(The Despised Servant) Look! My servant will prosper and succeed! He will be highly honored, raised up, and greatly exalted! Just as many were appalled at the sight of him (for so marred was his appearance, like an object of horror; he no longer looked like a man), so now he will startle many nations. Kings will be shocked speechless before him. For they will now see a sight unheard of, and things never considered before now fill their thoughts.” Who has truly believed our revelation? To whom will Yahweh reveal his mighty arm? 2 He sprouted up like a tender plant before the Lord, like a root in parched soil. He possessed no distinguishing beauty or outward splendor to catch our attention— nothing special in his appearance to make us desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of deep sorrows who was no stranger to suffering and grief. We hid our faces from him in disgust and considered him a nobody, not worthy of respect. (The Sin-Bearer Servant) 4 Yet he was the one who carried our sicknesses and endured the torment of our sufferings. We viewed him as one who was being punished for something he himself had done, as one who was struck down by God and brought low. 5 But it was because of our rebellious deeds that he was pierced and because of our sins that he was crushed. He endured the punishment that made us completely whole, and in his wounding we found our healing. 6 Like wayward sheep, we have all wandered astray. Each of us has turned from God’s paths and chosen our own way; even so, Yahweh laid the guilt of our every sin upon him. (The Surrendered Servant) 7 He was oppressed and harshly mistreated; still he humbly submitted, refusing to defend himself. He was brought like a gentle lamb to be slaughtered. Like a silent sheep before his shearers, he didn’t even open his mouth. 8 By coercion and with a perversion of justice he was taken away. And who could have imagined his future? He was cut down in the prime of life; for the rebellion of his own people, he was struck down in their place. 9 They gave him a grave among criminals, but he ended up instead in a rich man’s tomb, although he had done no violence nor spoken deceitfully. (The Servant’s Reward) 10 Even though it pleased Yahweh to crush him with grief, he will be restored to favor. After his soul becomes a guilt-offering, he will gaze upon his many offspring and prolong his days. And through him, Yahweh’s deepest desires will be fully accomplished. 11 After the great anguish of his soul, he will see light and be fully satisfied.By knowing him, the righteous one, my servant will make many to be righteous, because he, their sin-bearer, carried away their sins. So I, Yahweh, will assign him a portion among a great multitude, and he will triumph and divide the spoils of victory with his mighty ones— all because he poured out his life-blood to death. He was counted among the worst of sinners, yet he carried sin’s burden for many and intercedes for those who are rebels.

(God’s Resting Place Is with the Humble) This is what Yahweh says: “The heavens are my throne and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where is the place where I will rest? My hand made these things so they all belong to me,” declares Yahweh. “But there is one my eyes are drawn to: the humble one, the tender one, the trembling one who lives in awe of all I say. But the one who offers a bull with no humility is like one who kills a man. The one who offers a lamb without contrition is like one who breaks a dog’s neck. The one who brings grain offerings with no heart-purity is like one who offers pig’s blood! The one who offers incense with no sincerity is like one who kisses an idol! They have all chosen their own way, not mine, and they take delight in these disgusting things! So I chose to punish them and to bring on them what they fear the most because I called out to them and they ignored me. I spoke and they did not listen but did what is evil in my sight and chose what I despise.” Hear the words of Yahweh, you who tremble at what he says: “Shame on your own people, who reject you and hate you, claiming they do it for my sake. For they mock you, saying, ‘May Yahweh be glorified; let us see you rejoice.’” (God Intervenes) Listen! A sound of uproar is coming from the city a sound from the temple! It is the thunder of Yahweh as he completely punishes his enemies! Zion gave birth suddenly, even before going into labor. She delivered a son without any painful contractions. Who has ever seen or heard of such a wonder? Could a country be born in a day? Can a nation be birthed so suddenly? Yet no sooner does Zion go into labor than she gives birth to sons! Yahweh, your God, says, “Do I allow you to conceive and not to give birth? Do I shut the womb when I’m the one who delivers?” So rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her! All who love her, join in with her great joy, especially those who remember her grief! You, her children, will drink the milk of her prosperity and nurse with delight from her glorious abundance! For Yahweh says: “I will extend to her prosperity like a river and the wealth of gentiles like a flooding river. You will nurse from her breast, be cradled in her arms, and delightfully bounced on her knees. As a mother tenderly comforts her child, so will I tenderly comfort you, and you will find comfort in Jerusalem.” (Judgment by Fire and Sword) When you feast your eyes on this, your heart will leap for joy and be revived; your body will flourish and sprout like grass. The mighty power of Yahweh will be revealed, resting on his servants, but his fury will be shown to his enemies! Look! Yahweh is coming as a raging fire and his chariots like a whirlwind to unleash his anger with fiery fury and with the fiery lightning of his rebuke! For with fire and with his sword Yahweh will judge humanity— many will be the slain of Yahweh! “The end is near for those who ‘consecrate’ and ‘purify’ themselves to enter their cultic groves! They go in procession one after another into their ceremonies. They eat disgusting foods—pork, mice, and rodents. I despise their evil works and their thoughts,” says Yahweh. (God’s Reign) “The time is coming for me to gather people together from all over the world, and they will come and gaze on my radiance. I will set an amazing sign among them. I will send some of the remnant to other nations—to Tarshish, Put, Lud (known for its archers), Tubal, Javan, and distant islands that have never heard of my fame nor gazed on my glory. They will declare my glory among the gentiles! And they will bring back from the nations your own people as an offering to me,” says Yahweh. “They will come on horseback, in chariots, in wagons, on mules and camels to my holy mountain, Jerusalem,” says Yahweh. “In the same way my people bring a grain offering in a sacred vessel to the temple, they will be brought as grain offerings to my holy mountain, Jerusalem, as a holy offering to me. And some of them I will appoint as Levitical priests,” says Yahweh. This is what Yahweh declares: “The new heavens and the new earth that I am making will remain and endure before me in the same way your offspring and your name will endure. From one Sabbath to the next, one month to the next, one year to the next, all humanity will come to worship me! “They will go out of the city and see the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me. For their worm will not die and their fire will never go out. And they will be abhorrent to humanity.

(Conviction of Sin) Truly Yahweh’s arm is not too powerless to save you nor his ear too deaf to hear. Rather, your sinful deeds have built a barrier between you and your God. Your sins have made God turn his face from you so that he does not hear your prayers. For your hands are stained with blood and your fingers are dripping with the guilt of sin. Lies spill from your lips and your tongue mutters treachery. No one seeks true justice; no one pleads his case with honesty. They rely on their illusions and misleading lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to sin. They hatch harmful plots like snake’s eggs and spin their lies like a spider spins its web. Whoever eats their “eggs” dies and a poisonous snake gets hatched! Their “webs” cannot substitute as clothing, they cannot cover themselves with the lies they spin, nor can their works cover themselves adequately. Their actions are evil, and the wages of violence is in their hands. Their feet eagerly run after evil, and they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their imaginations are filled with evil; destruction and desolation litter their paths. They know nothing of the way of peace, and injustice is their way of life. Their paths are so crooked that no one who walks in them knows peace. (Confession of Sin) For this reason, justice is far from us and righteousness doesn’t reach us. We hope for light, but sadly, there is only darkness. We wait for a bright light, but walk in darkness. We are like the blind groping along a wall, inching along in the dark like those who cannot see; we stumble around in broad daylight like it was night, like the walking dead. We are frustrated, growling like bears, like doves cooing mournfully. We wait and wait for justice, but it never seems to come; for salvation, but it remains distant. For our many rebellious deeds are stacked high before you; our sins testify against us. We are aware of our sins, and we know our evil deeds all too well. We have rebelled and even tried to deny Yahweh; we have forsaken our God. Our speech stirs up oppression and revolt, and our hearts conceive, then confess, lies. Justice is driven away and righteousness stands on the sidelines, for truth has stumbled in the public square and morality cannot enter. Yes, truth has disappeared, and those who turn from evil become the next victim. Yahweh saw this and was greatly displeased that there was no justice. (The Lord, Our Redeemer) And then he was astonished to see that there was no champion, not even one, who would rescue the oppressed. So then his own mighty power was released to deliver, and his own righteousness supported him. He put on righteousness as his body armor, salvation for a helmet; a garment of warring vengeance was his uniform and passion, his cape. He will repay wrath to his enemies and retribution to his foes, according to what they have done. Reckoning is coming to the islands for what is due them. From the west to the lands of the rising sun, the glory and the name of Yahweh will be held in highest reverence, for he will break in as a flooding, rushing river driven on by the breath of Yahweh! God’s Covenant with Zion “He will come to Zion as a Kinsman-Redeemer to those of Jacob’s tribes who repent of their rebellion,” says Yahweh. “And this is my covenant promise with them,” says Lord Yahweh. “From now on, my Holy Spirit will rest on them and not depart from them, and my prophetic words will fill their mouths and will not depart from them, nor from their children, nor from their descendants, from now on and forever,” says Lord Yahweh.

(Israel’s Redemption) In that day, the Lord Yahweh will mercilessly wield his massive, mighty sword and punish Leviathan, the swift, slithering serpent. He will slay the dragon of the sea— Leviathan, the twisting serpent. In that day, they will sing the song “The Vineyard of Delight.” “I, the Lord, watch over my vineyard of delight. Moment by moment, I water it in love and protect it day and night. There is no anger in me, for if I found briars and thorns I would burn them up and march to battle against them. So let the branches cling to my protection when they make true peace with me. Yes, let them make me their friend.” (Cleansing, Not Destruction) The coming ones of Jacob’s tribes will take root. Israel’s branches will bud and blossom, and her beautiful fruit will cover the face of the earth. Has Yahweh struck Israel as other nations have struck her? Has Israel been killed like her enemies have been killed? No, but with measured justice he exiled them and contended with them. He removed them from the land with his severe blast on the day his searing east wind blew. By the mercy of Yahweh the guilt of Jacob will be forgiven. Yet the full proof of their forgiveness will be when they crush all the altars to false gods and make them into chalkstones, crushed to pieces, with neither cultic poles nor incense altars still standing. The fortified city lies in ruins, forsaken and deserted like a wilderness. Cattle graze there and lie down, chewing on twigs and branches. The trees are withered and stripped bare, and their women gather dead branches for firewood, because they are a people of no understanding. That is why their Maker will show them no compassion, and he who formed them will show them no favor. In that day, from the Egyptian border to the Euphrates, the Lord Yahweh will gather one by one the people of Israel, as one sifts wheat from the chaff. When that day comes, a great trumpet will sound, and those lost in the land of Assyria and Egypt—all the exiles—will come and bow down before the Lord Yahweh in Jerusalem and worship him on the holy mountain!

The cut-off stump of Jesse will sprout, and a fruitful Branch will grow from his roots: the Spirit of Yahweh will rest upon him, the Spirit of Extraordinary Wisdom, the Spirit of Perfect Understanding the Spirit of Wise Strategy, the Spirit of Mighty Power, the Spirit of Revelation, and the Spirit of the Fear of Yahweh. He will find his delight in living by the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord. He will neither judge by appearances nor make his decisions based on rumors. With righteousness he will uphold justice for the poor and defend the lowly of the earth. His words will be like a scepter of power that conquers the world, and with his breath he will slay the lawless one. Righteousness will be his warrior’s sash and faithfulness his belt. (Christ Will Subdue All Things) Then the wolf will be subdued and live with the gentle lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the gentle lamb. The young calf and the ferocious lion will be together, and as a shepherd drives his flock, a small child will guide them along! The cow and the bear will graze alongside each other; cubs and calves will lie down together. The lion, like the ox, will eat straw. The nursing child will play safely near the rattlesnake’s den, and the toddler will stretch out his hand and shine light over the serpent. On all my holy mountain of Zion, nothing evil or harmful will be found. For the earth will be filled with the intimate knowledge of the Lord Yahweh just as water swells the sea! (The God Who Restores) On that day, the root of Jesse will be lifted up as a miracle-sign to rally the people. Gentiles will diligently seek him,and his resting place will be glorious! On that day, the Lord will extend his hand a second time to restore the remnant of his people from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and the coastlands of the sea. He will lift up a banner among the nations and will gather the scattered Jews, and assemble the outcasts of Israel from the four corners of the earth. Then Ephraim will be cleansed of envy, and those who are hostile to Judah will be cut off. Ephraim will no longer be jealous of Judah, and Judah will no longer be hostile toward Ephraim.But they will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west; together they will plunder the people of the east. They will rule over Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will obey them. The Lord Yahweh will dry up the gulf of the Egyptian Sea. He will raise his hand over the Euphrates, and with the might of his wind, he will split it into seven streams that can be easily crossed in sandals. Then there will be a highway leading out of Assyria for his remnant people to return, just as there was for Israel when they were set free from Egypt.

(The Redeemed Return to Zion) The wilderness and dry land will be joyously glad! The desert will blossom like a rose and rejoice! Every dry and barren place will burst forth with abundant blossoms, dancing and spinning with delight! Lebanon’s lush splendor covers it, the magnificent beauty of Carmel and Sharon. My people will see the awesome glory of Yahweh, the beautiful grandeur of our God. Strengthen those who are discouraged. Energize those who feel defeated. Say to the anxious and fearful, “Be strong and never afraid. Look, here comes your God! He is breaking through to give you victory! He comes to avenge your enemies. With divine retribution he comes to save you!” Then blind eyes will open and deaf ears will hear. Then the lame will leap like playful deer and the tongue-tied will sing songs of triumph. Gushing water will spring up in the wilderness and streams will flow through the desert. The burning sand will become a refreshing oasis, the parched ground bubbling springs, and the dragon’s lair a meadow with grass, reeds, and papyrus. There will be a highway of holiness called the Sacred Way. The impure will not be permitted on this road, but it will be accessible to God’s people. And not even fools will lose their way. The lion will not be found there; no wild beast will travel on it— they will not be found there. But the redeemed will find a pathway on it. Yahweh’s ransomed ones will return with glee to Zion. They will enter with a song of rejoicing and be crowned with everlasting joy. Ecstatic joy will overwhelm them; weariness and grief will disappear!

(Ritual and Ceremony Is Not Enough) “Shout it loud and clear! Don’t hold back! Let your voice be like a trumpet blast! Declare to my people their rebellion and to Jacob’s tribes their sin! Yes, daily they seem to seek me, pretending that they delight to know my ways, as though they were a nation that does what is right and had not rejected the law of their God. They ask me to show them the right way, acting as though they are eager to be close to me. They say, ‘Why is it that when we fasted, you did not see it? We starved ourselves, and you didn’t seem to notice.’ “Because on the day you fasted you were seeking only your own desires, and you continue to exploit your workers. During your fasts, you quarrel and fight with others and strike them with an angry fist. When you fast like that, your voice will not be heard on high. Do you think I’m impressed with that kind of fast? Is it just a day to starve your bodies, make others think you’re humble, and lie down in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call that a fast? Do you think I, Yahweh, will be pleased with that? (Worship God in Truth) “This is the kind of fast that I desire: Remove the heavy chains of oppression! Stop exploiting your workers! Set free the crushed and mistreated! Break off every yoke of bondage! Share your food with the hungry! Provide for the homeless and bring them into your home! Clothe the naked! Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood! Then my favor will bathe you in sunlight until you are like the dawn bursting through a dark night. And then suddenly your healing will manifest. You will see your righteousness march out before you, and the glory of Yahweh will protect you from all harm! Then Yahweh will answer you when you pray. When you cry out for help, he will say, ‘I am here.’ “If you banish every form of oppression, the scornful accusations, and vicious slander, and if you offer yourselves in compassion for the hungry and relieve those in misery, then your dawning light will rise in the darkness and your gloom will turn into noonday splendor! Yahweh will always guide you where to go and what to do. He will fill you with refreshment even when you are in a dry, difficult place. He will continually restore strength to you, so you will flourish like a well-watered garden and like an ever-flowing, trustworthy spring of blessing. Your people will rebuild long-deserted ruins, building anew on foundations laid long before you. You will be known as Repairers of the Cities and Restorers of Communities. “If you stop pursuing your own desires on my holy day, and refrain from disregarding the Sabbath, if you call the Sabbath a delightful pleasure and Yahweh’s holy day honorable, if you honor it properly by not chasing your own desires, serving your own interests, and speaking empty words, then you will find the joyous bliss that comes from serving Yahweh. And I will cause you to prosper and be carried triumphantly over the high places of the land. You will enjoy the heritage of Jacob, your ancestor.” Certainly the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it!

(The Glorious New Day) “Rise up in splendor and be radiant, for your light has dawned, and Yahweh’s glory now streams from you! Look carefully! Darkness blankets the earth, and thick gloom covers the nations, but Yahweh arises upon you and the brightness of his glory appears over you! Nations will be attracted to your radiant light and kings to the sunrise-glory of your new day. Lift up your eyes higher! Look all around you and believe, for your sons are returning from far away and your daughters are being tenderly carried home. Watch as they all gather together, eager to come back to you! Zion’s Wealth “Then you will understand and be radiant. Your heart will be thrilled and swell with joy. The fullness of the sea will flow to you and the wealth of the nations will be transferred to you! Caravans of camels will cover your land, young camels loaded with goods from Midian and Ephah. All the wealthy merchants from Sheba will come, bearing gold and frankincense and singing the praises of Yahweh! All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you, and the rams of Nebaioth will be yours as acceptable sacrifices on my altar, and I will adorn with more glory my glorious temple. “Who are these who soar like clouds, flying like doves into their portals? Indeed, the distant islands eagerly look for me, with their large ships leading the way. They are bringing Zion’s children from afar. They come with offerings of silver and gold to honor the name of Yahweh, your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you! (Zion’s Restoration) “Foreigners will rebuild your walls and their kings will serve you. Even though I punished you in my anger, I will restore you in my gracious favor and show you my tender compassion. Your gateways will always remain wide open around the clock to let in the procession of kings bringing their constant stream of the riches of the nations. The nation or kingdom that refuses to serve you will perish and be utterly ruined. Lebanon’s glory will be yours. The cypress, fir, and pine will come to you to beautify the site of my holy place. And I will glorify the place where I rest my feet. The descendants of your oppressors will come bowing low before you, and all who hated you will bow down at your feet. They will call you The Beautiful City of Yahweh, Glorious Zion of the Holy One of Israel. (Zion’s Honor) “Although once you were rejected and despised, undesirable for anyone to pass through you, I will make you majestic forever, a source of joy for every generation.[aa] You will guzzle the milk of nations[ab] and suckle at the breast of kings. You will know me intimately that I am Yahweh, your Savior, for I am the Mighty Hero who rules over Jacob’s tribes, your Kinsman-Redeemer! (Everything Made Better) “I will replace your copper with gold, your iron with silver,[ac] your wood with copper, and your stone with iron. I will install peace and prosperity as your government and righteousness as your overseer. Threats of violence will no longer be heard in your land, nor will destruction and ruin be found within your borders. You will name your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. (Zion’s Glory) “The sun will no longer be needed to brighten the day, nor the moon to shine at night, for Yahweh will be your unfailing light; your God will be your glory![ad] There will be no more sunsets or new moons,[ae] for Yahweh will be your everlasting light and your days of sadness will be over.[af] All your people will be righteous and will permanently possess the land. I planted them there as a tender sapling, the work of my own hands to display my glory. I will multiply the least of you into a thousand[ag] and the weakest one into a mighty nation.[ah] I am Yahweh, and when the right time comes,[ai] I will accomplish it swiftly!”

(Messiah’s Mission) The mighty Spirit of Lord Yahweh is wrapped around me because Yahweh has anointed me, as a messenger to preach good news to the poor. He sent me to heal the wounds of the brokenhearted, to tell captives, “You are free,” and to tell prisoners, “Be free from your darkness.” I am sent to announce a new season of Yahweh’s grace and a time of God’s recompense on his enemies, to comfort all who are in sorrow, to strengthen those crushed by despair who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful bouquet in the place of ashes, the oil of bliss instead of tears, and the mantle of joyous praise instead of the spirit of heaviness. Because of this, they will be known as Mighty Oaks of Righteousness, planted by Yahweh as a living display of his glory. They will restore ruins from long ago and rebuild what was long devastated. They will renew ruined cities and desolations of past generations. Foreigners will be appointed to shepherd your many flocks; strangers will cultivate your fields and tend your vines. (Messiah’s Ministers) But you will be known as Priests of Yahweh, and called Servants of our God. You will feast on the wealth of nations and revel in their riches! Because you received a double dose of shame and dishonor, you will inherit a double portion of endless joy and everlasting bliss! “For I, Yahweh, love fairness and justice, and I hate stealing and sin. I will rightly repay them because of my faithfulness and enter into an everlasting covenant with them. Their seed will be famous among the nations, and their descendants the center of attention of the people. All who see them will recognize that they are the seed that Yahweh has blessed with favor!” (Messiah’s Music) I will sing and greatly rejoice in Yahweh! My whole being vibrates with shouts of joy in my God! For he has dressed me with salvation and wrapped me in the robe of his righteousness! I appear like a bridegroom on his wedding day, decked out with a beautiful sash, or like a radiant bride adorned with sparkling jewels. In the same way the earth produces its crops and seeds spring up in a garden, so will the Lord Yahweh cause righteousness and praise to blossom before all the nations!

(God Delights in Zion) For Zion’s sake, how can I keep silent? For Jerusalem’s sake, how can I remain quiet? I will keep interceding until her righteousness breaks forth like the blazing light of dawn and her salvation like a burning torch! Nations will see your victory-vindication, and every king will witness your blinding radiance! You will be called by a brand-new name, given to you from the mouth of Yahweh himself. You will be a beautiful crown held high in the hand of Yahweh, a royal crown of splendor held in the open palm of your God! You will never again be called the Abandoned One, nor will your land be called Deserted. But you will be called My Delight Is in You, and your land My Beloved Wife, for Yahweh finds his delight in you and he married your land. As a young man marries the young woman he loves, so your builder-sons will marry you. As the bridegroom finds joy in his union with his bride, so will your God take joy in his union with you! (Intercession) Jerusalem, I have stationed intercessors on your walls who will never be silent, day or night. You “reminders” of Yahweh, take no rest, and tirelessly give God no rest, until he firmly establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of all the earth! Yahweh swears an oath by the authority of his right hand and by his mighty arm: “I will never again give your new grain as food for your enemies, nor will foreigners drink your new wine that you worked hard to produce. Instead, you who harvest it will eat it and offer your praise to Yahweh, and you who gather the grapes will drink the new wine in my holy courts.” Pass through, pass through the gates, and go from old to new. Prepare a new path for the people. Build! Build up a highway for them to come to me! Remove every hindrance and unfurl a banner for the nations! See? Yahweh has proclaimed to the ends of the earth: Tell my daughter, Zion, “Look, here comes your Deliverer! See? He’s bringing his reward, and his recompense goes before him.” They will be called His Holy People, The Redeemed of Yahweh. And you will be known as Those Whom God Loves, A City Not Abandoned.

(The Lord’s Special Servant) Listen to what I have to say, you islands. Pay attention to me, you who live in distant lands. Yahweh called me as his own before I was born and named me while I was still in my mother’s womb. He gives me words that pierce and penetrate. He hid me and protected me in the shadow of his hand. He prepared me like a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver. And he said to me, “Israel, you are my special servant; in you I will be glorified.” I said, “I’ve worked and served for nothing. I have used up all my strength for nothing.” Yet my rights I leave in Yahweh’s hands, and my just reward is with my God. And now, the Lord Yahweh— who shaped me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob’s tribes back to him that Israel would be gathered back to himself, for I am honored in the sight of Yahweh. I find the source of all my strength in my God— who says: “Is it too small a thing for you, my servant, to restore greatness to Jacob’s tribes and the survivors of Israel? I will make you to be a light to the nations and to bring the light of my salvation to the ends of the earth!” Yahweh, Israel’s Kinsman-Redeemer and Holy One, says to the one who is deeply despised and repulsed by rulers and a slave to the ruling class: “Kings will see and stand up in respect; princes will bow down to honor the faithfulness of Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.” (God’s Faithfulness) Yahweh says: “When the time of showing you favor has come, I will answer your heart’s cry. I will help you in the day of salvation, for I have fixed my eyes on you. I have made you a covenant people to restore the land and to resettle families on forgotten inheritances. You will declare to prisoners, ‘You’re free!’ and to those in darkness, ‘Step out into the light!’ They will be like sheep that graze beside the roads and find pasture on the barren hillside. They will never be hungry or thirsty. Neither scorching sun nor desert wind will hurt them, for he, the Loving One, will guide them and lead them to restful, renewing streams of water. I will level all my mountains as a road for them and raise up my highways. Look! They will come from faraway lands— some from the north, some from the west, and some from the land of Sinim.” Sing for joy, you heavens! Shout, you earth, and rejoice with dancing, shouting, and glee! Burst into joyous songs, you mountains, for Yahweh has comforted his beloved people. He will show tenderness and compassion to his suffering ones. (God Will Not Forget Zion) But Zion has said, “Yahweh has forsaken me. My Lord has forgotten me—I’m all alone.” Yahweh responds, “But how could a loving mother forget her nursing child and not deeply love the one she bore? Even if a there is a mother who forgets her child, I could never, no never, forget you. Can’t you see? I have carved your name on the palms of my hands! Your walls are always my concern. Your children, your builders, are running back to you as those who ruined and destroyed you are running away. Lift up your head and look all around you. See! All your children, your builders, gather to come back to you. As surely as I live, I make this promise,” says Yahweh. “You will wear them all like jewels, as a radiant bride wears her beautiful jewelry! “See? Your ruins and devastated places will soon be overcrowded with settlers while your destroyers stay far away. You thought you had lost the children, but you will hear them say, ‘This place is too cramped for me. Make more room for me to live in.’ And you will say to yourself, ‘Where in the world did all these children come from? Who birthed these for me? I thought I was bereaved and barren. I thought I was all alone, forgotten in exile— so how did they all get here?’” This is what Lord Yahweh says: “Soon I will raise my hand and signal to the nations, and they will come with your little boys bundled in their arms and your little daughters carried on their shoulders. Kings will be their babysitters and queens their nursing mothers. With faces bowed to the ground, they will lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am Yahweh, and I will never disappoint those who entwine their hearts with mine.” Who can snatch the prey from the hands of a mighty warrior or rescue captives from a conqueror?” But Yahweh says: “The prey will be freed from the mighty warrior and captives will be rescued from a conqueror! For I will fight with those who fight with you, and I myself will save your children. I will cause the violence of your oppressors to come back upon them, and your enemies will kill one another in a killing frenzy! Then all the earth will know that I am Yahweh, your Savior, your Kinsman-Redeemer, the mighty hero of Jacob’s tribes.”