1“Hear Me, you who pursue righteousness, who seek the LORD: look to the rock from which you are hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. 2Look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who bore you; for when I called Abraham, he was only one man, and I blessed him, and multiplied him into a nation. 3For the LORD shall surely comfort Zion (Israel); He will look with compassion upon her ruins, and He will make her deserts like Eden, and her wastelands like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness, thanksgiving, and the sound of melody shall be found in it.”

4“Hear Me, My people; and listen to Me, O My nation; for a law shall be proclaimed by Me, and My justice shall be a light of the nations. 5My righteousness is near; My salvation is on the way, and My arms shall bring justice to the nations; the islands shall wait upon Me, and they shall trust in My arm.”

6“Look up to the heavens, and look at the earth below; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall grow old like a garment, and they that dwell in it shall die as well; but My salvation shall be forever, and My righteousness shall never fail. 7Hear Me, you that know what is right, you people who have My law in your heart. Do not fear the scorn of men, nor be afraid of their insults. 8For the moth shall eat them like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool, but My righteousness shall last forever, and My salvation through all generations.”

9“Awake, awake, O arm of the LORD; clothe yourself with the LORD’s power, as in days long ago - in older generations. Was it not You Who cut Rahab, and wounded the sea-monster? 10Was it not You Who has dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; Who made a path for the ransomed through the depths of the sea? 11Those redeemed by the LORD shall return, and enter Zion with singing; and everlasting joy; they shall have gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.” 12“I, yes I, am He Who comforts you. Who are you, that you should fear mere mortals that shall die, who shall wither like grass? 13But you have forgotten the LORD your Maker, Who has stretched out the heavens like a canopy, and laid the foundations of the earth, so that you lived in constant dread, fearing the wrath of the oppressor, who was bent on your destruction. Where is the fury of the oppressor now? It is gone! 14The captive exile will soon be set free; and not die in the dungeon, or lack for food. 15For I am the LORD, your God, Who divided the sea, whose waves roared; the LORD Almighty is My name. 16I, Who established the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth, have put My words in your mouth, and sheltered you in the shadow of My hand - I am He Who says to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”

17“Awake, awake, rise up, O Jerusalem, who has drunk the cup of the LORD’s fury from His hand; you who have drained the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out. 18Among all the sons she has brought forth, there is not one to guide her; nor is there any to take her by the hand. 19These pairs of calamities - desolation and destruction, and famine and the sword - have befallen you. Who is left to console you? 20Your sons have fainted, they lie at every street corner, helpless as an antelope caught in a net; in His fury the LORD has rebuked them. 21But now hear this, you afflicted ones - drunk, but not with wine: 22This is what the Sovereign LORD says - your God, Who pleads the cause of and defends His people: “See, I have taken out of your hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of that cup of My fury; you shall never drink it again, 23But I will put it into the hand of those who afflict and torment you - those who have said to your soul, ‘Bow down, so that we can walk on you’; and have made your back like the ground, and like the paving of the street, for them to walk on.’”