isaiah

¹The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good news to the meek, so as to heal the contrite of heart, to preach leniency to captives and release to the confined, ²and so to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vindication of our God: to console all who are mourning, ³to take up the mourners of Zion and to give them a crown in place of ashes, an oil of joy in place of mourning, a cloak of praise in place of a spirit of grief. And there, they shall be called the strong ones of justice, the planting of the Lord, unto glorification. ⁴And they will rebuild the deserted places of past ages, and they will raise up the ruins of antiquity, and they will repair the desolate cities, which had been dissipated for generation after generation. ⁵And foreigners will stand up and will pasture your flocks. And the sons of sojourners will be your farmers and the workers of your vineyards. ⁶But you yourselves will be called the priests of the Lord. It will be said to you, “You are the ministers of our God.” You will eat from the strength of the Gentiles, and you will pride yourself on their glory.

³¹But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will take up wings like eagles. They will run and not struggle. They will walk and not tire.

⁶For unto us a child is born, and unto us a son is given. And leadership is placed upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called: wonderful Counselor, mighty God, father of the future age, Prince of Peace.

¹⁴For this reason, the Lord himself will grant to you a sign. Behold, a virgin will conceive, and she will give birth to a son, and his name will be called Immanuel.

²But your iniquities have made a division between you and your God, and your sins have concealed his face from you, so that he would not hear.

²⁸Do you not know, or have you not heard? The Lord is the eternal God, who has created the limits of the earth. He does not diminish, and he does not struggle. Neither is his wisdom searchable. ²⁹It is he who gives strength to the weary, and it is he who increases fortitude and strength in those who are failing. ³⁰Servants will struggle and fail, and young men will fall into infirmity. ³¹But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will take up wings like eagles. They will run and not struggle. They will walk and not tire.

¹Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? ²And he will rise up like a tender plant in his sight, and like a root from the thirsty ground. There is no beautiful or stately appearance in him. For we looked upon him, and there was no aspect, such that we would desire him. ³He is despised and the least among men, a man of sorrows who knows infirmity. And his countenance was hidden and despised. Because of this, we did not esteem him. ⁴Truly, he has taken away our weaknesses, and he himself has carried our sorrows. And we thought of him as if he were a leper, or as if he had been struck by God and humiliated. ⁵But he himself was wounded because of our iniquities. He was bruised because of our wickedness. The discipline of our peace was upon him. And by his wounds, we are healed. ⁶We have all gone astray like sheep; each one has turned aside to his own way. And the Lord has placed all our iniquity upon him.

²⁴He who is nearby will not say: “I am too weak.” The people who live in it will have their iniquity taken away from them.

¹⁴And Zion said: “The Lord has abandoned me, and the Lord has forgotten me.”

¹Behold, the hand of the Lord has not been shortened, so that it cannot save, and his ear has not been blocked, so that it cannot hear.

⁸In a moment of indignation, I have hidden my face from you, for a little while. But with everlasting mercy, I have taken pity on you, said your Redeemer, the Lord.

¹In the year in which king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, sublime and exalted, and the things that were under him filled the temple.

¹⁸And then approach and accuse me, says the Lord. Then, if your sins are like scarlet, they shall be made white like snow; and if they are red like vermillion, they shall become white like wool. ¹⁹If you are willing, and you listen to me, then you will eat the good things of the land.

⁴Truly, he has taken away our weaknesses, and he himself has carried our sorrows. And we thought of him as if he were a leper, or as if he had been struck by God and humiliated. ⁵But he himself was wounded because of our iniquities. He was bruised because of our wickedness. The discipline of our peace was upon him. And by his wounds, we are healed.

¹⁸You need not call to mind the past, nor consider the things of antiquity. ¹⁹Behold, I am accomplishing new things. And presently, they will spring forth. With certainty, you will know them. I will make a way in the desert, and rivers in an impassible place. ²⁰The wild beasts of the field will glorify me, with the serpents and the ostriches. For I have brought waters to the desert, rivers to inaccessible places, in order to give drink to my people, to my elect.

¹Let the islands be silent before me, and let the nations take new strength. Let them draw near, and then speak. Let us apply for judgment together. ²Who has raised up a just man from the east, and has called him to follow him? He will place the nations under his gaze, and he will rule over kings. He will cause them to be like dust before his sword, like chaff driven by the wind before his bow. ³He will pursue them. He will pass by in peace. No trace will appear after his feet. ⁴Who has worked and accomplished these things, calling to the generations from the beginning? “It is I, the Lord! I am the first and the last.” ⁵The islands saw it and were afraid. The ends of the earth were stupefied. They drew near and arrived. ⁶Each one will help his neighbor and will say to his brother, “Be strengthened.”