Chapter 45 – Chapter 48

Chapter 45

CHAPTER 45

1 Thus saith Jehovah to his anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have taken hold of, To subdue nations before him; Therefore will I loose the loins of kings; To open the doors before him; Therefore the gates shall not be shut.

Note 275. Or, I will ungird.

2 I will go before thee; And will make straight the crooked ways; I will break asunder the brazen doors; And I will hew down the iron bars.

3 And I will give thee treasures of darkness, And things hidden in secret places; That thou mayest know that I am Jehovah, Who call thee by thy name; Even the God of Israel.

4 For the sake of my servant Jacob, And for the sake of Israel, mine elect; I will call thee by thy name; I will surname thee, though thou hast not known me.

5 I am Jehovah, And there is none besides me; There is no god besides me; I have girded thee, though thou hast not known me.

6 Therefore shall they know, From the rising of the sun, And from the west, That there is none besides me. I am Jehovah; And there is none besides me.

7 Forming light, And creating darkness; Making peace, And creating evil; I Jehovah do all these things.

8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above; And let the clouds pour down righteousness; Let the earth be opened; And let salvation And righteousness come forth; Let her bring them forth together: I Jehovah have created it.

9 Wo to him that striveth with his Maker! A potsherd to the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to his maker, Why hast thou made? And, Thy work hath no hands?

10 Wo to him that saith to his father, Why hast thou begotten And to the woman, Why dost thou bring forth?

11 Thus saith Jehovah, The Holy One of Israel, And his Maker; Ask me of things to come; Concerning my sons command ye me, And concerning the work of my hands.

12 I have made the earth, And have created man upon it; It is I, whose hands have stretched out the heavens; And all their army have I commanded.

13 I have raised him up in righteousness, And will make straight all his ways. He shall build my city, And shall release my captivity; Not for price nor for reward, Saith Jehovah of hosts.

14 Thus saith Jehovah; The labor of Egypt, the merchandise of Ethiopia, And the Sabeans of great stature, Shall pass over to thee, And shall be thine; They shall walk behind thee; In chains shall they pass over, And shall reverence And beseech thee. Surely God is in thee; And there is no other besides God.

Note 276. Or, Only.

15 Truly thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Savior!

16 All of them shall be covered with shame, And shall even blush: With shame shall go away together All the makers of graven images.

17 Israel hath been saved in Jehovah with eternal salvation; Ye shall not be covered with shame; Neither shall ye blush even for ever.

18 For thus saith Jehovah, who createth the heavens; God himself, the Maker of the earth; Who made it, And furnished it; He created it not empty; He formed it to be inhabited; I am Jehovah, And there is none besides me.

19 Not in secret have I spoken, In a place of the darkness of the earth; Not in vain have I said to the seed of Jacob, Seek me; I Jehovah speak righteousness; I declare what is right.

20 Assemble yourselves, And come; Draw near together, ye rejected of the nations. They know nothing, who carry about the wood of a graven image, And who pray to a god who cannot save.

Note 277. Or, Ye distant.

21 Publish ye, And bring forward; Yea, let them consult together. Who hath caused this to be heard from the beginning? And who hath declared it from ancient times? Is it not I Jehovah? And there is no other god besides me; A just God, And a Savior; There is none besides me.

22 Look to me, And ye shall be saved, All the ends of the earth; For I am God, And there is none else.

23 By myself have I sworn; In righteousness hath the word gone out of my mouth, Which shall not return; That to me every knee shall bend; Every tongue shall swear.

24 Surely in Jehovah, will he say, Have I righteousness And strength; To him shall he come; And all who provoke him shall be ashamed.

25 In Jehovah all the seed of Israel Shall be justified, And shall glory.

Chapter 46

CHAPTER 46

1 Bel hath bowed down; Nebo is fallen; Their images shall be on the beasts And the cattle; They who carry you are burdened by you; A wearisome burden.

2 They bowed down; they stooped together; And they could not withdraw themselves from the binden; And their soul hath gone away into captivity.

3 Hear me, O house of Jacob; All ye the remnant of the house of Israel; Who are borne from the womb; Who are carried from the breast.

4 And even to old age I am the same; And even to gray hairs I will carry. I have made, And I will bear; I will carry, And will save.

5 To whom will ye liken, And make me equal, And compare me, that I may be like?

6 Lavishing gold out of bags; Weighing silver in a balance; They shall hire a goldsmith, to make of it a god; To bow down before it, And to worship it.

7 They shall carry him on the shoulder; They shall lead him about; They shall put him in his place; There shall he stand; From his place shall he not remove; Moreover, if any one cry to him, he will not answer, Nor deliver him from his trouble.

8 Remember ye this, And blush; Return to your heart, ye transgressors.

Note 278. Or, Take courage.

9 Remember the former things of old; For I am God, And there is none besides, And there is none like me.

10 Declaring the latest event from the beginning, And from antiquity those things which had not yet been done; Saying, My counsel shall stand, And I will do whatever I wish.

11 Calling a bird from the east, From a distant country the man of my counsel; I have spoken, And accordingly I will accomplish it; I have thought, And I will do it.

Note 279. Or, a thought.

12 Hear me, ye that are stubborn in heart, Who are far from righteousness.

13 I will cause my righteousness to come near, And it shall not be delayed; And my salvation shall not tarry; And I will place salvation in Zion, And my glory in Jerusalem.

Chapter 47

CHAPTER 47

1 Come down, And sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; Sit on the ground; There is no throne for the daughter of the Babylonians; For they shall no more call thee tender And delicate.

2 Take millstones, And grind meal; Unbind thy curled locks, make bare the feet; Uncover the limbs, that thou mayest cross the rivers.

3 Thy baseness shall be exposed, And thy shame shall be seen; I will take vengeance, And will not meet a man.

Note 280. Or, As a man.

4 Our Redeemer, his name is Jehovah of hosts, The Holy One of Israel.

5 Sit thou silent, enter into darkness, O daughter of the Babylonians; For they shall no longer call thee the mistress of kingdoms.

6 I was angry with my people; I profaned my inheritance; And I gave them up into thy hand; Thou didst not show compassion to them; On the old man didst thou heavily lay thy yoke.

7 And thou saidst, I shall for ever be a mistress. Hitherto thou hast not applied thy mind to it, And hast not remembered her end.

8 But now hear this, thou delicate woman, That sitteth confidently; Who saith in her heart, I am, And there is none besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, And I shall not know bereavement.

9 But those two things shall suddenly come to thee, Bereavement And widowhood; In their perfection shall they come upon thee, For the multitude of thy divinations, And for the abundance of thy auguries.

Note 281. Or, In the multitude.

10 For thou trustedst in thy malice; Thou saidst, No one seeth me. Thy wisdom And thy knowledge have led thee astray; And thou saidst in thy heart, It is I, And there is none besides me.

11 Therefore shall evil come upon thee, the dawn of which thou knowest not crushing shall fall upon thee, which thou shalt not be able to avert; Destruction shall suddenly come upon thee, which thou knowest not;

Note 282. “Et tu ne sqauras d’ou il viendra.” “And thou shalt not know whence it shall come.”

12 Stand now amidst thy divinations, And amidst the multitude of thy auguries, In which thou hast wearied thyself from thy youth: If perhaps thou mayest be profited, If perhaps thou mayest prevail.

13 Thou hast wearied thyself with the multitude of thy counsels; Let the binders of the heavens, The watchers of the stars, who predict by the moon, Stand now And deliver thee, From those things which shall come upon thee.

14 Behold, they shall he as stubble; The fire shall burn them; They shall not deliver their soul from the strength of the flame; There shall not be a coal to warm, Nor a light at which they may sit.

15 So shall they be to thee with whom thou weariedst thyself, Thy traders from thy youth. Every one shall wander into his own quarter; There shall be no one to save thee.

Chapter 48

CHAPTER 48

1 Hear this, O house of Jacob, Ye who are called by the name of Israel, Who have come forth from the waters of Judah, Who swear by the name of Jehovah, And remember the God of Israel, Not in truth, nor in righteousness.

2 For from the holy city they are called, And they rely on the God of Israel, Whose name is Jehovah of hosts.

3 Long ago did I declare the former things; They went out of my mouth; I published them; I did them suddenly, And they came.

4 For I knew that thou art obstinate; And thy neck is all iron sinew; And thy forehead is of brass.

5 Long ago did I declare them to thee; Before they came, I showed to thee; Lest perhaps thou shouldst say, My idol hath done these things; My graven image And my molten image hath commanded them.

6 Thou hast heard; see all things; And will ye not declare them? Even now have I made thee to hear new things, And hidden things, which thou didst not know.

7 Now for the first time have they been created, And not long ago, nor by a succession of time; Thou hadst not heard them; Lest thou shouldst say, Behold, I knew.

8 Surely thou hadst not heard; Surely thou hadst not known; Surely it is not long since thine ear was opened; For I knew that by transgressing thou didst transgress; Therefore have I called thee a rebel from the womb.

9 For my names sake I will delay my fury; And for my praise I will restrain myself toward thee, So as not to cut thee off.

10 Behold, I have tried thee, And not like silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

11 For mine own sake, for mine own sake, will I do it; For how shall my name be profaned? And I will not give my glory to another.

12 Hear me, O Jacob, And O Israel, my called; I, even I, am the first; Also I am the last.

13 Surely my hand hath founded the earth; And my right hand hath measured the heavens with the palm; When I call them they stand up together.

Note 283. Or, Hath upheld.

Note 284. Or, They shall stand up.

14 Assemble yourselves, all of you, And hear. Who among them declareth those things? Jehovah hath loved him, And will execute his pleasure against Babylon, And his arm against the Babylonians.

Note 285. Or, It is work.

15 I, I have spoken; Surely I have called him, I have led him; Therefore he shall prosper in his way.

Note 286. “Ce suis-je, ce suis-je.” “It is I, it is I”  

16 Draw near to me, hear this. I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; Since the thing was done, there was I; And now the Lord Jehovah, And his Spirit, hath sent me.

17 Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel. I am Jehovah thy God, Who teacheth thee profitably, Who directeth thee in the way which thou goest.

18 O if thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! Then should thy peace have been as a river, And thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.

19 Thy seed should have been as the sand, And the children of thy womb as the small stones of it; Her name would not be cut off, And would not be destroyed before my face.

20 Come forth from Babylon; Flee from the Babylonians. With the voice of rejoicing tell this; Publish, And carry it even to the end of the earth. Say ye, Jehovah hath redeemed his servant Jacob.

21 Therefore they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts; He made water to flow to them from the rock; He clave the rock, And the waters flowed out.

22 There is no peace, saith Jehovah to the wicked.