And I have loved thee;

Therefore will I give men for thee,

And peoples for thy life.

Fear not, for I am with thee;

I will bring thy seed from the east,
And gather thee from the west;

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 end of the earth;
Every one that is called by My name,

And whom I have created for My glory,

I have formed him, yea, I have made him.'

The blind people that have eyes shall be brought forth, And the deaf that have ears.

All the nations are gathered together,

And the peoples are assembled;

Who among them can declare this,

And announce to us former things?

Let them bring their witnesses, that they may be justi

fied;

And let them hear, and say: 'It is truth.'

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 any be after Me.

Isaiah 43: 1-10

ZION

96

Comfort ye, comfort ye My people,

Saith your God.

Bid Jerusalem take heart,

And proclaim unto her,

That her time of service is accomplished,

That her guilt is paid off;

That she hath received of the Lord's hand

Double for all her sins.

Hark! one calleth:

'Clear ye in the wilderness the way of the Lord,

Make plain in the desert

A highway for our God.

Every valley should be lifted up,

And every mountain and hill shall be made low;
And the rugged shall be made level,

And the rough places a plain;

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

And all flesh shall see it together;

For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.'

O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion,

Get thee up into the high mountain;

O thou that tellest good things to Jerusalem,

Lift up thy voice with strength;

Lift it up, be not afraid;

Say unto the cities of Judah:

'Behold your God!'

Behold, the Lord God will come as a Mighty One,

And His arm will rule for Him;

Behold, His reward is with Him,

And His recompense before Him.

Even as a shepherd that feedeth his flock,
That gathereth the lambs in his arm,
And carrieth them in his bosom,

And gently leadeth those that give suck.

Isaiah 40: 1-5, 9-11

97

Awake, awake,

Put on thy strength, O Zion;
Put on thy beautiful garments,

O Jerusalem, the holy city;

For henceforth there shall no more come into thee

The uncircumcised and the unclean.

Shake thyself from the dust;

Arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem;

Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck,

O captive daughter of Zion.

For thus saith the Lord:

Ye were sold for nought;

And ye shall be redeemed without money.

For thus saith the Lord God:

My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there;

And the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.
Now therefore, what do I do here, saith the Lord,
Seeing that My people is taken away for nought?

They that rule over them do howl, saith the Lord, And My name continually all the day is blasphemed. Therefore My people shall know My name;

Therefore they shall know in that day

That I, even He that spoke, behold, here I am.

How beautiful upon the mountains

Are the feet of the messenger of good tidings,

That announceth peace, the harbinger of good tidings,

That announceth salvation;

That saith unto Zion:

"Thy God reigneth!'

Hark, thy watchmen! they lift up the voice,

Together do they sing;

For they shall see, eye to eye,

The Lord returning to Zion.

Break forth into joy, sing together,

Ye waste places of Jerusalem;

For the Lord hath comforted His people,

He hath redeemed Jerusalem.

Isaiah 52: 1-9

98

Arise, shine, for thy light is come,

And the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee,
For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
And gross darkness the peoples;

But upon thee the Lord will arise,

And His glory shall be seen upon thee.

And nations shall walk at thy light,

And kings at the brightness of thy rising.

Lift up thine eyes round about, and see:

They all are gathered together, and come to thee;
Thy sons come from far,

And thy daughters are borne on the side.

Then thou shalt see and be radiant,

And thy heart shall throb and be enlarged;

Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned unto

thee,

The wealth of the nations shall come unto thee.

The caravan of camels shall cover thee,

And of the young camels of Midian and Ephah,

All coming from Sheba;

They shall bring gold and frankincense,

And shall proclaim the praises of the Lord.

All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto

thee,

The rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee;

They shall come up with acceptance on Mine altar,

And I will glorify My glorious house.
Who are these that fly as a cloud,
And as the doves to their cotes?
Surely the isles shall wait for Me,
And the ships of Tarshish first,
To bring thy sons from far,

Their silver and their gold with them,

For the name of the Lord thy God,

And for the Holy One of Israel, because He hath glori

fied thee.

Isaiah 60: 1-9, 19-22