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"Comfort my people," says our God. "Comfort them!
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Encourage the people of Jerusalem. Tell them they have suffered long enough and their sins are now forgiven. I have punished them in full for all their sins."
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A voice cries out, "Prepare in the wilderness a road for the LORD! Clear the way in the desert for our God!
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Fill every valley; level every mountain. The hills will become a plain, and the rough country will be made smooth.
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Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it. The LORD himself has promised this."
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A voice cries out, "Proclaim a message!" "What message shall I proclaim?" I ask. "Proclaim that all human beings are like grass; they last no longer than wild flowers.
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Grass withers and flowers fade when the LORD sends the wind blowing over them. People are no more enduring than grass.
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Yes, grass withers and flowers fade, but the word of our God endures forever."
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Jerusalem, go up on a high mountain and proclaim the good news! Call out with a loud voice, Zion; announce the good news! Speak out and do not be afraid. Tell the towns of Judah that their God is coming!
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The Sovereign LORD is coming to rule with power, bringing with him the people he has rescued.
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He will take care of his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs together and carry them in his arms; he will gently lead their mothers.
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Can anyone measure the ocean by handfuls or measure the sky with his hands? Can anyone hold the soil of the earth in a cup or weigh the mountains and hills on scales?
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Can anyone tell the LORD what to do? Who can teach him or give him advice?
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With whom does God consult in order to know and understand and to learn how things should be done?
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To the LORD the nations are nothing, no more than a drop of water; the distant islands are as light as dust.
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All the animals in the forests of Lebanon are not enough for a sacrifice to our God, and its trees are too few to kindle the fire.
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The nations are nothing at all to him.
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To whom can God be compared? How can you describe what he is like?
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He is not like an idol that workers make, that metalworkers cover with gold and set in a base of silver.
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Anyone who cannot afford silver or gold chooses wood that will not rot. He finds a skillful worker to make an image that won't fall down.
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Do you not know? Were you not told long ago? Have you not heard how the world began?
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It was made by the one who sits on his throne above the earth and beyond the sky; the people below look as tiny as ants. He stretched out the sky like a curtain, like a tent in which to live.
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He brings down powerful rulers and reduces them to nothing.
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They are like young plants, just set out and barely rooted. When the LORD sends a wind, they dry up and blow away like straw.
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To whom can the holy God be compared? Is there anyone else like him?
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Look up at the sky! Who created the stars you see? The one who leads them out like an army, he knows how many there are and calls each one by name! His power is so great--- not one of them is ever missing!
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Israel, why then do you complain that the LORD doesn't know your troubles or care if you suffer injustice?
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Don't you know? Haven't you heard? The LORD is the everlasting God; he created all the world. He never grows tired or weary. No one understands his thoughts.
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He strengthens those who are weak and tired.
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Even those who are young grow weak; young people can fall exhausted.
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But those who trust in the LORD for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak.
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God says, "Be silent and listen to me, you distant lands! Get ready to present your case in court; you will have your chance to speak. Let us come together to decide who is right.
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"Who was it that brought the conqueror from the east and makes him triumphant wherever he goes? Who gives him victory over kings and nations? His sword strikes them down as if they were dust. His arrows scatter them like straw before the wind.
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He follows in pursuit and marches safely on, so fast that he hardly touches the ground!
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Who was it that made this happen? Who has determined the course of history? I, the LORD, was there at the beginning, and I, the LORD, will be there at the end.
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"The people of distant lands have seen what I have done; they are frightened and tremble with fear. So they all assemble and come.
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The skilled workers help and encourage each other.
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The carpenter says to the goldsmith, 'Well done!' The one who beats the idol smooth encourages the one who nails it together. They say, 'The soldering is good'--- and they fasten the idol in place with nails.
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"But you, Israel my servant, you are the people that I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham, my friend.
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I brought you from the ends of the earth; I called you from its farthest corners and said to you, 'You are my servant.' I did not reject you, but chose you.
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Do not be afraid---I am with you! I am your God---let nothing terrify you! I will make you strong and help you; I will protect you and save you.
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"Those who are angry with you will know the shame of defeat. Those who fight against you will die
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and will disappear from the earth.
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I am the LORD your God; I strengthen you and tell you, 'Do not be afraid; I will help you.' "
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The LORD says, "Small and weak as you are, Israel, don't be afraid; I will help you. I, the holy God of Israel, am the one who saves you.
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I will make you like a threshing board, with spikes that are new and sharp. You will thresh mountains and destroy them; hills will crumble into dust.
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You will toss them in the air; the wind will carry them off, and they will be scattered by the storm. Then you will be happy because I am your God; you will praise me, the holy God of Israel.
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"When my people in their need look for water, when their throats are dry with thirst, then I, the LORD, will answer their prayer; I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them.
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I will make rivers flow among barren hills and springs of water run in the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water and the dry land into flowing springs.
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I will make cedars grow in the desert, and acacias and myrtles and olive trees. Forests will grow in barren land, forests of pine and juniper and cypress.
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People will see this and know that I, the LORD, have done it. They will come to understand that Israel's holy God has made it happen."
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The LORD, the king of Israel, has this to say: "You gods of the nations, present your case. Bring the best arguments you have!
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Come here and predict what will happen, so that we will know it when it takes place. Explain to the court the events of the past, and tell us what they mean.
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Tell us what the future holds--- then we will know that you are gods! Do something good or bring some disaster; fill us with fear and awe!
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You and all you do are nothing; those who worship you are disgusting!
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"I have chosen a man who lives in the east; I will bring him to attack from the north. He tramples on rulers as if they were mud, like a potter trampling clay.
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Which of you predicted that this would happen, so that we could say that you were right? None of you said a word about it; no one heard you say a thing!
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I, the LORD, was the first to tell Zion the news; I sent a messenger to Jerusalem to say, 'Your people are coming! They are coming home!'
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When I looked among the gods, none of them had a thing to say; not one could answer the questions I asked.
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All these gods are useless; they can do nothing at all--- these idols are weak and powerless."
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The LORD says, "Here is my servant, whom I strengthen--- the one I have chosen, with whom I am pleased. I have filled him with my Spirit, and he will bring justice to every nation.
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He will not shout or raise his voice or make loud speeches in the streets.
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He will not break off a bent reed nor put out a flickering lamp. He will bring lasting justice to all.
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He will not lose hope or courage; he will establish justice on the earth. Distant lands eagerly wait for his teaching."
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God created the heavens and stretched them out; he fashioned the earth and all that lives there; he gave life and breath to all its people. And now the LORD God says to his servant,
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"I, the LORD, have called you and given you power to see that justice is done on earth. Through you I will make a covenant with all peoples; through you I will bring light to the nations.
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You will open the eyes of the blind and set free those who sit in dark prisons.
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"I alone am the LORD your God. No other god may share my glory; I will not let idols share my praise.
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The things I predicted have now come true. Now I will tell you of new things even before they begin to happen."
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Sing a new song to the LORD; sing his praise, all the world! Praise him, you that sail the sea; praise him, all creatures of the sea! Sing, distant lands and all who live there!
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Let the desert and its towns praise God; let the people of Kedar praise him! Let those who live in the city of Sela shout for joy from the tops of the mountains!
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Let those who live in distant lands give praise and glory to the LORD!
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The LORD goes out to fight like a warrior; he is ready and eager for battle. He gives a war cry, a battle shout; he shows his power against his enemies.
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God says, "For a long time I kept silent; I did not answer my people. But now the time to act has come; I cry out like a woman in labor.
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I will destroy the hills and mountains and dry up the grass and trees. I will turn the river valleys into deserts and dry up the pools of water.
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"I will lead my blind people by roads they have never traveled. I will turn their darkness into light and make rough country smooth before them. These are my promises, and I will keep them without fail.
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All who trust in idols, who call images their gods, will be humiliated and disgraced."
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The LORD says, "Listen, you deaf people! Look closely, you that are blind!
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Is anyone more blind than my servant, more deaf than the messenger I send?
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Israel, you have seen so much, but what has it meant to you? You have ears to hear with, but what have you really heard?"
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The LORD is a God who is eager to save, so he exalted his laws and teachings, and he wanted his people to honor them.
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But now his people have been plundered; they are locked up in dungeons and hidden away in prisons. They were robbed and plundered, with no one to come to their rescue.
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Will any of you listen to this? From now on will you listen with care?
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Who gave Israel up to the looters? It was the LORD himself, against whom we sinned! We would not live as he wanted us to live or obey the teachings he gave us.
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So he made us feel the force of his anger and suffer the violence of war. Like fire his anger burned throughout Israel, but we never knew what was happening; we learned nothing at all from it.
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In the same way you wives must submit yourselves to your husbands, so that if any of them do not believe God's word, your conduct will win them over to believe. It will not be necessary for you to say a word,
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because they will see how pure and reverent your conduct is.
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You should not use outward aids to make yourselves beautiful, such as the way you fix your hair, or the jewelry you put on, or the dresses you wear.
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Instead, your beauty should consist of your true inner self, the ageless beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of the greatest value in God's sight.
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For the devout women of the past who placed their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful by submitting themselves to their husbands.
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Sarah was like that; she obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are now her daughters if you do good and are not afraid of anything.
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In the same way you husbands must live with your wives with the proper understanding that they are more delicate than you. Treat them with respect, because they also will receive, together with you, God's gift of life. Do this so that nothing will interfere with your prayers.
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To conclude: you must all have the same attitude and the same feelings; love one another, and be kind and humble with one another.
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Do not pay back evil with evil or cursing with cursing; instead, pay back with a blessing, because a blessing is what God promised to give you when he called you.
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As the scripture says, "If you want to enjoy life and wish to see good times, you must keep from speaking evil and stop telling lies.
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You must turn away from evil and do good; you must strive for peace with all your heart.
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For the Lord watches over the righteous and listens to their prayers; but he opposes those who do evil."
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Who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good?
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But even if you should suffer for doing what is right, how happy you are! Do not be afraid of anyone, and do not worry.
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But have reverence for Christ in your hearts, and honor him as Lord. Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you,
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but do it with gentleness and respect. Keep your conscience clear, so that when you are insulted, those who speak evil of your good conduct as followers of Christ will become ashamed of what they say.
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For it is better to suffer for doing good, if this should be God's will, than for doing evil.
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For Christ died for sins once and for all, a good man on behalf of sinners, in order to lead you to God. He was put to death physically, but made alive spiritually,
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and in his spiritual existence he went and preached to the imprisoned spirits.
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These were the spirits of those who had not obeyed God when he waited patiently during the days that Noah was building his boat. The few people in the boat---eight in all---were saved by the water,
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which was a symbol pointing to baptism, which now saves you. It is not the washing off of bodily dirt, but the promise made to God from a good conscience. It saves you through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
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who has gone to heaven and is at the right side of God, ruling over all angels and heavenly authorities and powers.
