18 19 20 1 Thou hast rescued my soul from perdition; They that go down into the pit shall not await thy The living, the living, he shall prasie thee, as I do this day; The father to the children shall make known thy faithfulness. JEHOVAH was present to save me therefore will we sing our songs to the harp, All the days of our life, in the house of JEHOVAH. CHAP. XXXIX. Ar that time Merodach Baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters, and ambassadors, and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard, 2 that he had been sick, and was recovered. And Hezekiah was rejoiced at their arrival: and he shewed them his magazines, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and his whole arsenal, and all that was contained in his treasures: there was not any thing in his house, and in all his dominion, that Hezekiah did not shew them. 3 And Isaiah the prophet came unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him: What say these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said: They are come to me from a distant country; from 4 Babylon. And he said: What have they seen in thy house? And Hezekiah said: They have seen every thing in my house: there is nothing in my 5 treasures, which I have not shewn them. And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah: Hear thou the word of 6 JEHOVAH God of hosts. Behold, the days shall come, when all that is in thy house, and that thy fathers have treasured up unto this day, shall be car ried away to Babylon: there shall not any thing be 7 left, saith JEHOVAH. And of thy sons, which shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the 8 king of Babylon. And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, Gracious is the word of JEHOVAH, which thou hast delivered! For, added he, there shall be peace, according to his faithfal promise, in my days. CHAP. XL. 1 COMFORT ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God: 2 Speak ye animating words to Jerusalem, and declare unto her, That her warfare is fulfilled; that the expiation of her iniquity is accepted; That she shall receive at the hand of JEHOVAH [Blessings] double to the punishment of all her sins. 3 A voice crieth; In the wilderness prepare ye the way of JEHOVAH! Make straight in the desert a highway for our God! 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill be brought low; And the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places a smooth plain : 5 And the glory of JEHOVAH shall be revealed; And all flesh shall see together the salvation of our God: For the mouth of JEHOVAH hath spoken it. 6 A voice saith: Proclaim! And I said, What shall I proclaim? All flesh is grass, and all its glory like the flower of the field: 7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth ; When the wind of JEHOVAH bloweth upon it. 8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; 9 10 But the word of our God shall stand for ever. Get thee up upon a high mountain, O daughter that bringest glad tidings to Sion: Exalt thy voice with strength, O daughter that bringest glad tidings to Jerusalem. Exalt it; be not afraid : your Say to the cities of Judah, Behold God! Behold, the Lord JEHOVAH shall come against the strong one, And his arm shall prevail over him. Behold, his reward is with him, and the recompense of his work before him. 11 Like a shepherd shall he feed his flock; 12 In his arm shall he gather up the lambs, And shall bear them in his bosom; his nursing-ewes shall he gently lead. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of And hath meted out the heavens by his span ; And hath weighed in scales the mountains, and the 13 Who hath directed the spirit of JEHOVAH; And, as one of his council, hath informed him? 14 Whom hath he consulted, that he should instruct him, And teach him the path of judgment; That he should impart to him science, And inform him in the way of understanding? 15 Behold, the nations are as a drop from the bucket; As the small dust of the balance shall they be accounted : Behold, the islands he taketh up as an atom. 16 And Lebanon is not sufficient for the fire; Nor his beasts sufficient for the burnt-offering. 17 All the nations are as nothing before him; They are esteemed by him as less than nought, and vanity. 18 To whom therefore will ye liken God? And what is the model of resemblance, that ye will prepare for him? 19 The workman casteth an image; And the smith overlayeth it with plates of gold; 20 He that cannot afford a costly oblation, chooseth a piece of wood that will not rot; He procureth a skilful artist, To erect an image, which shall not be moved. 21 Will ye not know? will ye not hear? Hath it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have ye not understood it from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is He, that sitteth on the circle of the earth; And the inhabitants are to Him as grasshoppers : That extendeth the heavens, as a thin veil; And spreadeth them out, as a tent to dwell in: 23 That reduceth princes to nothing; That maketh the judges of the earth a mere inanity. 24 Yea they shall not leave a plant behind them, they shall not be sown, Their trunk shall not spread its root in the ground: 25 To whom then will ye liken me? And to whom shall I be equalled? saith the Holy 26 Lift up your eyes on high; And see, who hath created these. He draweth forth their armies by number; He calleth them all by name : Through the greatness of his strength, and the migh 27. Wherefore sayest thou then, O Jacob, And why speakest thou thus, O Israel? My way is hidden from JEHOVAH, And my cause passeth unregarded by my God. 28 Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, That JEHOVAH is the everlasting God, The creator of the bounds of the earth: That he neither fainteth, nor is wearied; And that his understanding is unsearchable? 29 He giveth strength to the faint, And to the infirm he multiplieth force. 30 The young men shall faint and be wearied; And the chosen youths shall stumble and fall: 31 But they that trust in JEHOVAH shall gather new strength; 1 They shall put forth fresh feathers like the moulting eagle: They shall run, and not be wearied; They shall march onward, and shall not faint. CHAP. XLI. LET the distant nations repair to me with new force of mind; And let the peoples recover their strength. Let them draw near; then let them speak; 2 Who hath raised up the righteous man from the east; Hath called him to attend his steps? M |