The Fall of Babylon

1“Go down, sit in the dust,

Virgin Daughter Babylon;

sit on the ground without a throne,

queen city of the Babylonians.

No more will you be called

tender or delicate.

2Take millstones and grind flour;

take off your veil.

Lift up your skirts, bare your legs,

and wade through the streams.

3Your nakedness will be exposed

and your shame uncovered.

I will take vengeance;

I will spare no one.”

4Our Redeemer—the LordAlmighty is his name—

is the Holy One of Israel.

5“Sit in silence, go into darkness,

queen city of the Babylonians;

no more will you be called

queen of kingdoms.

6I was angry with my people

and desecrated my inheritance;

I gave them into your hand,

and you showed them no mercy.

Even on the aged

you laid a very heavy yoke.

7You said, ‘I am forever—

the eternal queen!’

But you did not consider these things

or reflect on what might happen.

8“Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,

lounging in your security

and saying to yourself,

‘I am, and there is none besides me.

I will never be a widow

or suffer the loss of children.’

9Both of these will overtake you

in a moment, on a single day:

loss of children and widowhood.

They will come upon you in full measure,

in spite of your many sorceries

and all your potent spells.

10You have trusted in your wickedness

and have said, ‘No one sees me.’

Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you

when you say to yourself,

‘I am, and there is none besides me.’

11Disaster will come upon you,

and you will not know how to conjure it away.

A calamity will fall upon you

that you cannot ward off with a ransom;

a catastrophe you cannot foresee

will suddenly come upon you.

12“Keep on, then, with your magic spells

and with your many sorceries,

which you have labored at since childhood.

Perhaps you will succeed,

perhaps you will cause terror.

13All the counsel you have received has only worn you out!

Let your astrologers come forward,

those stargazers who make predictions month by month,

let them save you from what is coming upon you.

14Surely they are like stubble;

the fire will burn them up.

They cannot even save themselves

from the power of the flame.

These are not coals for warmth;

this is not a fire to sit by.

15That is all they are to you—

these you have dealt with

and labored with since childhood.

All of them go on in their error;

there is not one that can save you.

Gods of Babylon

1Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low;

their idols are borne by beasts of burden.

The images that are carried about are burdensome,

a burden for the weary.

2They stoop and bow down together;

unable to rescue the burden,

they themselves go off into captivity.

3“Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob,

all the remnant of the people of Israel,

you whom I have upheld since your birth,

and have carried since you were born.

4Even to your old age and gray hairs

I am he, I am he who will sustain you.

I have made you and I will carry you;

I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

5“With whom will you compare me or count me equal?

To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?

6Some pour out gold from their bags

and weigh out silver on the scales;

they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god,

and they bow down and worship it.

7They lift it to their shoulders and carry it;

they set it up in its place, and there it stands.

From that spot it cannot move.

Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;

it cannot save them from their troubles.

8“Remember this, keep it in mind,

take it to heart, you rebels.

9Remember the former things, those of long ago;

I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me.

10I make known the end from the beginning,

from ancient times, what is still to come.

I say, ‘My purpose will stand,

and I will do all that I please.’

11From the east I summon a bird of prey;

from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.

What I have said, that I will bring about;

what I have planned, that I will do.

12Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted,

you who are now far from my righteousness.

13I am bringing my righteousness near,

it is not far away;

and my salvation will not be delayed.

I will grant salvation to Zion,

my splendor to Israel.

1“This is what the Lord says to his anointed,

to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of

to subdue nations before him

and to strip kings of their armor,

to open doors before him

so that gates will not be shut:

2I will go before you

and will level the mountains;

I will break down gates of bronze

and cut through bars of iron.

3I will give you hidden treasures,

riches stored in secret places,

so that you may know that I am the Lord,

the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

4For the sake of Jacob my servant,

of Israel my chosen,

I summon you by name

and bestow on you a title of honor,

though you do not acknowledge me.

5I am the Lord, and there is no other;

apart from me there is no God.

I will strengthen you,

though you have not acknowledged me,

6so that from the rising of the sun

to the place of its setting

people may know there is none besides me.

I am the Lord, and there is no other.

7I form the light and create darkness,

I bring prosperity and create disaster;

I, the Lord, do all these things.

8“You heavens above, rain down my righteousness;

let the clouds shower it down.

Let the earth open wide,

let salvation spring up,

let righteousness flourish with it;

I, the Lord, have created it.

9“Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker,

those who are nothing but potsherds

among the potsherds on the ground.

Does the clay say to the potter,

‘What are you making?’

Does your work say,

‘The potter has no hands’?

10Woe to the one who says to a father,

‘What have you begotten?’

or to a mother,

‘What have you brought to birth?’

11“This is what the Lord says—

the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:

Concerning things to come,

do you question me about my children,

or give me orders about the work of my hands?

12It is I who made the earth

and created mankind on it.

My own hands stretched out the heavens;

I marshaled their starry hosts.

13I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness:

I will make all his ways straight.

He will rebuild my city

and set my exiles free,

but not for a price or reward,

says the LordAlmighty.”

14This is what the Lord says:

“The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,

and those tall Sabeans—

they will come over to you

and will be yours;

they will trudge behind you,

coming over to you in chains.

They will bow down before you

and plead with you, saying,

‘Surely God is with you, and there is no other;

there is no other god.’ ”

15Truly you are a God who has been hiding himself,

the God and Savior of Israel.

16All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;

they will go off into disgrace together.

17But Israel will be saved by the Lord

with an everlasting salvation;

you will never be put to shame or disgraced,

to ages everlasting.

18For this is what the Lord says—

he who created the heavens,

he is God;

he who fashioned and made the earth,

he founded it;

he did not create it to be empty,

but formed it to be inhabited—

he says:

“I am the Lord,

and there is no other.

19I have not spoken in secret,

from somewhere in a land of darkness;

I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,

‘Seek me in vain.’

I, the Lord, speak the truth;

I declare what is right.

20“Gather together and come;

assemble, you fugitives from the nations.

Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood,

who pray to gods that cannot save.

21Declare what is to be, present it—

let them take counsel together.

Who foretold this long ago,

who declared it from the distant past?

Was it not I, the Lord?

And there is no God apart from me,

a righteous God and a Savior;

there is none but me.

22“Turn to me and be saved,

all you ends of the earth;

for I am God, and there is no other.

23By myself I have sworn,

my mouth has uttered in all integrity

a word that will not be revoked:

Before me every knee will bow;

by me every tongue will swear.

24They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone

are deliverance and strength.’ ”

All who have raged against him

will come to him and be put to shame.

25But all the descendants of Israel

will find deliverance in the Lord

and will make their boast in him.

Israel the Chosen

1“But now listen, Jacob, my servant,

Israel, whom I have chosen.

2This is what the Lord says—

he who made you, who formed you in the womb,

and who will help you:

Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant,

Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

3For I will pour water on the thirsty land,

and streams on the dry ground;

I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,

and my blessing on your descendants.

4They will spring up like grass in a meadow,

like poplar trees by flowing streams.

5Some will say, ‘I belong to the Lord’;

others will call themselves by the name of Jacob;

still others will write on their hand, ‘The Lord’s,’

and will take the name Israel.

The Lord, Not Idols

6“This is what the Lord says—

Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LordAlmighty:

I am the first and I am the last;

apart from me there is no God.

7Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it.

Let him declare and lay out before me

what has happened since I established my ancient people,

and what is yet to come—

yes, let them foretell what will come.

8Do not tremble, do not be afraid.

Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?

You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?

No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”

9All who make idols are nothing,

and the things they treasure are worthless.

Those who would speak up for them are blind;

they are ignorant, to their own shame.

10Who shapes a god and casts an idol,

which can profit nothing?

11People who do that will be put to shame;

such craftsmen are only human beings.

Let them all come together and take their stand;

they will be brought down to terror and shame.

12The blacksmith takes a tool

and works with it in the coals;

he shapes an idol with hammers,

he forges it with the might of his arm.

He gets hungry and loses his strength;

he drinks no water and grows faint.

13The carpenter measures with a line

and makes an outline with a marker;

he roughs it out with chisels

and marks it with compasses.

He shapes it in human form,

human form in all its glory,

that it may dwell in a shrine.

14He cut down cedars,

or perhaps took a cypress or oak.

He let it grow among the trees of the forest,

or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.

15It is used as fuel for burning;

some of it he takes and warms himself,

he kindles a fire and bakes bread.

But he also fashions a god and worships it;

he makes an idol and bows down to it.

16Half of the wood he burns in the fire;

over it he prepares his meal,

he roasts his meat and eats his fill.

He also warms himself and says,

“Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”

17From the rest he makes a god, his idol;

he bows down to it and worships.

He prays to it and says,

“Save me! You are my god!”

18They know nothing, they understand nothing;

their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see,

and their minds closed so they cannot understand.

19No one stops to think,

no one has the knowledge or understanding to say,

“Half of it I used for fuel;

I even baked bread over its coals,

I roasted meat and I ate.

Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left?

Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”

20Such a person feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him;

he cannot save himself, or say,

“Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”

21“Remember these things, Jacob,

for you, Israel, are my servant.

I have made you, you are my servant;

Israel, I will not forget you.

22I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,

your sins like the morning mist.

Return to me,

for I have redeemed you.”

23Sing for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done this;

shout aloud, you earth beneath.

Burst into song, you mountains,

you forests and all your trees,

for the Lord has redeemed Jacob,

he displays his glory in Israel.

Jerusalem to Be Inhabited

24“This is what the Lord says—

your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:

I am the Lord,

the Maker of all things,

who stretches out the heavens,

who spreads out the earth by myself,

25who foils the signs of false prophets

and makes fools of diviners,

who overthrows the learning of the wise

and turns it into nonsense,

26who carries out the words of his servants

and fulfills the predictions of his messengers,

who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’

of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’

and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’

27who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry,

and I will dry up your streams,’

28who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd

and will accomplish all that I please;

he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,”

and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.” ’

Israel’s Only Savior

1But now, this is what the Lord says—

he who created you, Jacob,

he who formed you, Israel:

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

2When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

3For I am the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I give Egypt for your ransom,

Cush and Seba in your stead.

4Since you are precious and honored in my sight,

and because I love you,

I will give people in exchange for you,

nations in exchange for your life.

5Do not be afraid, for I am with you;

I will bring your children from the east

and gather you from the west.

6I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’

and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’

Bring my sons from afar

and my daughters from the ends of the earth—

7everyone who is called by my name,

whom I created for my glory,

whom I formed and made.”

8Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,

who have ears but are deaf.

9All the nations gather together

and the peoples assemble.

Which of their gods foretold this

and proclaimed to us the former things?

Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,

so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”

10“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,

“and my servant whom I have chosen,

so that you may know and believe me

and understand that I am he.

Before me no god was formed,

nor will there be one after me.

11I, even I, am the Lord,

and apart from me there is no savior.

12I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—

I, and not some foreign god among you.

You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.

13Yes, and from ancient days I am he.

No one can deliver out of my hand.

When I act, who can reverse it?”

God’s Mercy and Israel’s Unfaithfulness

14This is what the Lord says—

your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

“For your sake I will send to Babylon

and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians,

in the ships in which they took pride.

15I am the Lord, your Holy One,

Israel’s Creator, your King.”

16This is what the Lord says—

he who made a way through the sea,

a path through the mighty waters,

17who drew out the chariots and horses,

the army and reinforcements together,

and they lay there, never to rise again,

extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:

18“Forget the former things;

do not dwell on the past.

19See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland.

20The wild animals honor me,

the jackals and the owls,

because I provide water in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland,

to give drink to my people, my chosen,

21the people I formed for myself

that they may proclaim my praise.

22“Yet you have not called on me, Jacob,

you have not wearied yourselves for me, Israel.

23You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings,

nor honored me with your sacrifices.

I have not burdened you with grain offerings

nor wearied you with demands for incense.

24You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me,

or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices.

But you have burdened me with your sins

and wearied me with your offenses.

25“I, even I, am he who blots out

your transgressions, for my own sake,

and remembers your sins no more.

26Review the past for me,

let us argue the matter together;

state the case for your innocence.

27Your first father sinned;

those I sent to teach you rebelled against me.

28So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple;

I consigned Jacob to destruction

and Israel to scorn.

The Servant of the Lord

1“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen one in whom I delight;

I will put my Spirit on him,

and he will bring justice to the nations.

2He will not shout or cry out,

or raise his voice in the streets.

3A bruised reed he will not break,

and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.

In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;

4he will not falter or be discouraged

till he establishes justice on earth.

In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”

5This is what God the Lord says—

the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,

who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,

who gives breath to its people,

and life to those who walk on it:

6“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;

I will take hold of your hand.

I will keep you and will make you

to be a covenant for the people

and a light for the Gentiles,

7to open eyes that are blind,

to free captives from prison

and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

8“I am the Lord; that is my name!

I will not yield my glory to another

or my praise to idols.

9See, the former things have taken place,

and new things I declare;

before they spring into being

I announce them to you.”

Song of Praise to the Lord

10Sing to the Lord a new song,

his praise from the ends of the earth,

you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,

you islands, and all who live in them.

11Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices;

let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice.

Let the people of Sela sing for joy;

let them shout from the mountaintops.

12Let them give glory to the Lord

and proclaim his praise in the islands.

13The Lord will march out like a champion,

like a warrior he will stir up his zeal;

with a shout he will raise the battle cry

and will triumph over his enemies.

14“For a long time I have kept silent,

I have been quiet and held myself back.

But now, like a woman in childbirth,

I cry out, I gasp and pant.

15I will lay waste the mountains and hills

and dry up all their vegetation;

I will turn rivers into islands

and dry up the pools.

16I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,

along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;

I will turn the darkness into light before them

and make the rough places smooth.

These are the things I will do;

I will not forsake them.

17But those who trust in idols,

who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’

will be turned back in utter shame.

Israel Blind and Deaf

18“Hear, you deaf;

look, you blind, and see!

19Who is blind but my servant,

and deaf like the messenger I send?

Who is blind like the one in covenant with me,

blind like the servant of the Lord?

20You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;

your ears are open, but you do not listen.”

21It pleased the Lord

for the sake of his righteousness

to make his law great and glorious.

22But this is a people plundered and looted,

all of them trapped in pits

or hidden away in prisons.

They have become plunder,

with no one to rescue them;

they have been made loot,

with no one to say, “Send them back.”

23Which of you will listen to this

or pay close attention in time to come?

24Who handed Jacob over to become loot,

and Israel to the plunderers?

Was it not the Lord,

against whom we have sinned?

For they would not follow his ways;

they did not obey his law.

25So he poured out on them his burning anger,

the violence of war.

It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand;

it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.

The Helper of Israel

1“Be silent before me, you islands!

Let the nations renew their strength!

Let them come forward and speak;

let us meet together at the place of judgment.

2“Who has stirred up one from the east,

calling him in righteousness to his service?

He hands nations over to him

and subdues kings before him.

He turns them to dust with his sword,

to windblown chaff with his bow.

3He pursues them and moves on unscathed,

by a path his feet have not traveled before.

4Who has done this and carried it through,

calling forth the generations from the beginning?

I, the Lord—with the first of them

and with the last—I am he.”

5The islands have seen it and fear;

the ends of the earth tremble.

They approach and come forward;

6they help each other

and say to their companions, “Be strong!”

7The metalworker encourages the goldsmith,

and the one who smooths with the hammer

spurs on the one who strikes the anvil.

One says of the welding, “It is good.”

The other nails down the idol so it will not topple.

8“But you, Israel, my servant,

Jacob, whom I have chosen,

you descendants of Abraham my friend,

9I took you from the ends of the earth,

from its farthest corners I called you.

I said, ‘You are my servant’;

I have chosen you and have not rejected you.

10So do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

11“All who rage against you

will surely be ashamed and disgraced;

those who oppose you

will be as nothing and perish.

12Though you search for your enemies,

you will not find them.

Those who wage war against you

will be as nothing at all.

13For I am the Lord your God

who takes hold of your right hand

and says to you, Do not fear;

I will help you.

14Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,

little Israel, do not fear,

for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord,

your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

15“See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,

new and sharp, with many teeth.

You will thresh the mountains and crush them,

and reduce the hills to chaff.

16You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,

and a gale will blow them away.

But you will rejoice in the Lord

and glory in the Holy One of Israel.

17“The poor and needy search for water,

but there is none;

their tongues are parched with thirst.

But I the Lord will answer them;

I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

18I will make rivers flow on barren heights,

and springs within the valleys.

I will turn the desert into pools of water,

and the parched ground into springs.

19I will put in the desert

the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.

I will set junipers in the wasteland,

the fir and the cypress together,

20so that people may see and know,

may consider and understand,

that the hand of the Lord has done this,

that the Holy One of Israel has created it.

21“Present your case,” says the Lord.

“Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.

22“Tell us, you idols,

what is going to happen.

Tell us what the former things were,

so that we may consider them

and know their final outcome.

Or declare to us the things to come,

23tell us what the future holds,

so we may know that you are gods.

Do something, whether good or bad,

so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.

24But you are less than nothing

and your works are utterly worthless;

whoever chooses you is detestable.

25“I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes—

one from the rising sun who calls on my name.

He treads on rulers as if they were mortar,

as if he were a potter treading the clay.

26Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know,

or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?

No one told of this,

no one foretold it,

no one heard any words from you.

27I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’

I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.

28I look but there is no one—

no one among the gods to give counsel,

no one to give answer when I ask them.

29See, they are all false!

Their deeds amount to nothing;

their images are but wind and confusion.