Words of Comfort to Jerusalem

¹The Lord says, “Listen to me, you that want to be saved, you that come to me for help. Think of the rock from which you came, the quarry from which you were cut.

²Think of your ancestor, Abraham, and of Sarah, from whom you are descended. When I called Abraham, he was childless, but I blessed him and gave him children; I made his descendants numerous.

³“I will show compassion to Jerusalem, to all who live in her ruins. Though her land is a desert, I will make it a garden, like the garden I planted in Eden. Joy and gladness will be there, and songs of praise and thanks to me.

⁴“Listen to me, my people, listen to what I say: I give my teaching to the nations; my laws will bring them light.

⁵I will come quickly and save them; the time of my victory is near. I myself will rule over the nations. Distant lands wait for me to come; they wait with hope for me to save them.

⁶Look up at the heavens; look at the earth! The heavens will disappear like smoke; the earth will wear out like old clothing, and all its people will die like flies. But the deliverance I bring will last forever; my victory will be final.

⁷“Listen to me, you that know what is right, who have my teaching fixed in your hearts. Do not be afraid when people taunt and insult you;

⁸they will vanish like moth-eaten clothing! But the deliverance I bring will last forever; my victory will endure for all time.”

⁹Wake up, Lord, and help us! Use your power and save us; use it as you did in ancient times. It was you that cut the sea monster Rahab to pieces.

¹⁰It was you also who dried up the sea and made a path through the water, so that those you were saving could cross.

¹¹Those whom you have rescued will reach Jerusalem with gladness, singing and shouting for joy. They will be happy forever, forever free from sorrow and grief.

¹²The Lord says, “I am the one who strengthens you. Why should you fear mortals, who are no more enduring than grass?

¹³Have you forgotten the Lord who made you, who stretched out the heavens and laid the earth's foundations? Why should you live in constant fear of the fury of those who oppress you, of those who are ready to destroy you? Their fury can no longer touch you.

¹⁴Those who are prisoners will soon be set free; they will live a long life and have all the food they need.

¹⁵“I am the Lord your God; I stir up the sea and make its waves roar. My name is the Lord Almighty!

¹⁶I stretched out the heavens and laid the earth's foundations; I say to Jerusalem, ‘You are my people! I have given you my teaching, and I protect you with my hand.’”

The End of Jerusalem's Suffering

¹⁷Jerusalem, wake up! Rouse yourself and get up! You have drunk the cup of punishment that the Lord in his anger gave you to drink; you drank it down, and it made you stagger.

¹⁸There is no one to lead you, no one among your people to take you by the hand.

¹⁹A double disaster has fallen on you: your land has been devastated by war, and your people have starved. There is no one to show you sympathy.

²⁰At the corner of every street your people collapse from weakness; they are like deer caught in a hunter's net. They have felt the force of God's anger.

²¹You suffering people of Jerusalem, you that stagger as though you were drunk,

²²the Lord your God defends you and says, “I am taking away the cup that I gave you in my anger. You will no longer have to drink the wine that makes you stagger.

²³I will give it to those who oppressed you, to those who made you lie down in the streets and trampled on you as if you were dirt.”

God Will Rescue Jerusalem

¹Jerusalem, be strong and great again! Holy city of God, clothe yourself with splendor! The heathen will never enter your gates again.

²Shake yourself free, Jerusalem! Rise from the dust and sit on your throne! Undo the chains that bind you, captive people of Zion!

³The Sovereign Lord says to his people, “When you became slaves, no money was paid for you; in the same way nothing will be paid to set you free.

⁴When you went to live in Egypt as foreigners, you did so of your own free will; Assyria, however, took you away by force and paid nothing for you.

⁵And now in Babylonia the same thing has happened: you are captives, and nothing was paid for you. Those who rule over you boast and brag and constantly show contempt for me.

⁶In time to come you will acknowledge that I am God and that I have spoken to you.”

⁷How wonderful it is to see a messenger coming across the mountains, bringing good news, the news of peace! He announces victory and says to Zion, “Your God is king!”

⁸Those who guard the city are shouting, shouting together for joy. They can see with their own eyes the return of the Lord to Zion.

⁹Break into shouts of joy, you ruins of Jerusalem! The Lord will rescue his city and comfort his people.

¹⁰The Lord will use his holy power; he will save his people, and all the world will see it.

¹¹Be sure to leave Babylonia, all you that carry the Temple equipment. Touch no forbidden thing; keep yourselves holy and leave.

¹²This time you will not have to leave in a hurry; you will not be trying to escape. The Lord your God will lead you and protect you on every side.

The Suffering Servant

¹³The Lord says, “My servant will succeed in his task; he will be highly honored.

¹⁴Many people were shocked when they saw him; he was so disfigured that he hardly looked human.

¹⁵But now many nations will marvel at him, and kings will be speechless with amazement. They will see and understand something they had never known.”

The Prophet as a Refugee

¹The Lord spoke to me.

²“Mortal man,” he said, “you are living among rebellious people. They have eyes, but they see nothing; they have ears, but they hear nothing, because they are rebellious.

³“Now, mortal man, pack a bundle just as a refugee would and start out before nightfall. Let everyone see you leaving and going to another place. Maybe those rebels will notice you.

⁴While it is still daylight, pack your bundle for exile, so that they can see you, and then let them watch you leave in the evening as if you were going into exile.

⁵While they are watching, break a hole through the wall of your house and take your pack out through it.

⁶Let them watch you putting your pack on your shoulder and going out into the dark with your eyes covered, so that you can't see where you are going. What you do will be a warning to the Israelites.”

⁷I did what the Lord told me to do. That day I packed a bundle as a refugee would, and that evening as it was getting dark I dug a hole in the wall with my hands and went out. While everyone watched, I put the pack on my shoulder and left.

⁸The next morning the Lord spoke to me.

⁹“Mortal man,” he said, “now that those Israelite rebels are asking you what you're doing,

¹⁰tell them what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to them. This message is for the prince ruling in Jerusalem and for all the people who live there.

¹¹Tell them that what you have done is a sign of what will happen to them—they will be refugees and captives.

¹²The prince who is ruling them will shoulder his pack in the dark and escape through a hole that they dig for him in the wall. He will cover his eyes and not see where he is going.

¹³But I will spread out my net and trap him in it. Then I will take him to the city of Babylon, where he will die without having seen it.

¹⁴I will scatter in every direction all the members of his court and his advisers and bodyguards, and people will search for them to kill them.

¹⁵“When I scatter them among the other nations and in foreign countries, they will know that I am the Lord.

¹⁶I will let a few of them survive the war, the famine, and the diseases, so that there among the nations they will realize how disgusting their actions have been and will acknowledge that I am the Lord.”

The Sign of the Trembling Prophet

¹⁷The Lord spoke to me.

¹⁸“Mortal man,” he said, “tremble when you eat, and shake with fear when you drink.

¹⁹Tell the whole nation that this is the message of the Sovereign Lord to the people of Jerusalem who are still living in their land: They will tremble when they eat and shake with fear when they drink. Their land will be stripped bare, because everyone who lives there is lawless.

²⁰Cities that are now full of people will be destroyed, and the country will be made a wilderness. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

A Popular Proverb and an Unpopular Message

²¹The Lord spoke to me.

²²“Mortal man,” he said, “why do the people of Israel repeat this proverb: ‘Time goes by, and predictions come to nothing’?

²³Now tell them what I, the Sovereign Lord, have to say about that. I will put an end to that proverb. It won't be repeated in Israel any more. Tell them instead: The time has come, and the predictions are coming true!

²⁴“Among the people of Israel there will be no more false visions or misleading prophecies.

²⁵I, the Lord, will speak to them, and what I say will be done. There will be no more delay. In your own lifetime, you rebels, I will do what I have warned you I would do. I have spoken,” says the Sovereign Lord.

²⁶The Lord said to me,

²⁷“Mortal man, the Israelites think that your visions and prophecies are about the distant future.

²⁸So tell them that I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying: There will be no more delay. What I have said will be done. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”

Prophecy against False Male Prophets

¹The Lord spoke to me.

²“Mortal man,” he said, “denounce the prophets of Israel who make up their own prophecies. Tell them to listen to the word of the Lord.”

³This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “These foolish prophets are doomed! They provide their own inspiration and invent their own visions.

⁴People of Israel, your prophets are as useless as foxes living among the ruins of a city.

⁵They don't guard the places where the walls have crumbled, nor do they rebuild the walls, and so Israel cannot be defended when war comes on the day of the Lord.

⁶Their visions are false, and their predictions are lies. They claim that they are speaking my message, but I have not sent them. Yet they expect their words to come true!

⁷I tell them: Those visions you see are false, and the predictions you make are lies. You say that they are my words, but I haven't spoken to you!”

⁸So the Sovereign Lord says to them, “Your words are false, and your visions are lies. I am against you.

⁹I am about to punish you prophets who have false visions and make misleading predictions. You will not be there when my people gather to make decisions; your names will not be included in the list of the citizens of Israel; you will never return to your land. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.

¹⁰“The prophets mislead my people by saying that all is well. All is certainly not well! My people have put up a wall of loose stones, and then the prophets have come and covered it with whitewash.

¹¹Tell the prophets that their wall is going to fall down. I will send a pouring rain. Hailstones will fall on it, and a strong wind will blow against it.

¹²The wall will collapse, and everyone will ask you what good the whitewash did.”

¹³Now this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “In my anger I will send a strong wind, pouring rain, and hailstones to destroy the wall.

¹⁴I intend to break down the wall they whitewashed, to shatter it, and to leave the foundation stones bare. It will collapse and kill you all. Then everyone will know that I am the Lord.

¹⁵“The wall and those who covered it with whitewash will feel the force of my anger. Then I will tell you that the wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it—

¹⁶those prophets who assured Jerusalem that all was well, when all was not well!” The Sovereign Lord has spoken.

Prophecy against False Female Prophets

¹⁷The Lord said, “Now, mortal man, look at the women among your people who make up predictions. Denounce them

¹⁸and tell them what the Sovereign Lord is saying to them: “You women are doomed! You sew magic wristbands for everyone and make magic scarves for everyone to wear on their heads, so that they can have power over other people's lives. You want to possess the power of life and death over my people and to use it for your own benefit.

¹⁹You dishonor me in front of my people in order to get a few handfuls of barley and a few pieces of bread. You kill people who don't deserve to die, and you keep people alive who don't deserve to live. So you tell lies to my people, and they believe you.”

²⁰Now this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “I hate the wristbands that you use in your attempt to control life and death. I will rip them off your arms and set free the people that you were controlling.

²¹I will rip off your scarves and let my people escape from your power once and for all. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

²²“By your lies you discourage good people, whom I do not wish to hurt. You prevent evil people from giving up evil and saving their lives.

²³So now your false visions and misleading predictions are over. I am rescuing my people from your power, so that you will know that I am the Lord.”

²¹Nothing bad happens to righteous people, but the wicked have nothing but trouble.

²²The Lord hates liars, but is pleased with those who keep their word.

²³Smart people keep quiet about what they know, but stupid people advertise their ignorance.

²⁴Hard work will give you power; being lazy will make you a slave.