as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the
isles as a very little thing.
23:040:016 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof
sufficient for a burnt offering.
23:040:017 All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to
him less than nothing, and vanity.
23:040:018 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye
compare unto him?
23:040:019 The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith
spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
23:040:020 He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a
tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman
to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.
23:040:021 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told
you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the
foundations of the earth?
23:040:022 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the
inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out
the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to
dwell in:
23:040:023 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of
the earth as vanity.
23:040:024 Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown:
yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he
shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the
whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
23:040:025 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the
Holy One.
23:040:026 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these
things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth
them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he
is strong in power; not one faileth.
23:040:027 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is
hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
23:040:028 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting
God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth
not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his
understanding.
23:040:029 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might
he increaseth strength.
23:040:030 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men
shall utterly fall:
23:040:031 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and
not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
23:041:001 Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew
their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let
us come near together to judgment.
23:041:002 Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to
his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over
kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven
stubble to his bow.
23:041:003 He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he
had not gone with his feet.
23:041:004 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the
beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.
23:041:005 The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were
afraid, drew near, and came.
23:041:006 They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his
brother, Be of good courage.
23:041:007 So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that
smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It
is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that
it should not be moved.
23:041:008 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen,
the seed of Abraham my friend.
23:041:009 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called
thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art
my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
23:041:010 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am
thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I
will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
23:041:011 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be
ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they
that strive with thee shall perish.
23:041:012 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that
contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as
nothing, and as a thing of nought.
23:041:013 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto
thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
23:041:014 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help
thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of
Israel.
23:041:015 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument
having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them
small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.
23:041:016 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and
the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in
the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.
23:041:017 When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and
their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I
the God of Israel will not forsake them.
23:041:018 I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst
of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
23:041:019 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree,
and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the
fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together:
23:041:020 That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand
together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the
Holy One of Israel hath created it.
23:041:021 Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong
reasons, saith the King of Jacob.
23:041:022 Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let
them shew the former things, what they be, that we may
consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us
things for to come.
23:041:023 Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know
that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be
dismayed, and behold it together.
23:041:024 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an
abomination is he that chooseth you.
23:041:025 I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from
the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall
come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth
clay.
23:041:026 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and
beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is
none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea,
there is none that heareth your words.
23:041:027 The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will
give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.
23:041:028 For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there
was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a
word.
23:041:029 Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their
molten images are wind and confusion.
23:042:001 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul
delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring
forth judgment to the Gentiles.
23:042:002 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard
in the street.
23:042:003 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall
he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
23:042:004 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set
judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
23:042:005 Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and
stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that
which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people
upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
23:042:006 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold
thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant
of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
23:042:007 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the
prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
23:042:008 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give
to another, neither my praise to graven images.
23:042:009 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do
I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.
23:042:010 Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of
the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is
therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.
23:042:011 Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice,
the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of
the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.
23:042:012 Let them give glory unto the LORD, and declare his praise in
the islands.
23:042:013 The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up
jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall
prevail against his enemies.
23:042:014 I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and
refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I
will destroy and devour at once.
23:042:015 I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their
herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up
the pools.
23:042:016 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will
lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make
darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These
things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.
23:042:017 They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that
trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are
our gods.
23:042:018 Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.
23:042:019 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I
sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the
LORD's servant?
23:042:020 Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears,
but he heareth not.
23:042:021 The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will
magnify the law, and make it honourable.
23:042:022 But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them
snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are
for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith,
Restore.
23:042:023 Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear
for the time to come?
23:042:024 Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not
the LORD, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not
walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law.
23:042:025 Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and
the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round
about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not
to heart.
23:043:001 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he
that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed
thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
23:043:002 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and
through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou
walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither
shall the flame kindle upon thee.
23:043:003 For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy
Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for
thee.
23:043:004 Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been
honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men
for thee, and people for thy life.
23:043:005 Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the
east, and gather thee from the west;
23:043:006 I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not
back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends
of the earth;
23:043:007 Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created
him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
23:043:008 Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that
have ears.
23:043:009 Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people
be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us
former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they
may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.
23:043:010 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I
have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand
that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall
there be after me.
23:043:011 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
23:043:012 I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there
was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses,
saith the LORD, that I am God.
23:043:013 Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can
deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?
23:043:014 Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel;
For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down
all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the
ships.
23:043:015 I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your
King.
23:043:016 Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path
in the mighty waters;
23:043:017 Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the
power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they
are extinct, they are quenched as tow.
23:043:018 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things
of old.
23:043:019 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth;
shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the
wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
23:043:020 The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the
owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in
the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.
23:043:021 This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my
praise.
23:043:022 But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been
weary of me, O Israel.
23:043:023 Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt
offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices.
I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied
thee with incense.
23:043:024 Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast
thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast
made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with
thine iniquities.
23:043:025 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine
own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
23:043:026 Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou,
that thou mayest be justified.
23:043:027 Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have
transgressed against me.
23:043:028 Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and
have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.
23:044:001 Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have
chosen:
23:044:002 Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the
womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and
thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.
23:044:003 For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods
upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and
my blessing upon thine offspring:
23:044:004 And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the
water courses.
23:044:005 One shall say, I am the LORD's; and another shall call himself
by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his
hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel.
23:044:006 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the
LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside
me there is no God.
23:044:007 And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in
order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the
things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto
them.
23:044:008 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that
time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there
a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.
23:044:009 They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and
their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their
own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be
ashamed.
23:044:010 Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is
profitable for nothing?
23:044:011 Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen,
they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them
stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed
together.
23:044:012 The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and
fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength
of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he
drinketh no water, and is faint.
23:044:013 The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with
a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with
the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man,
according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the
house.
23:044:014 He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak,
which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the
forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it.
23:044:015 Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof,
and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea,
he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven
image, and falleth down thereto.
23:044:016 He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he
eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he
warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the
fire:
23:044:017 And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven
image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and
prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god.
23:044:018 They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their
eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot
understand.
23:044:019 And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge
nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the
fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I
have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue
thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a
tree?
23:044:020 He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside,
that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie
in my right hand?
23:044:021 Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I
have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt
not be forgotten of me.
23:044:022 I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and,
as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed
thee.
23:044:023 Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower
parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O
forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed
Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.
23:044:024 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee
from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that
stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the
earth by myself;
23:044:025 That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners
mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their
knowledge foolish;
23:044:026 That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the
counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt
be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built,
and I will raise up the decayed places thereof:
23:044:027 That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers:
23:044:028 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all
my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built;
and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
23:045:001 Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right
hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will
loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved
gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
23:045:002 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I
will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the
bars of iron:
23:045:003 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden
riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the
LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
23:045:004 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have
even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though
thou hast not known me.
23:045:005 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside
me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
23:045:006 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the
west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there
is none else.
23:045:007 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and
create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
23:045:008 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down
righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth
salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the
LORD have created it.
23:045:009 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd
strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to
him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath
no hands?
23:045:010 Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou?
or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?
23:045:011 Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker,
Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning
the work of my hands command ye me.
23:045:012 I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my
hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have
I commanded.
23:045:013 I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all
his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my
captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts.
23:045:014 Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of
Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over
unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after
thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down
unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying,
Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no
God.
23:045:015 Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel,
the Saviour.
23:045:016 They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they
shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols.
23:045:017 But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting
salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world
without end.
23:045:018 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself
that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he
created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the
LORD; and there is none else.
23:045:019 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I
said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the
LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
23:045:020 Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are
escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the
wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot
save.
23:045:021 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel
together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath
told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no
God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none
beside me.
23:045:022 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for
I am God, and there is none else.
23:045:023 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in
righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee
shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
23:045:024 Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and
strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are
incensed against him shall be ashamed.
23:045:025 In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and
shall glory.
23:046:001 Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the
beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden;
they are a burden to the weary beast.
23:046:002 They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the
burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.
23:046:003 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the
house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which
are carried from the womb: