;
I did not refuse,
did not turn away.
⁶ I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who tore out my beard;
My face I did not hide
from insults and spitting.
⁷ The Lord God is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
Therefore I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
⁸ He who declares my innocence is near.
Who will oppose me?
Let us appear together.
Who will dispute my right?
Let them confront me.
⁹ See, the Lord God is my help;
who will declare me guilty?
See, they will all wear out like a garment,
consumed by moths.
¹⁰ Who among you fears the Lord,
heeds his servant’s voice?
Whoever walk in darkness,
without any light,
Yet trust in the name of the Lord
and rely upon their God!
¹¹ All you who kindle flames
and set flares alight,
Walk by the light of your own fire
and by the flares you have burnt!
This is your fate from my hand:
you shall lie down in a place of torment.
⁴ The Lord God has given me
the tongue of those who are taught,
that I may know how to sustain with a word
him that is weary.
Morning by morning he wakens,
he wakens my ear
to hear as those who are taught.
⁵ The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious,
I turned not backward.
⁶ I gave my back to the smiters,
and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I hid not my face
from shame and spitting.
⁷ For the Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been confounded;
therefore I have set my face like a flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
⁸ he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who is my adversary?
Let him come near to me.
⁹ Behold, the Lord God helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up.
¹⁰ Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys the voice of his servant,
who walks in darkness
and has no light,
yet trusts in the name of the Lord
and relies upon his God?
¹¹ Behold, all you who kindle a fire,
who set brands alight!
Walk by the light of your fire,
and by the brands which you have kindled!
This shall you have from my hand:
you shall lie down in torment.
How are you inspired to “know how to answer the weary?”